Back in my 20s, a buddy of mine and I used to be regulars at this bar, Mickey’s (it has since changed names).  We sampled several different bars around the city, but the goal was always to find the one where we could be regulars.  The one where everyone would know our name.  It took us a few years (and several multi-hundred dollar bar tabs) to finally find our spot.

The first key ingredient we were looking for was a good bartender.  A good bartender has several distinct qualities.  A good bartender is your Sam Malone.  Someone you can chat with, share stories with.  Someone who will make you laugh, but can get serious on you, too.  Someone who is just as willing to share their personal life as you are yours.  When we found Allie K (sorry Jack, she’ll always be Allie K), it was like Sam at first sight.

The next thing we wanted was a no-frills place.  We didn’t need it to be some big, fancy locale; a place where you felt you had to dress up to go.  But we also wanted a place that was well-known – somewhere that could get rocking on a Friday night (provided the TouchTunes account had plenty of credits).  With Mickey’s – we found just that.  Small and cozy on the inside, but with a huge outdoor patio and bar.  The best location in the city – great for sunny day-drinking on the patio (if that was your thing) or dancing the night away to local bands or DJs (again, if that was your thing).  But, it also had some of the shoddiest bathrooms you could imagine.  Port-a-potties were brought in during the busy summer times because the indoor bathrooms consisted of a urinal and a toilet (with no seat), nary a wall separating the two.  It was perfect.

It took us a little while to find our rhythm.  We paid full price on tabs for a little while and didn’t mind tipping 100% on those one bit.  We knew it was a long-term play.  We always sat at the bar, but moved around from one end to the other, trying out the middle, looking to settle in.  Eventually, we found the Norm Seat (in case you are unfamiliar with the namesake).

The Norm Seat was the best seat in the entire establishment, at the bar with the best location in the entire city, in the largest city in the state.  You could make an argument it was the greatest place to sit in a state that had roughly (by my pulled-straight-out-of-my-ass calculations) 20 million places to sit.

The Norm Seat was the seat second from the end of the bar, on the end by the waitress station – a great place to get in on free shots with the staff before they headed back outside to the frat boys and sorority girls that seem to multiply whenever its ‘patio-weather’.

The Norm Seat had eyesight into both the main door, and the entrance onto the patio.  It was on the way to the bathrooms for those brave enough to test the indoor plumbing.

It became such a legendary seat and name, that it has been used to coin that location – second from the end – for seats in various other settings: other bars, large work conferences, weddings and even funerals.

And now we have extended that legend to this website.  A place where, just like the Norm Seat, you can see anything, hear everything, and have a bit of craic while you’re at it.  Whether you’re here by yourself, just looking to have a quick drink after work, or a bachelorette party waiting for that order of 14 H.O.V.A. shots to get served, we’ll treat you like a regular.

So belly up, relax, and enjoy the content.  You’re in the Norm Seat.