For all my Logan Circle love, sometimes I forget just how, well, yuppie our beloved neighborhood can be. Of course, this is hardly news, but spending part of last week in Baltimore gave me a fresh perspective. Two things in particular struck me.
First off, correct me if I’m wrong, but we just don’t have any—excuse the term—“townie bars.” I guess that’s because we don’t really have “townies.” Sure, there are local neighborhood bars, but even the most genuine ones tend to come with a thin veil of pretense. I find it hilarious that Logan Circle is the sort of neighborhood where bars resort to actually calling themselves “your neighborhood place” (right on the menu!) in an attempt to seem novel.
In Baltimore, it’s a different story. Practically every corner has a tavern—many of which are, yes, real taverns, not some concept latched onto for its retro appeal. But my true definition of a “townie bar” is one where you find yourself standing too-close-for-comfort to a sloshed 45-year-old woman dancing, alone, haphazardly to the gray-haired cover band on stage. Um, check (see: Cat’s-Eye Pub in Fell’s Point).
Secondly, I never realized how tangible a role dog size and breed can play into demographics. Walking around Logan Circle is part-bliss, part-torture for me, as I’m developing a passion for fluffy companion dogs. (What can I say, I’m right at home here.) Watching pups trot down the street after their yoga mat-toting masters is actually a little painful—they’re just so adorable (but we can’t have a dog at our place). On the flip side, I think the smallest dog I saw in Fell’s Point was a squat—but no less fierce-looking—pit bull. Enough said.
Image by Baltimore artist Robert McClintock
I’ve lived and worked here for years and there are neighborhood bars besides Commissary with plenty of drunk middle aged women falling over themselves. it just requires being more adventurous than hitting up whatever’s on 14 and P. and there are townies, they just happen to not be white 20-somethings with blogs for the most part.
Which bars in Logan Circle are you thinking of? I’m curious. I know there are plenty of more genuine neighborhood bars elsewhere in the city, but I just couldn’t come up with any here. The closest we could think of was Post Pub, but that’s beyond the reach of Logan Circle.
oh katie, once again trying to associate yourself with yuppies…
the lack of normal sized dogs in your neighborhood is just strange. i’d say as far as “yuppy” neighborhoods go, mine would give yours a run for its money and there is no end to the supply of pitbulls, boxers, rottweilers, bulldogs, etc. around here. (ps. i remember a certain d.s. author stating at one point that it is not safe to park in your neighborhood – how do you equate yuppy with “watch out for your hubcaps”?)
Might I suggest that it’s not your neighborhood but the girlie lens through which you view the world that makes it seem like there are only small fluffy dogs around you?
Never fear, I will actually be in the Logan Circle area this weekend and will lend my fair and balanced eye to the dog situation. I’ll report back.