Gabby’s

Stopped in here for a couple or drinks after a long walk. The bar is comfortable enough. It’s not really my cup of tea, but it was close by. The décor is classic Gabby’s: lots of beer signs, dated wood panelling. The drinks are much cheaper than some of the higher-​end bars in the neighbourhood: two mixed drinks and the pulled pork sliders came to about $ 20. The sliders were okay but had no sauce on them.
The big drawback of this place for me is that it seems everyone here smokes, patrons and staff, and while of course they can’t smoke inside, they stand right outside the front door, which is left open a few inches, and anyone inside may as well be sitting in the smoking section. Cigarette smoke ruins just about any experience for me, so this place lost marks.

My favourite college watering hole. I remember how horrified my grandmother was when it came in near the end of her street: its stridant red and yellow sign with the word «roadhouse» in cursive print sent shudders down her ladylike spine. Maybe that’s why my mother liked it.
The beer is good, the service is good, the décor is… well, cheesy Gabby’s pub décor. The glory days of the Rollo cake are long gone, but I think the deep-​fried pizza fingers are still on the carte (the description of the latter is one of the finest pieces of comic writing I’ve ever seen on a menu).
Don’t order a salad. What are you thinking? If I were you, I’d skip the «Cajun» sandwich, too. Pull yourself together and order some deep-​fried cheese and a pitcher of Creemore. Watch the men play the golf arcade game (golf arcade game?). Drink. Om.