I don't hang out enough in bars to know anyplace that feels like the one depicted in Cheers. I think Allyn's Cafe would qualify, but it's much more than a bar — it's a combination of a Tex-Mex restaurant with a Cajun kick, a laid-back bar and display rooms for eclectic personal collections.
Early on Thursday night, we find the bar busy, the game on and most of the front booths and tables full. Dodging the overflow at the bar, we slip past the open kitchen to the rear room. "Cool beans," exclaims the small soccer warrior at the table next to us. Exactly right. Allyn's is cool and offers a variety of beans prepared several ways — Cajun red beans and rice, black beans with a chimichanga or mixed with rice in a vegetarian burrito or pinto beans with enchiladas.
The bar boasts a diverse and international selection of beers. Even for the occasional beer drinker, it's hard to contemplate ordering anything other than beer at Allyn's. I've seen more than a few pitchers of margaritas passed around during the summer months, though.
Allyn's delightfully displays all the signs of a dive in the best, truest sense of the word. A great selection of Rock, Blues and Folk music is available on the jukebox, and it's always belted out an appropriate upbeat tune each time I've come through the door. None of the staff has big hair, but they do sport colorful T-shirts promoting their employer and subtly reminding you where you've settled.
There are regulars around regardless of the time you arrive or leave. The menu is hand-written and laminated with photos of diners on the flipside. Throughout the rooms are photomontages of grinning people from past happy times at Allyn's. And, most importantly, this is a neighborhood family place, a multi-generational spot.
There's a family birthday party in the corner, complete with a lighted candle in a cupcake and off-key singing. There's the multicultural group greeting a couple recently back from their honeymoon, looking as if the Gap had just released the models from a commercial shoot. A table full of retirees are discussing their movie plans for the evening.
The funky wall décor includes an alligator chewing the electrical cords for neon Tex-Mex beer and Lite beer signs above the doorway. In the side room, there's a beer stein collection on built-in shelves between booths. Local event posters and a yield sign for moose comprise some of the other wall decorations.
Like rambling houses, Allyn's has grown over the years. Starting with the main room that shared the bar, a patio was added in the rear, later to be converted to another room. The side room came later, including booths, tables and additional restrooms to accommodate the crowds that gather for live music on Sunday nights.
Allyn's might not know my name, but I know my place: content with an ice-cold bottle of Rolling Rock and a cleared plate of spicy savories in front of me.
