Bukowski Tavern to Reopen in Cambridge

Inman will once again have its earsplitting, short-pouring, pay-to-play headquarters back. Sweet.

 

I've walked by the renovated space and must say it looks great. But, after the lame-ass "inferior product" open letter that Gordon Wilcox spewed out in response to the pay-to-play allegations, I'm no longer setting foot in any establishment that Wilcox Hospitality Group is involved in.

I'm sure the place will do just fine without my support, but it'll be interesting to see what happens in Inman Square when the new Hops N Scotch opens up literally across the street from Bukowski (in the old Haveli restaurant space, at 1248 Cambridge St.). Judging from a recent Facebook post, they'll have quite a few lines. They've said on Facebook that they're "weeks away" from opening. The exterior is still a work in progress, so I'd guess February would probably be a good bet for an opening there. Maybe they'll miraculously find a way to offer reasonable pour sizes at non-insane prices.

 

glad to see Hops and Scotch is doing well enough that they are opening up another outpost. Coolidge Corner desperately needed a place like that (and needs more). Puzzling how Washington Square is so much smaller commercially but has a better bar/restaurant scene.

 

Any place named after Charles Bukowski must be pretty cool.

 

Ginger Exchange is always a few bucks less for a beer and has a decent selection. The atmosphere is basic though.

But I always thought Buk's was a dump, and not in an ironic way like State Park, so I never understood why people spent so much to drink there.

 

But the menu said fuck and shit on it, so it was OK that it was a dump. You're just not badassed enough to understand.

 

Pretty Things tap takeover?

 

Not sure Buk would approve of $7 short pours. He was a Schlitz guy.

 

Beat me to it.

I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but are individuals associated with/came from Bukowski's the one's who run and/or own 5 Horses Tavern in Somerville? I thought I had heard that somewhere, and it would make sense.

I was there last week for what will be the last time. The prices and short pours are embarrassing. I received a CBC Big Man IPA with just over two fingers of head, which equates to 12 oz. if you're lucky in a shaker pint. I didn't care all that much because I didn't want to drink too much that evening. Then I started noticing the pours coming from the bar going out to the tables. Outrageous. Some of the pours legitimately had 3 to 4 fingers of head on them, and their prices are insane to add insult to injury.

My buddy was driving and wanted something more sessionable, so he ordered a Uinta Wyld at 4% abv. It came in a champagne flute (that they claim is a 12 oz. pour) with room for head. He's lucky if he got 10 oz. of a 4% beer......for $7.

I still go to Redbones more often than not, but that night we ended up at Foundry. Prices were more reasonable, and they've ditched the cheater pints for those "glass cans" which are listed as 16 oz. glasses. The draft list was better than Five Horse as well..

 

I think it's Deep Ellum that are Buk's alums, but Five Horses could be as well.

I spent an afternoon/evening drinking at the Five Horses in the South End two weeks ago. It was a good time, but the tap list was only meh and agreed on prices and short pours. Unfortunately, it's really hard to find places in Boston that don't follow this same model now. Deep Ellum seems to have raised their prices lately and they've always had a rep for giving out short pours. I didn't mind since the prices were fair for the quality, but that's less true now. Really sucks that a decent pint of IPA is at least $7 in most beer bars.

EDIT: Maybe the ABCC should focus on the important crimes in the craft beer world: short pours! If Kellogg's was selling boxes filled with 18 oz. of cereal but labeling them 20 oz. there would be investigations and fines. The consumers are being intentionally ripped off in both situations.

 

There's a great bar in Austin, TX called "Craft Pride" on Rainey street. They serve beers in huge (I want to see ~20 ounce) glasses with the pint level clearly etched on the side of the glass. Each beer I had that was advertised as a pint was filled with liquid to that line, with head above the line. It was a revelation coming from many places around Boston

 

Most bars already "fixed" that problem by avoiding any quantitative measure of pour size.