For many—perhap’s most—Americans, their first visit to a tavern is a rite of passage, a bridge between youthful days of sneaking illicit booze in a friend’s basement and the grownup pleasures of a social drink in good company. Others, however, find their tentative steps into the world of the American public house to be an encounter with history, a chance to commune with ghosts: the traditions, legends, and, in some cases, the very locales that have played a vital role in the development of this nation. For them the appreciation of a good tavern encompasses much more than the drinks and the food it offers, and the quest for the next great place gets under the skin.

During more than a decade of traveling America seeking interesting food and drink and lodging, we have had the good fortune to come across some of the country’s most distinctive taverns. Their décor may be scarred hardwood beams from another century or kitsch that seems to be from another planet; their clientele can range from regulars who mark their barstools not with signs or plaques but with sharp glances at unwitting interlopers, to a transient crowd barely out of college; and their wares can run from a full menu with a wide selection of beers, wines, and spirits to a single draft tap and a jar of pickled eggs. So what signals to us that we have just entered an authentic American tavern, if not age or ambiance? Simply its character.

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