Plum St. Cafe Made Me Happy

Last Friday night was a welcome change of pace from my more recent nights out. I popped in to Plum St. Cafe downtown and settled in for a more honest drink. It's a beautiful little bar. It's family owned, been around for over 25 years, and it just does what it does: makes everyone feel like a regular with regular prices. There was a great crowd. Not huge in numbers, but a nice mix of locals who live in the surrounding neighborhood and employees from some of the local restaurants and hotels. There was good music playing, and not too loud. Just the right volume to still enjoy conversation and not be too irritated when the occasional "dud" was played. The drinks are fairly priced and seemed to have an eclectic mix of patrons. I found it also seems to be the place where people go to have at least one moment of enjoyable drink either before going somewhere else or after leaving somewhere else. Kind of like having a good drink at home before you head out or the night cap after stumbling in. The man behind the bar on this particular night was none other than Handsome Johnny. A man who has more stories told about him over the last 30 years than any other human being. If you're a guy, you know Johnny from the endless tales about his nights out and his ability to put down a drink. If you're a lady, you know Handsome because of his insatiable appetite for flirting. Either way, he's always entertaining. It was refreshing to sit in a bar that a conversation could be had with anyone at anytime. Where stories are being told, and genuinely listened to. Where songs were shared, sung along to, games were played and friends were made. It's the place where people who usually want to be "seen" go when they want to be "liked". It's where the rest of us go to not regret the night out when we wake up the next morning.