Shoutout to Gettysburg Eateries & Drinkeries

In today's chapter, Jonny ventures to a new bar in town. It's called, quite simply, The Bar. Why, you ask? Well, because it's a venue frequented by lawyers. "Attorneys [sip] bourbon at The Bar while law students [down] espresso and [study] for the Bar." But the delicious dressing served alongside the southwest salad Jonny orders at The Bar (tangerine-chipotle) is actually available for consumption at Gettysburg's very own Fourscore Beer Co. If you've never given it a try, you really should!

Speaking of salad dressings... My very favorite salad dressing of all time, whisky-walnut, was referenced in the chapter where Piper took Jane to The Library for her first encounter with Max. If you remember correctly, she ordered Campanelle with a Chance of Meatballs and a side salad. On the side salad was whisky-walnut dressing, which is a magical concoction served by the Garryowen. If you've never been to Gettysburg's finest Irish establishment, that needs to change.

If you've read Like A Flip Turn or Just Whistle, you're familiar with Bottomless Joe's. The coffee shop was originally run by identical twins named Joe and Chet Abbott. Joe went to college in Gettysburg, which isn't too far from Lake Caywood, and after working at the Ragged Edge for years and years, he relocated to another town and opened his own shop: Bottomless Joe's. Somewhere along the line, Chet moved east to help him out and the brothers managed the shop together. I no longer remember if this is actually in a book somewhere (if it is, the book is Kick It One More Time and only a handful of people have had the opportunity to read that novel), but it is the history of Bottomless Joe's.

I can't take credit for the name Bottomless Joe's either. While working at the Book Warehouse at the outlet mall, my coworker Sean told me he was going to be opening a coffee shop with his friend Jake. They were torn between two named: Bottomless Joe's (Sean's vote) and the Ragged Edge (Jake's preference). The latter option won and so I took the unused name (because I think it's so clever!) and plopped it into a novel. Bottomless Joe's is the Ragged Edge and the coffee Joe serves there is every bit as tasty as the coffee Jake's staff creates.

Oregon is known for its coffee, though, and I wanted the brothers to eventually own a sister shop on the west coast. It only makes sense that their sister Lara own and operate it, right? Hence, the birth of Cup o' Mud Buzz. Although the interior is different than Eighty-Two (soon to be Bantam Roasting Co.) in Gettysburg, the friendliness of the staff and the artsiness of the locale are inspired by Alex and Chad's establishment. The staff at Eighty-Two makes me feel like a VIP every time I'm in there, and I think that's how the folks at Cup o' Mud Buzz make their customers feel too!

Of all the books I've written, Bottomless Joe's is probably the spot that's referenced the most... but the Tavern is a close second. It is, admittedly, based on The Pub. While this is no longer an establishment I frequent very often, I sure did love it there in my early twenties! Philip Hiram Delaney (aka "Doc") had a very different sense of design, but the layout of the restaurant is the same: narrow bar on the left, restaurant on the right. Doc hires great bartenders, too: Bas, Bert, Petey... All of those guys are every bit as charming as the boys who used to tend bar when I was ordering pitchers of Yuengling the summer after my college graduation: Nick, Brian, and Ben.

I know I already gave Fourscore Beer Co. a shoutout, but it's getting a second one. Even though The Bar sells Fourscore's tangerine-chipotle dressing, it's the Terrible Terrier Brewing Co. that's loosely based off of my favorite trivia venue. Fourscore doesn't allow pets, and the Terrible Terrier is open to dogs of all kinds (especially Black Russian Terriers!), but the layout and the menu are quite similar. If you'd like to pretend you're in Oregon this weekend, maybe sidle up to the bar, order yourself an Ohhhh Jeeee IPA, and read the latest installment of The Way Back if you haven't already.