By END
January 15, 2010
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city,
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty,
How can you lose?
The lights are much brighter there,
You can forget all your troubles,
Forget all your cares and go
Downtown, Things will be great when you're
Downtown, no finer place for sure,
Downtown everything's waiting for you, Downtown
– Petula Clark's Downtown song penned by Tony Hatch
Petula Clark could not have described a more picturesque scene for a downtown in any city. When I first moved to Chicago, that song was appropriately playing in my head. Now that I'm in Green Bay, when I go downtown that song still pops up. I just need to play it a little louder to get the same vibe ;) Or I can go to Kittners Pub.
Kittners is a more late night crowd type of place. Weeknights they open at 4PM and weekends at 7PM. The second you walk in you're greeted with a staircase. As you reach the top, you can see the L-shape establishment that is Kittners Pub. Directly to the left, in the "L" part are a few tables and chairs, from there you can kinda look out the huge front window and people watch the outside. Straight back on the right side is the bar. It's super long and has plenty of seats. On the left hand side there are bar top tables lining the wall. In the back are the pool tables and darts if you're in a playful mood. My friends and I weren't, so we set up camp at one of the bar top tables. 3 Bud Lights and a pint of Woodchuck cider. $13.75 was the total. $3.25 for the Lights and $4 for the Woodchuck. Kittner tap line didn't seem to end, I want to say, like, 20 beers on tap. They had: Guiness, Harp, Woodchuck, Bud Light, Bass, New Castle, Hacker-Pshorr, Shock Top, Stella, New Glarus, Sam, Leinie's Honey Nut, Bells, Blue Moon, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Bud, PBR, and maybe even a couple more I'm missing. Not bad. Not bad at all. I have couple of guy friends who like to play the game 
"A Pint for Every One on Tap." I'd like to see them play that here! They also have a full line of liquor and some wine. And there is this huge sign hanging up in the back; if it's your Birthday you get to drink for free. I know some bars do that, but I haven't seen a lot of places post signs about it. Too bad my Bday isn't for 7 more months.
With the lights dimmed low, exposed brick, music bumpin' and the heat blastin', Kittner's seemed quite homey and cozy. Even when the crowds start to breeze in, it still has that impression. That's probably why it reminds me of a couple bars in Chicago. It's long and narrow, lots of exposed brick, and crowded or not, it manifests the same warm atmosphere. So whether you're in the mood for quiet conversation, playing pool and making some noise, or just people watching, Kittner's Pub seems to have you covered.
