The question just came up in an email exchange with a friend's friend's sister: what are my favorite pubs in the world?
After a couple minutes' thought, I got here:
1. Duke of Perth, Chicago. Obviously; it has been my remote office off and on for over 20 years.
2. Southampton Arms, London. If I ever live in the UK, this may switch places with the Duke. It's just hard to say a place is my favorite when it's 6,000 kilometers away and I only go there twice a year.
3. Tommy Nevin's, Evanston, Ill., my former remote office.
4. Nag's Head, Hoboken, N.J. Another that used to be my remote office—but in the days before Wi-Fi and ubiquitous laptops. I still visit if I have time while I'm in New York.
5. Guthrie's Tavern, Chicago. Since the Duke of Perth is halfway between my house and Guthrie's, I don't get there as often as I used to. But it's worth the trip.
Some honorable mentions:
- Bucktown Pub, Chicago. I'm starting to warm to the place, especially after many trivia nights there. Unfortunately, I don't live in Bucktown.
- Peddler's Daughter, Nashua, N.H. (A former temporary remote office.)
- The Bridge, Amberley, England. A real, live English country pub.
- Kennedy's, San Francisco. By day, on its patio, it's wonderful. At night, it gets a little too loud and crowded, and there are too many TVs. Still, I almost always stop in when I'm out there.
- Tigin, Stamford, Conn. My then-girlfriend lived right around the corner.
And some that are no more, and missed: Abbey Tavern, New York, where I hung out weekly from 1997 to 2000; closed in 2006. And The King's Head, Earls Court, London—which was really great before the new owners turned it into a trendy gastro-pub.
I'm always looking for suggestions.