3 Questions To Ask Your Bartender On The First Night In A New Town
Heading down to Ye Olde Neighborhood Pub to conversate with locals and get my bearings is the go-to plan for my first night in any new city. (If you don’t imbibe, look up establishments known for marvelous mocktails or excellent eats.) Finding a spot with the perfect blend of cozy and grungy — the bars where people still mingle and socialize with strangers — is the hard part; knowing what questions to ask your new friends is easy as long as you have this handy dandy list with you!
3. “Do you have the Metro Times?”
Detroit’s incarnation of the free, local newspaper is called the Metro Times, and that’s how crust punks found out what bands were playing before social media was a thing. Almost every city has a free arts & culture newspaper you can pick up at restaurants, bars, gas stations, liquor stores, and anywhere else free magazine racks are hanging out providing us bums with emergency toilet paper.
Louisville’s is called the LEO (Louisville Eccentric Observer) and contains slice of life stories from local voices as well as announcements about a new art exhibit on Supernatural Americana and an emo night featuring live bands playing covers of (hopefully) A Day To Remember, among other hits from the era of coontail bangs and checkered, slip-on vans.
Hang onto your paper, and use the back to write down notes about other spots you hear about throughout the night, since it’s faster than pulling out your phone and you’re not going to remember the nuances of each place without notes.
Plus, you never know when you might need some emergency TP.
2. “Are There Any Free Museums?”
There are precious few public spaces where we are allowed to simply exist without the expectation of buying something. Libraries and public parks are two great places to find free fun (and maybe free wifi, in the case of the former). Many larger metropolitan areas have free (or donation suggested) art installations, history exhibits, or sculpture parks. Some do free admission only on a slower day of the week, like Sunday or Monday, or have special days/rates/events for Seniors and/or children.
Added bonus of museums: they’re heated or air conditioned, depending on the season, and if you’re car camping you can spend a few precious, warm hours indoors killing time and *Being Cultural.*
1. “What’s Your Favorite Place To Eat?”
Be prepared with a few favorite categories when your bartender inevitably asks what kind of food you like — I usually ask about teahouses, healthy Asian/Mediterranean, and Good Soup, since the chilly December air has me craving warm, satisfying munchables.
I love this question because it’s so open ended and every bartender or local will have a different opinion on where the best food in town is, and passionate about sharing it! This is a great way to get people interacting — soon you’ll have a hastily-scrawled list on the back of your LEO paper and a good inkling of where you’re grabbing lunch the next day.
Do you have a favorite question you like asking your bartender or other locals when you just get into a new town? Tell me in the comments!
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