DAY DRINKING
Saddled
with an impending New Year’s Eve with no appreciable plans, Team VFH pondered
its choices. We could stay at home with a nice meal, etc. NYE is amateur night
for non-drinkers after all, and this would be a safe way to greet the new
year.
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| LONGWOOD GARDENS |
We considered
going to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. It is a beautiful place with seasonal
displays of plants and prancing waters, an organ recital, roving Christmas
carolers and something called Polkadelphia. Yeah, you’re thinking fair reader
that we were fools to not Polka our way into the new year, but we feared the
excitement would be too much for our aged selves. We had been to Longwood
Gardens before and it’s a great place to visit, but not this time.
Well, the
week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve passes swiftly and Team VFH had to
act quickly. Can you guess what your favorite cheapskates did to save the
holiday? Why, we inspired our friends in Milford, Delaware to invite us down. They were planning a quiet night, but when we invited ourselves down it spurred them into planning a pub crawl that started at 2 in the afternoon.
DAY DRINKING + NEW YEAR’S = MIDNIGHT MISSED
Our
Delaware friends are good and dear and this wasn’t the first time we traveled
there to celebrate NYE and it was not the first time we went on a mid-afternoon
pub crawl. In the
past, they’ve ended badly. Prices are a bit cheaper in Delaware with no sales
tax, and, when we go out early, we also hit happy hours. It’s hard not to order
a second round of Patron Tequila shots when 6 of them costs $18 and when Victory
Beer’s Golden Monkey Triple (9.5% ABV) comes in a full pint glass for $5, you don’t
hit the wall… the wall hits you.
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| ...don't be this guy.... |
I don’t like drinking to excess and waking to an unfortunate face tattoo, so, this year I offered my services as the designated driver. By the way, the police in Delaware are especially spirited in keeping their little world safe, so ALWAYS include a designated driver in every one of your pub crawls. Usually we just trundle a mile or so into Milford, but this day we decided to start the escapades 20 miles down the road in Lewes.
THE FIRST DRINK IN THE FIRST TOWN IN THE FIRST
STATE
There was
a time when you could buy a home in Lewes, the “First Town in the First State”, for
next to nothing, but now those once dilapidated properties are highly sought
after, and way out of our budget. It’s a great summer destination though with Cape
Henlopen stretching out into the Atlantic. The Delaware River splashes into the
ocean here and there’s a distinct difference between the ocean and much calmer
bay beaches.
Over the
years we’ve enjoyed traveling to Lewes for food and drink. Places like Striper
Bites Bistro, The Wheelhouse, and Agave on picturesque Second Street are
favorites. On The Rocks at the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal just before Cape
Henlopen State Park is a surprisingly great place for food and drink during the
summer. It’s affectionately called the “Ferry” bar by our little group, and no,
we don’t swing that way, but it is a great place to watch the ferries ply the
waters of the Delaware Bay on their way to New Jersey.
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| IRISH EYES, LEWES |
IRISH EYES PUB
Agave,
though they make the best margaritas that have ever passed these lips, was
closed. I was glad for this; I would have lost my designated driver status
right there. Our only stop on this pub crawl in Lewes was at Irish Eyes,
situated on the marina overlooking the Lewes and Rehobeth Canal. We drove the
20 miles down there to meet up with a number of other friends and as we drank
and ate appetizers at Irish Eyes, the boats moored along the canal nodded
approvingly. The place is big and airy with a wall of windows that open for the
summer breezes. The staff is attentive and friendly. Irish Eyes is a good,
reasonably priced gin mill. I always like going there.
SMALL TOWN WITH A CREATIVE SPIRIT
When our
friends moved to Milford, Delaware over a decade ago they were aglow about the possibilities
of this quiet little town. One of Delaware's Quaint Villages, this former shipbuilding hub on the Mispillion River has witnessed many of our pub crawl escapades. Sadly, our friends are moving away from this little town to be closer to the shore. We always look forward to coming to Milford, for the company and the partying, although we've never explored further than that. On the surface an outsider may think the glitz and charm our friends sought in Milford long ago had kept driving down Route 1, but the friendliness of the citizens and the many great places to alight in town make Milford a great place to visit.
MILFORD DELAWARE
MILFORD DELAWARE
Favored
places to go in the past have been:
Mispillion RIver Brewing
Located in an industrial park across Route 113. They have a great array beers served in neat airy pub with the brewing kettles behind a glass wall behind the taps. They fill growlers and sell cans as well. No food, but sometimes there’s a food truck outside. Their beers are great, but in 2014 their bathrooms were awarded a gold medal for the best commodes on the Delmarva peninsula.
