Best of Another Round: 39 photos from our DIY neighborhood pub crawls
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Aimee Vitek
Cozy up (or hook up) in downtown Orlando's bar scene
Courtesy Bar (114 N. Orange Ave.)
"Picture grandpa's liquor cabinet with a twist of hipster, and you'll get an idea of the vintage, grown-up ambience emanating from this space, with its brick walls and checkered-tile floor. The cozy half-booths along the wall made it easy to share a New York sour (Old Overholt rye whiskey, honey, fresh lemon, topped with Altos malbec) with my sweetie."
Aimee Vitek
Cozy up (or hook up) in downtown Orlando's bar scene
Elixir (9 W. Washington St.)
"When we walked in to Elixir, Hootie & the Blowfish's 'Let Her Cry' greeted us, as well as a pleasant short-shorted female bartender. Nothing really set this massive room apart from any other downtown bar, so we knew one drink would suffice (and sometimes, that's for the best on these pub crawls), so we downed a couple of Goose Island IPAs and were on our way."
Aimee Vitek
Cozy up (or hook up) in downtown Orlando's bar scene
On the Rocks (13 S. Magnolia Ave.)
"On the Rocks might be facing something of a sports-bar/art-bar identity crisis (ESPN on flat screens and Morgan Steele art on the opposing wall), but it's certainly a suitable meeting place to calm the nerves for a first date – or, in our case, to serve as a starting point for a drinking date night."
Aimee Vitek
Unwind with after-work drinks in Ivanhoe Village
The Caboose (1827 N. Orange Ave.)
"At first glance this joint looked like a smoky hole-in-the-wall. But the promise of $2 sangria lured us in. Aside from a stripper pole situated at one end of the bar, the rest of the no-frills, down-to-earth decor was appealing – especially the kitschy railroad knick-knacks on the wall (just like everything else on Ivanhoe Row, the bar is located right alongside the tracks), the four simple taps of domestic beers and the life-sized faux alligator. Oh, and did I mention the NASCAR coasters? Don't judge. Like I said: $2 sangria. With an orange slice, I might add."
Aimee Vitek
Unwind with after-work drinks in Ivanhoe Village
The Hammered Lamb (1235 N. Orange Ave.)
"We opted for a seat at the covered patio bar (bar and table seating are available inside), which was a prime spot considering the cool breeze coming off the lake right across the street. We ordered Swamp Ape IPAs and Brooklyn Brown ale (on draft, $6) along with some sammies from the limited food menu. (Try the grilled cheese on Yalaha challah bread or the tzatziki chicken salad club.) Before long, we heard the roar of an oncoming train, which meant "train shots" (blueberry-infused 44º North vodka) for all courtesy of the bar, which was a pleasant surprise."
Aimee Vitek
Unwind with after-work drinks in Ivanhoe Village
The Imperial Wine Bar and Beer Garden (1800 N. Orange Ave.)
"The mellow, dimly lit room feels like a lounge or living room – a really, really expensive living room, that is, full of globally imported furniture – which helped dissolve the stress of the workday. You could easily settle in for the night at a place like this, but that defeats the purpose of a pub crawl. So we headed out after one drink and went to look for our next spot."
Aimee Vitek
On the prowl in Hannibal Square
BARcelona (433 W. New England Ave.)
"It happened to be Tapas Tuesdays, so we ordered glasses of red sangria ($8, with rosé champagne and chopped apples) and Spanish tapas ($4 on Tuesday’s special menu) – croquetas, empanadas and the like. While I was looking for a better variety of fruit in my sangria, what I needed to keep an eye on was the bill – we were almost charged regular price for our snacks. Too many sangrias and you might not notice!"
Aimee Vitek
On the prowl in Hannibal Square
Dexter’s (558 W. New England Ave.)
"We ordered from the happy hour wine and cocktail menu: a Dirty Dexter martini ($8, with hand-stuffed blue cheese olives) for one of us, a Crown Royal Manhattan ($8.25 – and no cherry, mind you) for another and a Blood Orangetini ($8, topped with champagne) for me. While our drinks were flavorsome and the bright, art-filled walls looked pleasant, Dexter’s noisy inside area proved difficult for chit-chatting. Next time I would opt for an outside table."
Aimee Vitek
On the prowl in Hannibal Square
Fresh (535 W. New England Ave.)
"Fresh offers a short but serviceable wine list as well as Orlando Brewing beer. 'I wish I could live here,' one of us commented, as we adored the heavy wood tables and dream-pop background music. But, as calming as this place was, we knew we couldn’t stay forever – we had more crawling to do. So after finishing our glasses of wine, we headed east."
Aimee Vitek
On the prowl in Hannibal Square
Hannibal’s on the Square (511 W. New England Ave.)
"After all, allegedly, Hannibal’s is where a nasty catfight went down on VH1’s reality TV show
Basketball Wives. We decided it was only appropriate to pay tribute to that infamous moment by downing a round of lemondrop shooters. Thankfully, we dipped out long before the bar’s elevator music and the peering elephant on the wall drove us to insanity."
