PLACES YOU COULD HANG by Nick Branigan
(originally appeared in the Boston Compass #57 – October 2014)
JJ Foley’s Fireside Tavern
30 Hyde Park Ave
Jamaica Plain, MA
One of the last bastions of old-man taverns that used to pepper the outer-Bostonian cityscape. This shares a certain vibe with places like PA’s lounge and the long defunct, but always revered Triple D’s in JP. It’s a place where the same five old guys take the same five old stools at the same time, and stay, sentinel, for the rest of the night. All the while the younger set corral themselves in various corners of the palatial and well-lit periphery. There’s always a pinball game in rotation, that admittedly works about half the time, but is always worth a go. The dart gaming areas are huge, and I imagine if you work for the dart regulations board and are reading this, I’ll save you the embarrassment and tell you to not even bother pulling out yer measuring tape – that shit’s gotta be regulation.
Whiners and first daters be damned, this place is no frills, with a refreshing absence of flattering lighting.
– Nick Branigan
(originally appeared in the Boston Compass #57 – October 2014)