Cheers, Crafts, Cocoa Village, Crown

 Last weekend I went to Cocoa Village for an Art & Crafts show and found a new bar that I had never been to before. Although they do not serve food, they have the very nutritious Guinness Stout. Therefore, I am adding it to my new restaurant bucket list.

The place is called George & Dragon English Tavern. It is located on Brevard Avenue in the heart of Cocoa Village. Here is the sign that drew me into the place...

It doubles as an Internet Café and a Cigar Bar. There are a total of three bars, two inside and one on a side patio. They also had a drink stand set up for the patrons of the A&C Festival that was going on. It was a beautiful day so I sat at the outside bar where John (I think) was the bartender.

From my seat, I could see the festival activity along Brevard Avenue...there was a band setting up outside.

As I mentioned, they had Guinness on draft which I ordered. I am easily mesmerized by the nitrogen bubbles. Left is my beer being poured correctly, and right is my beer almost ready to consume.

There was a cute drawing behind the bar. Admiral Nelson holding a bottle of rum.

I had noticed that a few of the workers had shirts advertising the place. I politely asked one guy to stop for me so I could get a photo. Not sure who George was, but he appears to like to drink with dragons.

Beside the outside bar there was a nice sitting area with a fire pit. There were a few tables also.

After finishing my stout (or maybe two) I went inside to have a look around. The building was built in 1929 and was originally a Gulf gas station. There were no pool tables but there were lots of dart boards. Even the television had coverage of darts. Very English!

The bar where the darts were was active with music playing; it is called the Blue Bar...

The other bar was more laid back and quiet and is called the Red Bar. This is where they sell the cigars and they have relaxing chairs to enjoy your drinks...

Then I was back outside where the band was getting ready to play. I enjoyed my visit to the George & Dragon British Tavern. The Web page says there is no smoking in the facility but it is a cigar bar. There were many ashtrays outside and plenty of tables. Definitely a place to have a drink or two.

As I said, I was in Cocoa Village for one of the many festivals held throughout the year. I usually like to park near a church on Brevard Avenue. Here is a photograph of the church. You can see by the blue skies it was a beautiful day.

As I headed toward the Festival along Brevard, I saw a traditional barbershop with a pole that was spinning out front. Photo opportunity.

There were bands playing at the bandstand near the Indian River.

Lots of sailboats in the bay near the park...

The festival had music throughout the parks and streets. This band was playing on Brevard Avenue in front of the Café Margaux, a fancy restaurant, and a new place: 

Village General Store

Village General is a modern twist on the traditional General Store - featuring sodas, water, beer, wine and snacks - as well as a great selection of farm fresh eggs, meats, produce and local specialties. 

We also have fresh coffee drinks and sandwiches to go!

Near the bandstand, a lone saxophonist was playing. He had a small audience. I was trying to get a photo of him, the girl leaving the tip was just a lucky shot... :)

One vendor had these tee shirts...

Overall, it was a nice visit and from my understanding Guinness has no calories or alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, Coasters Pub is having their annual Belgium beer Festival. Usually, it is just a weekend but this year it is called "Belgium Beer Month". My friend Mac Monroe has asked me to join him the last two Thursday. Coasters is the bar where you cam find my name on the wall for dinking 99 different beers in 90 days. I did it six times. 

I found a Calendar put out by Hubbs Pub, the previous name of Coasters. It was December 1992. Hubbs had been open four years since the 21st is marked as it birthday. Looking at the 10th, you will see my name. I was there this past Thursday, also the 10th. No cheap Warsteiner though.

A lot of the Belgium beers are sour, but they do have other varieties. Mac was enjoying some of the cherry flavored beers. I realized I was not a big fan of sours and/or cherries, and after some discussion with other friends, I realized I am not a fan of cherry pie. That got me to thinking (Watch Out), what pies do I like. I am a fan of apple, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry. These are all things mom use to gather to make pies and baked squares. We grew our own rhubarb in Middlebury. Are my choices based at what I ate when I was young? I like Boston Crème, and I like Pecan Pie and Key Lime too. Well, we use to travel to Florida a lot where I would probably get a taste for them. But not many cherries grown in Vermont, or we did not pick them. Just a rambling thought, do we get our basic food likes when we are young? I had my first beer when I was five so I think it is true!

Okay, the last word in my Title is Crown. I just want to say that I spent two hours in a dentist chair this past Wednesday having two old fillings removed and a new filling and a crown added. At the moment, I have a temporary crown, so I asked my Doctor if I could eat Salt Water Taffy. Hey, we use to go to Maine a lot too, must be where I learned to like Taffy. And BTW, he says no taffy yet! He said nothing about beers.