This Mediterranean themed restaurant and bar is located on 100 Commercial Street and despite the boring overall architecture of the building in which it resides, the interior is cozy and neo-industrial while not being stuffy or pompous. The bar, which has hours on Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. til 1 a.m., doesn’t seem to attract the usual drunken buffoons that invade the Old Port on certain cold nights. Featuring a round bar as its central stage the bar is very conducive to conversation with whomever you bring or to that Cougar with the white wine concoction across the room. Their take on specialty cocktails is enjoyably accessible. With names like; the “Second Marriage,” which is vodka and Moscato, to the “Blood Orange, Sex, and Magik,” which is tequila and a reference to the last good Red Hot Chili Peppers album. Drink it for the reference.
On 455 Fore Street, Ginko Blue has carved a niche as a jazz and blues bar in walking distance away from such irresponsible places as Oasis or most of Wharf Street. They feature live music every week from Wednesday to Friday and their interior will remind you of Quark’s bar on Deep Space Nine. Too obscure a reference? Well this place ain’t for you. With literary themed drink specials this place is just the right amount of pretentious. My kind of pretentiousness. The kind of pretentiousness that when you finally forget how wrong you were, I’ll remind you. Their, “Tequila Mockingbird,” is so good Harper Lee might actually write something else. Check out Ginko’s drink list.
My favorite places to drink are usually places you shouldn’t be drinking; at work, Arlington National Cemetery, at work, babysitting toddlers, inside a church and at work. This bar is a converted church and the Americano-Gothic style they have inside is simply breathtaking. Not like God himself breathtaking, but seeing Cher pump her own gas kind of breathtaking. Their drink specials give homage to their semi-ironic sense of serving liquor to us godless heathens. Drinks like The Sinner, The Saint, The Burning Bush, and Revelation. I’m still surprised that drink names like “Sodom” or “Leper” haven’t been thought of, but go ahead and take ‘em; whatever “Sodom” turns out to be should have a ton of sulfur on the rim. In the meantime take a look at these pictures of the interior.