We walk into a restaurant and find a bartender

Twin Valleys Restaurant (and maybe Dunlap Sports Grill), Dunlap, California
Sadly, the horse outside wasn’t alive. It was a metal sculpture drinking from a trough with greenish water, but Twin Valleys Restaurant/Dunlap Sports Grill feels like the kind of place someone would ride their horse to. We were in the area to visit my brother (remember the wine and beer event at his Cat Haven?).

In this week’s post (and next week’s) we’re way more on the restaurant side of the restaurant-bar continuum. Still, Twin Valleys is one of the better options for beer and wine on the mountain, and we were able to ask willing, knowledgeable people the two questions we always ask in a bar, so that made us happy.

And the food, particularly the meats, was mighty tasty. Twin Valleys has their own smoker, which is a great advantage in the world of meats, and when you order one of the barbecued meat dinners, you have a lot of choices for the sides. With my pulled pork, I chose onion rings and barbecue beans. Texas toast and hush puppies are (happily) mandatory.

We had a good time with my brother. We’d planned to sit at the bar with him, but when we got to the restaurant, we saw Heather, a keeper at the Cat Haven. She was with her parents, who’d just arrived for a visit from upstate New York -- where her mom had been a bartender for years (why didn’t we know her in 2016? We could have visited!).

We are always happy to talk to bartenders.

Mindy and I boldly pulled our chairs up to their table, leaving Dale alone to order our food. Bob, Linda, Heather, and Walker (another Cat Haven friend) were exceedingly gracious about letting us interrupt their family time.

When asked what makes for a good bar, Linda gave the answer many bartenders give, “The bartender. Someone who's responsive to customers instead of standing there texting.”

Her husband, Bob, had a different answer: “Cold beer. If there isn’t cold beer, it isn’t a good beer.” (Sorry, England.) “A local bar isn’t necessarily a good bar. If you’re visiting from out of town, they may look at you like you have four heads.”

Heather said she thought it was about the atmosphere. “It’s a comfortable place that doesn’t exclude you, that’s not rundown, shady, or shabby. And if they have activities like darts and pool tables.” (Bob noted he was just there to drink beer.) Walker agreed atmosphere was important but said he thought it was about people.

Heather told us about a man that was a regular at the place her mom worked. Ray was a drunk, but he loved children and was kind to them. And he smoked a corn cob pipe (which by itself would earn him the designation of “character”). Linda said she’d set a bowl of soup in front of him, just to be sure he was getting nourishment. “When that bowl was in front of him, he couldn’t drink anymore, just eat the soup.”

As for what makes for a good church, Bob said, “That one’s easy; it’s the people that go there.”

Heather noted a particular person, “It’s about the best leader or pastor or priest or whatever. If the person is aware of their people.”

“But isn’t pushy,” Linda added.

Bob said it was fine if they’re pushy, “They can tell me I’m going to hell.”

Walker lamented that “at a bar, you can talk to most anyone. It isn’t that way at a church.” 

We were glad that it was easy to talk to Bob and Linda and Heather and Walker, and Walker’s right. Somehow is easier to talk to people sitting behind beers.