As Close to Normal as Possible

In a crazy turn of events, we had an actually kind of normal summer Saturday night in the city.  We were both kind of tired after a crazy Ikea trip but we mustered some energy to go out for dinner.  The weather was perfect and we wanted to take advantage.  (Of note- we spontaneously decided to go to Ikea on tax free weekend and were in and out in forty five minutes with no crying. I was pretty impressed.) We headed over to Nubar only to find it booked solid.  

We decided to head over to Inman Square and see if there was a table available at Casa Portugal's outdoor patio.  Casa Portugal is one of my favorite spots in Inman.  We haven't visited since we moved seven months ago so I was really excited when there a spot available for us.  Our waitress was so happy to see us and we were so happy to be back.  It felt so nice to be back in our neighborhood.  I've really missed the sense of community in this special part of the city.  Even though we are moving to Union Square, in my heart I will always be a part of Inman Square.  After a delicious meal we decided to walk over to Union Square (what a novel idea- being able to walk somewhere...I've really, really, really missed being able to walk places) to find a place for drinks.

I suggested we try Back Bar.  I've been wanting to try this place forever.  My main reason for going there on this night though was the fact that they had just instituted a "vaccinated only" policy.  I'm not a fan of eating/drinking indoors right now but a vaccinated only policy makes it much easier to enjoy myself.  After having our vaccination card matched with our ID we were let in.  

This place is great.  It's a small space featuring a mix of industrial and rustic decor.  The bar is absolutely incredible with wall to wall/ceiling to floor liquor bottles illuminated with uplighting.  The drink menu is a work of art.  It's a magazine featuring spreads on each of their featured cocktails.  Currently they are doing a bear theme and each page features a recipe, sketch, and information about the creation.  This place also gets high marks from me because I do love fancy glassware and this place did not disappoint.  

This was the most normal thing we've done since March of 2020.  Sitting in a bar, ignoring all of our condo stress, enjoying fun cocktails in a cool space and not worrying about Covid was seriously such a great feeling.