11th February 2023.
Last month I wrote on Pub Curmudgeon’s blog; “I’d rather visit a 100 different pubs and drink Holt than stay in one pub and have 100 different beers, however good.”
Which is true, but after seven very similar Lancashire micropubs I can honestly say I’d rather have drunk 7 pints of Plum Porter (not Old Tom, I’m not an animal) in the Black Horse than do another seven very similar micros.
No offence to any of them, the Cask & Tap in particular was a minor classic, and the beer quality never dropped below GBG standard throughout.
Perhaps I am becoming a creature of habit, revisiting old classics and turning down another train to Lancaster in favour of the Black Horse, an early night and a huge mixed grill from Mick’s Hut.
I deserved my mixed grill. 26k of steps, despite all those £2 buses.
Those 909 calories I’d burned off walking outer Preston almost cancelled out the flat onion bhajis in Mick’s signature dish.
There it is, top second row. Seems to have gone up a bit (£7.20 in 2017) since we regularly shared one between three of us a decade ago in the Premier Inn, much to the delight of the cleaning staff the next morning (sorry).
Mick’s (stylised mick’s) hasn’t changed in 20 years, though it has got wiser to the counterfeiters.
“10 minutes” says Mick.
10 minutes ? Time for a half with the Hi-Vis in the Vic.
See, I’m getting dull in my old age; should’ve done something new.
But then you’d have missed me telling you, as I always do, that the Old Vic is a classic, the White Rat almost as good as that Plum Porter, in a pub where everyone feels comfortable unless they’re in a Blackpool kit.
Look ! Cystal clear !
Mick’s succulent mixed grill is, I jest not, one of the great meals, and I guarantee you’ll have enough left in the morning (below) to see you through till the next tea time.
Less recommendable was the central Travelodge, whose supporting poles are more of a threat to your car than Mick is to your arteries.
retiredmartin 
If that’s habit, I’d take it. Who needs new when that’s an option.
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It was only £30 to stay in the Sun, beyond the Black Horse, four years ago.
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For years I was quite happy to go almost exclusively to my local Holt’s pub and drink their, then very cheap, bitter there. It’s only their modernisation/gentrification of the place, and to some extent the increased price (much higher than at other pubs in their estate), that now puts me off doing so on more than an occasional basis.
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I noticed that a decade or so ago, particularly around Cheadle Hulme. The Holt pubs in Salford up to Prestwich seem to have retained their character a bit better !
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{Sigh} This is where I must diverge. I actually had to compile a pub crawl a few days ago for the Logan Square Draught Beer Preservation Society [ https://v.gd/pudgy2023 ], but they are not my preference. My choice is to send myself via transit to a multi-tap beer bar (e.g.: Hopleaf, Sleeping Village), get a seat at the bar, and go to work on its draught list. I usually go lower-to-higher ABV.
I now qualify for the half-fare transit card, and just this month, its coverage on its one, three, {Oxford comma} and seven day passes was extended to Pace suburban bus routes. The hazard is that Pace routes do not run as frequently or as late as Chicago Transit Authority routes. So I have to keep note of when is the last run of a Pace bus.
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There’s nothing wrong with divergence. Some go to the same pub and drink the same beer every week, some like to go to one pub and drink different beers, some like to always be in a different pub !
Thanks for posting the link to your pub crawl in Chicago, another place on my bucket list.
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