This is a tale of two bars.
I am not really the bar frequenting type, which hopefully means I can approach this subject more objectively than a hard core bar hopper, who may be crippled by bias and experience. While I am pretty biased, I don’t have any experience in this field to lead me astray.
Cy Whitling | Rawr
Moscow Brewing Company and The Plantation are two local bars. The Plantation is located on South Main Street, the Moscow Brewing Company can be found on North Almon Street.
The first establishment is the tavern called The Plantation. As a small child, my extensive readings of Robert Lewis Stevenson lead me to believe taverns were exciting places where pirates and adventurers hung out and drank exotic beverages like grog.
Unfortunately, The Plantation lived up to none of my childish dreams. There were no pirates, no grog and no one called me “me hearty.” They do have cheap drinks, shuffleboard and a jukebox.
When I checked out The Plantation it wasn’t busy, but I am told that is not the norm. Thursdays are “Plant Night” and Fridays come with karaoke, so if that’s your jam, check it out. Just look out for the onion rings. The ones I sampled were less than wonderful. In fact, they were pretty close to absolutely terrible. Order them at your own risk.
The second establishment I visited is less of a bar or tavern in the traditional sense. The Moscow Brewing Company has not been around for very long and it is not located downtown like many of Moscow’s other bars.
The Moscow Brewing Company is located on North Almon Street, behind Rosauers. I lived less than a block away from The Moscow Brewing Company for a year. Unfortunately, that was the year before my 21st birthday. I would ride my bike past every evening and the smell of fresh barbecue would waft over me, accompanied by live music, conversation and laughter.
The Moscow Brewing Company has a decidedly mature vibe, compared to many of Moscow’s other bars. There are less students and more people who look like faculty. It has an outdoorsy clientele, the trucks parked there are often decked out with mountain bikes and kayaks.
They usually have four varieties of beer on tap, currently they have two of their home brews, as well as one from Payette Brewing and a hard cider. They also serve bread from the Panhandle Artisan Bread Company located next door. Occasionally, The Moscow Brewing Company also hosts live music and barbecue, especially during the summer.
The atmosphere is laid back. A bar area occupies the inside, but most people congregate at the picnic tables outside. This is not the kind of place you go just to “drink.” This is the kind of place you go to spend some time with friends, while incidentally enjoying good beer and a great atmosphere.
Cy Whitling | Rawr
Moscow Brewing Company and The Plantation are two local bars. The Plantation is located on South Main Street, the Moscow Brewing Company can be found on North Almon Street.
It’s cliche, but Moscow has a bar for everyone.
If you are looking for some redneck shuffleboard, The Plantation might be right up your alley. If you’re less of a bar person, like me, you might want to check out The Moscow Brewing Company.
I might not be much of a bar frequenter or reviewer, but hopefully this gave you a little taste of my impressions of these establishments. Just look out for onion rings.
Cy Whitling can be reached at [email protected]