Div Dictionary: Archie Moore’s

Archie Moore’s (n): The only bar I can walk to in my neighborhood. Also serves food.

Because of Archie Moore’s proximity to the Div School, and the necessity of beers after or during certain moments of theological ferment, you’ll end up at Archie Moore’s many times during your divinity career. Many, many times. You’ll go there for meetings, you’ll go there for lunch, you’ll go there for birthday party beers.

Sigh.

Let me be honest with you. I don’t really like Archie’s. This is probably yet another symptom of having moved here from Chicago: the phrases “only bar I can walk to in my neighborhood” and “Wow, three dollar beer, that's cheap!” make me weep into my Old Style. My drinking career started in a city once described on This American Life as (and I paraphrase) “a magical place with a bar on every corner, where the downtown smells like chocolate.” (This of course before the whole EPA thing.) I’m kind of still searching for my Jimmy’s East, and the fact that when I find it I’ll have to drive/bum a ride/take a cab there irks me.

Viewed through an objective lens, though, there’s a lot to love about Archie’s:

It’s really close to campus.

It serves beer.

It also serves food. Wings are a specialty, but Archie’s has a full menu that includes burgers, salads, and even desserts. It’s no $5.00 Reuben, but the Cajun fries are delish.

You can take your kids there. Yep, for serious. My friend Zach told me it’s one of the best East Rock restaurants to take his three-year-old daughter to. I totally made this face when he said it, but his reasoning is pretty good. Your kid can make any kind of mess they want at Archie’s while they nosh on chicken fingers and the like, while you enjoy adult food and beverage. The waitresses have seen much worse, and that mess was generated by a bunch of seminarians. I still recommend you evacuate the children before the Div School posse takes over the back room.

One of the sweeter things about Archie’s is how much they like Div School kids. Several friends of mine are on a first-name basis with some of the waitresses, and some of the staff made appearances at graduation-week barbecues so they could meet their favorite patrons’ families. Also, Sandra really likes Archie’s (now that she lives in a different neighborhood, the California grilled cheese is a treat for her). Even I can’t totally hate this place.

-Kate