On April fifteenth, at 8:42 p.m., I had a drink. Not on Zoom. Not alone on my couch. Not outside, under a heat lamp. Nope. Inside, on a stool, at the actual, physical bar. For the first time in more than a year. To sit shoulder to shoulder with friends again, chatting with the bartender about esoteric spirits, hearing the laughter of strangers it felt new and raw. Even with the masked staff and social distancing, the experience was unexpectedly life-affirming. All of a sudden, I felt like me again.
Perhaps it was what I was drinking at Viridian, an Asian American bar in Oakland, one of the places on this year’s Best Bars list; many of the cocktails nodded to flavors of Asian candies my dad would surprise me with when he returned from grocery runs in New York’s Chinatown. But I suspect that I would have been hit with joy if it was any drink at any bar that had reopened its doors to do what bars do best: hospitality.
Local bar featured on list of best bars in America
Esquire, a popular lifestyle publication, featured Watchman’s located at Krog Street Market as one of 27 best bars in America. Author: Ryan Dennis (11Alive) Updated: 5:27 PM EDT May 25, 2021
ATLANTA A local bar is getting national acclaim as one of this year’s Best Bars in America, in a new feature from Esquire.
The popular lifestyle publication featured Watchman’s, located at Krog Street, as one of 27 inductees featured in the Summer Issue.
What does a place need to be on the “Best Bar” list after a year of lockdown? The answer, according to Culture and Lifestyle Director Kevin Sintumuang, is “simultaneously a place to be by oneself and a place of community. An escape and a home away from home.”
Dionne Mitchell was born and raised Catholic, attending St. Augustine Church in North Little Rock, one of three historically Black Catholic churches in Arkansas. As a 29-year-old, she has her pick of churches in Central Arkansas, but has always sought out a predominantly Black congregation.
“I wanted to be around people that look like me,” she said. “. I didn’t feel excluded (in other parishes). I just always thought it was weird seeing white Jesus in a church.”
Walking into most churches in Arkansas, there’s no shortage of Anglo depictions of Jesus, Mary and Joseph the cross, statutes and Stations of the Cross. But for a Church that’s supposed to be universal, the concept of being welcoming can start with more diverse depictions of the Holy Family. But it runs deeper than that for local Black Catholics, rooted in cultural acceptance.