The Cat's Meow - Bar # 80

Today was the fifth Tuesday of March so, per our adjusted rules of drinking, it was a legitimate excuse to go out for a couple of beers for the third time this month!  I (Garry) was driving so made the choice of location for today's adventure and lead us to The Cat's Meow. This Bar/Restaurant is located in Manheim, PA and has been under current family ownership for approximately 30 years. The building was erected in the late 1860's and has been obviously well kept from the beginning.

By today's standards there wasn't a great selection of draft beers with a total of 7 taps, 4 of which were dedicated to "craft" beer. The strength of the beer selection lies in the choice of bottled "craft" beers.  There were 33 of these and a real good mix, easily satisfying any beer lover's taste.

The bar is clearly a favorite of locals as evidenced by the bartender knowing everyone on a first name basis.  As Terry pointed out, sometimes at a "locals" bar the clientele isn't often friendly toward newcomers.  This was truly not the case here as we were quickly engaged by customers to the right and left as well as our bartender.

We did not review the menu so really can't say if we'd return to eat but the restaurant did have an inviting air about it and was themed with a "Roaring 20s" look.  There is an appealing outdoor eating area that would certainly be desirable during warmer weather days.

One other benefit of 5 Tuesday months is that the first Tuesday of the following month is only 1 week away!

Pour Girls - Bar # 79

March will be a great month.  There are 5 Tuesdays in it so we get to do our "Retired Guys Beer Afternoon" three times this month!

Today was my (Garry) turn to drive and choose our destination so we made our way to Georgetown, PA to the Pour Girls Restaurant & Bar.

Georgetown is in the southeastern part of Lancaster County, close to the border with Chester County.  It is infamous for being the home of Charles Carl Roberts IV who was the shooter at the Nickel Mines Amish School in 2006.  So much for depressing history.

The Pour Girls Restaurant & Bar occupy a home originally constructed in the mid 1700's whose last renovation was completed about 7 years ago when the current owners converted it to the present use. There are multiple rooms for dining and a single large bar area.  There were 8 taps for draft beer, 4 of which would qualify by our high standards as "craft" beers and the other four were designated as "major brewery" status.  There was an excellent selection of bottled beer with 29 available and of that group thankfully only 6 were of the "major brewery" variety.  Our bartender was engaging and really sold the place as one we should return to for drinks as well as eating.  She readily offered samples of draft beers before purchase and was knowledgeable of the total product line.

The place was extremely clean looking throughout the restaurant and bar as well as the restroom area, well, at least the men's room.  We scanned the food menu and decided that we would return in a couple of weeks; Terry with his wife and me with whoever says yes to the invitation (hopefully someone will!).

This was one of the few locations where Terry did not personally know someone.  Clearly his reach does not extend much past the borders of the city of Lancaster.  I'm feeling a little more comfortable.

Fiorentino's, Airport - Bar # 78

Today was the 78th visit to a Lancaster County pub complete with another installment for the blog highlighting the adventures of Retired Guys Beer Afternoon.

Today we visited Fiorentino's at the Lancaster Airport.  The selection of beer was a pretty good range with 14 taps dispensing light beer to stouts.  As the driver I chose lower alcohol brews, Garry my partner, was not driving and partook of some selections over 9%.  We both enjoyed each of our two beers.

 As usual we had a great Retired Guys day with the conversation ranging from family to solving the world's problems.  Fiorentino's is a very nice, clean and orderly venue.  However, other than the initial bartender, the wait staff was pretty much away and non-involved or interactive with the clientele.  They did come forward when our glasses needed filling, other than that, we and other patrons were left unattended.  There are pluses and minuses to being given privacy, but part of our retired adventures is meeting and interacting with the complete venue experience.

I have to add that this is one of the few bars where Terry did not know anyone.  In his favor though, one of the bartenders did know someone that Terry knew!  As Terry noted, the staff did not engage their customers at all (especially us) so I won't return.