Post-pandemic scouting trip

Just returned from a too-long extended winter down South - and will gladly stay put in my home state now till after Christmas. Although I made a few short trips back North to check on some business things, the pandemic had me avoiding public places, and certainly anything with the prospect of close human contact. So, after this long an absence, time to do some scouting. (Apologies to anyone put off by the title. Vaccinations are here and available now. No excuses people !)

And as I walked into Bogie's, for years one of my go-to places in Michigan where the laid-back vibe and the small scale always give me the feel of the neighborhood hangout, it was really weird to realize how long I had been away.

Anyone who frequents clubs in southeast Michigan - in fact anyone who reads the Detroit-area reviews - knows that Bogart's is the sort of rundown, patched furniture, smoke-filled decidedly proletarian club in comparison to its ritzier neighbors especially the one across the street. Old building, no pretense at renovation even during the extended closedown ordered by the state government during the height of the pandemic. The latter (no attempt by the management to invest in even rudimentary upkeep) has already been commented on by recent reviewers. Bogart's is what it is - a non-pretentious, low key, dress-down comfortable place where even minimally seasoned patrons quickly get the message that this is a low-pressure place where the challenge is to find that diamond in the rough.

Bottom line: nothing has changed here.