They call it Slower Lower Delaware with good reason.
Mispillion RIver Brewing
Located in an industrial park across Route 113. They have a great array beers served in neat airy pub with the brewing kettles behind a glass wall behind the taps. They fill growlers and sell cans as well. No food, but sometimes there’s a food truck outside. Their beers are great, but in 2014 their bathrooms were awarded a gold medal for the best commodes on the Delmarva peninsula.
They call it Slower Lower Delaware with good reason.
Abbott's Grill
Nice selection of beers great food prices and happy hour specials that are worth the trip to the shopping mall.
Nice selection of beers great food prices and happy hour specials that are worth the trip to the shopping mall.
Longshots
Sports Bar & Billiards
Big sports bar…. Almost too big. Golden Monkey, my friend and my enemy, is served here in full pints for a great price. They have indoor cornhole situated dangerously close to the front windows!
Big sports bar…. Almost too big. Golden Monkey, my friend and my enemy, is served here in full pints for a great price. They have indoor cornhole situated dangerously close to the front windows!
Arenas
A fancy sports bar with memorabilia decorating the walls. They have a fantastic array
of beers as well. Great food, and there’s an outdoor deck on the Mispillion with a fire pit.
Didn't get to these places this time, but on this
pub crawl though we went to someplace new.
La Hacienda
This small Mexican restaurant chain is fairly new to Milford, but has been popular with our friends since it opened. Located in a dreary strip mall next to a Tractor Supply Company store it didn't look promising, but inside it was warm and inviting and cheap. We each got Margaritas and the bill came to $15. Happy Hour prices, yes, but still very cheap. (I had one.) We weren't eating but their menu looked fantastic. They make their own mole sauce and proudly offered us a taste. The recipe is a closely guarded secret. The proprietor's mother makes it and she will not share all the ingredients with him. They have a fantastic array of tequilas and mezcals. This was a true gem and we will be back to eat at La Hacienda someday.
LA HACIENDA MILFORD
La Hacienda
This small Mexican restaurant chain is fairly new to Milford, but has been popular with our friends since it opened. Located in a dreary strip mall next to a Tractor Supply Company store it didn't look promising, but inside it was warm and inviting and cheap. We each got Margaritas and the bill came to $15. Happy Hour prices, yes, but still very cheap. (I had one.) We weren't eating but their menu looked fantastic. They make their own mole sauce and proudly offered us a taste. The recipe is a closely guarded secret. The proprietor's mother makes it and she will not share all the ingredients with him. They have a fantastic array of tequilas and mezcals. This was a true gem and we will be back to eat at La Hacienda someday.
LA HACIENDA MILFORD
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| MILFORD TAVERN |
The
Milford Tavern
Our next stop
was an unassuming neighborhood bar on Walnut Street. We always try to make it
here on one of these pub crawls. The long-time owners recently sold the place after
35 years and moved to Florida, but the new owners were just as friendly and
happy to see us pile in. They serve drinks in mason jars, but their beer list
is pedestrian. Still on designated driver duty, I nursed a PBR for the
entire time there.
Our last stop:
PARK PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE
PARK PLACE RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE
Everything
in Milford hedges on derelict and the Park Place Restaurant and Lounge on the Mispillion
River looks like an uninviting dive bar at first, but we’ve been here several times
and really enjoy it. The big red square building right on the Mispillion River
was built in the late 1800’s and was first a cannery then a warehouse for a
grain and supply company until that establishment moved in the 1960’s. The
floors are rough hewn wood and a back door opens onto the Mispillion River. The
building sat vacant and in disrepair until it was renovated in the early 1980’s,
but you don’t need all this information to enjoy yourself. A convivial group is
always there. They have pool tables, a dart board and shuffleboard, and a stage
and dance floor. The beer list could use a little work, but they had Patron
tequila! We’ve never had food there, but
typical bar food is on the menu.
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| PARK PLACE ON THE MISPILLION |
ONE LITTLE INDIAN....
The good
part about day drinking is that you can get home before all the “amateurs” come
out. Our intent was to get back to the house for some food and more drinking
and avoid all the mess that comes with venturing out on NYE. The sad part about
day drinking is that some “seasoned” veterans (you know who you are Jill) pass out long before the stroke
of midnight leaving this humble scribe, this noble designated driver, this all around good guy, being the
last man standing.
Happy New
Year everyone. I know this is a bit late…oops
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