Hitting the Bottle in Cambridge

Before noon, Cambridge is not a comfortable town to drink in. But making it past that hour, it is possible to while away afternoons, evenings, nights, days, weeks and even months without going more than half a mile from the Square to drink.

One place to consider becoming a regular at is the Club Casablanca (40 Brattle St.). Divided into an upstairs (where many Harvard Sperrytopsiders types hang out with their junior college girlfriends) and a downstairs (where older people listen to music), the Casa B appeals to two different types of people. Upstairs at the Casa B is a real experience. Especially on weekends, it is mobbed, noisy and full of people you may come to recognize if you go regularly. It is also expensive, probably the highest-priced bar in Cambridge.

Whitney's (37 Boylston St.) is another of the bars in the Square you should try. In its own way, Whitney's is a really fine bar. The television is visible from every seat at the bar, and the beer is only a quarter. This just may be the cheapest bar in Cambridge.

Cronin's (114 Mt. Auburn St.) has lost its old atmosphere since having its building torn down several years ago. Once upon a time Cronin's was a Harvard student hangout located where Holyoke Center has since been plopped. Now it's all the way down past Brattle Sq. next to the MBTA yards. Cronin's is usually uncrowded, so the service is fast. It's not a bad place if being alone does not intimidate you or make you an alcoholic.

Across the street is the Ha'Penny (123 Mt. Auburn St.). Located downstairs from the Blue Parrot, the Ha'Penny is a solid Harvard graduate student hangout. The drinks are good, the atmosphere is nice and the prices are reasonable, so the Ha'Penny is probably a good place to go with friends.

The Wursthaus (4 Boylston St.), despite an unsuccessful attempt at evoking German-American atmosphere is the kind of bar to be anticipated in a big university town. It has the widest selection of foreign imported beers of any place around and is worth a trip for that reason alone.

Charlie runs two places in the Square: Charlie's Place (1 Bow St.) and Charlie's Kitchen (10 Eliot St.). Both attract a lot of high school kids out on their first drinking flings. But Charlie's Kitchen has probably the best bar food in the Square. Upstairs there is always room for groups of seven to ten people and the food is definitely a cut above greasy spoon quality.

There are a lot of other places you should try: The Emporium (33 Dunster St.), the Plough and Stars (Mass Ave) and the Oxford Ale House (36 Church St.), are a few that come to mind.