As the weather warms our thoughts turn to cold beer, alfresco dining, fried food, questionable dance moves and karaoke. Yes, we’re talking pub crawls! If you can think of a better way to spend a Saturday evening than strolling around your neighborhood, dropping in on local establishments and enjoying cold ones with friends, let us know. I mean, really, let us know! Elum is based in San Diego so we’re pretty lucky. The Gaslamp Quarter in downtown is an intoxicating, historical (sometimes hysterical) playground where dive bars sit next to ultra-exclusive cocktail lounges and the people watching is world class. We’re planning an Epic Pub Crawl, come join us for some adult only fun!
Pacing Ourselves At Rustic Root
The night is young, the sun is shining and the breeze is warm so our first stop is Rustic Root’s stunning rooftop bar. Did someone say “topiary”? As we marvel at a giant ivy-covered duck, we settle into our cushy lounge chairs and enjoy rosé sangria loaded with strawberries and raspberries. Drowsy bees buzz around us and we can smell the ocean a couple of blocks away. San Diego doesn’t get much better than this.
Sidewalk Swaggery At Union Kitchen & Tap
A two minute walk down 5th Avenue and we arrive at our second destination. The sun is setting and we’re ready for some tasty appetizers and even tastier people watching. Union’s charmingly cobbled patio is the place to be so we snag ourselves an outdoor table. Staying on point with our fruity drink vibe, we order a round of Latitude 33’s Blood Orange IPA. Our waitress calls them “beermosas” and suggests an order of chicken wings to accompany them. Sounds good to us! When she offers us a choice of Smoked Cherry BBQ Sauce, Buffalo Sauce, or Sriracha-Maple Glaze it sparks a heated debate. Cherries in a barbecue sauce? Hell yeah! But Sriracha maple? C’mon! And let us not forget classic buffalo. A tough call is prevented when our waitress happily agrees to bring all three dipping sauces to our table.
Getting Our Glam On At Side Bar
It’s getting dark and we’re ready to head inside and get this party started! A short stroll through twinkling gas-lit streets brings us to the swanky pink deliciousness of Side Bar. Music is pumping, fuchsia neon is purring and the drop-dead-gorgeous-level of staff and patrons just went straight through the roof. They let us in anyway! We’re seated in club chairs of heavenly orchid-colored velvet, where it quickly becomes apparent that there is only one drink on the cocktail menu for us: the Rich & Famous. Tequila, orange-flower essence, and a sprinkling of gold flakes. We debate whether or not we’re meant to eat the gold flakes or slip them into our napkins and save them as souvenirs. We decide to save them, sighing at the sheer glamour of it all.
Keeping It Real At Patrick’s
It wouldn’t be a pub crawl unless we visited an Irish pub! After the heady sophistication of Side Bar we’re ready to get down and dirty. A short stroll leads us to Patrick’s Gaslamp Pub. A live band is jamming, the bartender is on fire, and the patrons are exactly how we like ‘em: rowdy! We pull up at the bar and order burgers and Irish shandys all round. The burgers arrive in baskets accompanied by a metric ton of French fries. We are in heaven! Our toes are tapping, our inhibitions are lifting. There’s only one thing left to do: Dance.
Disco Dancing At Double Deuce
We can hear Double Deuce’s sound system throbbing from a block away. The bar is packed and the patrons are raucous. Beneath the spin of a giant glitter ball, a mini-skirted girl armed with a confetti gun is shooting paper streamers into the air, while a millennial-bearded hipster is riding the mechanical bull. YMCA by the Village People is playing and not one person in the room is standing still. We get to it. We’re Elūm and you betcha we know all the moves to YMCA! #noneedtofeeldown We show the young ‘uns a thing or two, avoid poking anyone’s eye out, and collapse in a happy, breathless heap. Life is good. Wisely, we leave without riding the bull.
Winding Down At Altitude
We spend the elevator ride up to the twenty-second floor resting. We’ve walked a couple of blocks south to the Gaslamp Marriott and are ready for our final act. The Altitude Sky Lounge offers the best views in the city. We step off the elevator and are surrounded by the dazzlings lights of downtown San Diego, Petco Park and the Pacific Ocean. We find chairs around a firepit and relax over boozy coffee and wicked dessert. Soon we’ll be texting Uber and Lyft for rides home, but for now we’ll sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of our amazing hometown. #yougosandiego
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