Thirsty Thursday

I took a fairly long walk up the south-side of the river to a restaurant that I had been to in previous years. After walking up to the third-floor restaurant I discovered that they only had a fairly large service bar but no place to sit and have a drink. Bummer, because by now I worked up a powerful thirst. I strolled back a block or so off of the river and managed to find a few places closer to home.

248) Bar Del Puerto

On 276 Carranza, this place usually looks like it is closed. It was open to day though. It has a pool-table up front and about six or seven small plastic tables with plastic chairs. There is a small bar in the back with a few stools and a couple of locals having a drink. There is a large donkey-shaped pinata hanging from the ceiling and festoons of paper flower garlands hanging about. The walls have pictures of happy customers and an announcement of someone's 29th or 30th birthday party. The printed announcement said 30th but someone had crossed that out on all of them and written in 29th.

I had a Corona

249) Gilmar Restaurant and El Bar

On 418 Madero was a restaurant with a small, wood-topped bar with a red ceramic tile front and back. Four narrow shelves behind the bar held their rather meagre selection of liquor. The bar itself only had one stool, most of it taken up by a table and two chairs that were shoved up against it. This looks like it might have once been two very small places joined into one and the new owner decided to concentrate on the restaurant side of the business. It had a blue and light yellow tiled floor, bright yellow walls and a blue and white ceiling. The place had about 10 small tables with bright purple, maroon, and yellow tablecloths. A cheery place with three people eating what looked to be pretty good food. There were a few old fashioned hanging lamps, some artificial ferns, and a good-sized mirror on one wall with bright red artificial flowers surrounding it. There was a good-sized television with, what looked like, a Mexican soap opera.

I had a Negra Modela and it was served in a frosted mug. A very nice touch and one seldom seen. I think the Frankfurt was the only other place I got a chilled glass of any type for my beer.

250) Deportivo Los Maleajetes (I think)

Well, I hit the quarter-way mark more with a whimper than a bang. Also on Madero this is a large pool/billiard hall with a bar in the back. Had 4 or 5 billiard tables and 6 or 7 pool tables. There were 3 fooseball tables, but only one was positioned where you could use it. The other two were kind of shoved up against a wall. There was a fairly large fishing boat leaning up against one wall but I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be decorative or just being stored. Overhead fans and flourescent lights over the tables kind of rounded out the ambience. The walls were kind of an off-beige (probably once white), water-stained and mildewed. The bar had about 8 stools and there was a TV with some Mexican sports-channel. There were a couple of elderly locals playing pool at a table up-front. This place does get fairly crowded later at night and I noticed several pool-cue cases behind the bar so I guess some local hustlers, or hustler wannabes, show up as well.

I had a Pacifico and called it a day.

One quarter of the way through and 750 left to go.