Bi-level sports bar mainstay offers market-driven American eats & a hopping post-dinner crowd.
"Nick's was the first bar I considered aspirational. Dating from 1927, it had an allure that hinted at something more seasoned than the frat bars, live-music venues, and degenerate pool halls I frequented. It's a sports bar, sure, in a varnished, waxy way—you walk in and (aside from the big screens) it could be 1958, with "Branch" McCracken's Hurryin' Hoosiers still playing ball. On nongame nights, the crowd is decidedly grayer, wiser, and more old-fashioned. Nick's is known for its Bucket Brigade, which hangs over the bar and is the ultimate in privilege—instead of downing ice-cold Buds in frozen mason jars, you sit down and have your own pail, with your name on it. I think you have to inherit a bucket; you certainly couldn't buy one. I left Bloomington soon after I turned twenty-three, never making the Bucket Brigade. I aspire to it still, though, and make it back to Nick's about once a year, decidedly grayer, wiser." [Esquire]
Pub / Bar
Website: Nick's English Hut
Address: 423 E Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington, IN 47408