Albie Yuravich 2018-02-17 14:23:41
Raising the Bar
Rebecca Barry’s 2007 debut novel Later, At the Bar centers on a small-town bar in upstate New York and the characters who congregate there. Barry writes that Lucy’s Tavern is the “center of the community.”
The place itself was nothing special — a narrow room on the first floor of a brick building that had once been an apothecary. …
Over the years Lucy built her bar into an open front parlor full of music and drinking, where bad behavior within reason was perfectly acceptable. …
To her, the bar was like a good wedding, where love, sex, hope, and grief were just in the air and everyone who breathed it in was drunk not just on booze but the smoky haze around them.
That’s what I think of when I picture a bar — a place that’s probably in need of a fresh coat of paint, with more than a couple of chipped glasses, scuffed-up floors and an interesting array of faces ready to mix it up (not necessarily with fisticuffs). In short, a dive.
But for better or worse, bars, including those here in Connecticut, have grown more specialized in recent years. Yes, there have been cocktail lounges and wine bars for many years, but bars these days are evolving to meet the demands of customers who increasingly seek specific atmospheres and experiences.
When the magazine staff gathered to come up with a list of the state’s best bars (page 47), we quickly realized that our collection needed to reflect this new reality. A good bar is different things to different people. A good place to watch the game and eat some wings would not be enough (but yes, we have some of those).
So, we serve up several bar categories that appeal to varying tastes. Prefer high-end furnishings and creative cocktails? Body-shaking live music? Intimidatingly long beer and wine lists? Historic surroundings? Award-winning food? You’ll find all of these and more in this issue.
But before you head out for a pub crawl, I have some news.
Coming in April, as we do every year, we will publish a list of the best doctors in Connecticut. But this year we’re handling things differently. Rather than conduct the survey of doctors ourselves, we’ve partnered with the internationally recognized Best Doctors organization, whose very business is devoted to health care and finding the best physicians in the country. We believe this will be a valuable resource as you, the health care consumer, look for help in making decisions about your medical care. I’ll go into greater detail about this change in this space in the April issue, but you should feel confident that our list of physicians will continue to be the great resource it’s been for many years.
Albie Yuravich
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram
@AlbertYuravich
Corrections: David Salinas, a 40 Under 40 selection in the February issue, is the chief executive and co-founder of New Haven-based marketing and design firm Digital Surgeons. The company name was incorrect in the article.
Scott Miller is one of the executive chefs at Zohara Mediterranean Kitchen in West Hartford. Miller’s role at the restaurant was misstated in a story in February’s Connecticut Table section.
Maple Craft Foods’ products, including its maple syrup, are available at many Stop & Shop and Big Y locations in Connecticut and nationally at Cabela’s, but not at Williams-Sonoma, as was stated in February’s Craft Cruising story.
Published by New Haven Register formerly 21st Century Media Newspapers . View All Articles.
This page can be found at https://mydigimag.rrd.com/article/Editor%E2%80%99s+Note/3012700/476379/article.html.