When a Bar Is Home – Renee Raven Finds Comfort & Camaraderie at Adolph’s Grill & Bar

If something bad happens you drink in an attempt to forget; if something good happens you drink in order to celebrate; and if nothing happens you drink to make something happen."

—Charles Bukowski, Women

It's a tired cliché: where everyone knows your name. But in a world that's increasingly fad-oriented and hip, bars have become merely walls dressed in silly themes and full of ridiculous gimmicks.

Bars hoping that some "influencer" will decide it's selfie-worthy enough to get a handful of their friends to show up to buy overpriced, bottom-shelf vodka.

I'm not trashing millennials; I am one. But I'm a millennial who grew up savoring the smoking words of poets like Bukowski, and the wizened, worldly narratives of Hemingway. Bars should have a sense of coziness, warmth and romance. A place to commiserate and celebrate, to bring old friends and find new ones.

Adolph's Grill & Bar captures the "dive bar" experience in all positive ways. There's freedom to truly be yourself without judgment. Let your hair down, order another gin & soda (that's my drink) with lime, and just be.

It's a lovely experience and well worth your surprisingly low bar tab, as there are drink specials all day, every day.

I'm hesitant to even use "dive" to describe Adolph's, because it's exceptionally clean. There's nothing worse than a sticky floor, table, or, god forbid, bathroom. Let's say it's a dive bar without the baggage.

Really, it's a pub in the original sense of the word, short for "public house" -- a place of welcoming and hospitality.

Next time you're looking for a home away from home, where, yes, they will learn your name, cozy up to the sleek wood bar at Adolph's. Great food, great karaoke, great drink specials and, most importantly, great people -- just like you.