Hartford Hot Spot: Alpine Cafe

The Alpine Cafe is located on the end of Franklin Ave not too far from where Franklin and Wethersfield Ave turn into Main St. If one is looking for somewhere different in touring Hartford, well, it's an option. First to note is that the Alpine Cafe pats down patrons. So if you happen to have a couple cans of beer in your jeans, you will need to stash them beforehand. The doorman at Alpine will not let you stash the cans on Alpine property, but won't object to you stashing them in the neighbors hedge rows. The Alpine Cafe is sparsely decorated and wasn't too crowded on this particular Friday evening. The beers were reasonably priced, with a very generic selection. The men's bathroom door has a large hole in it. Don't worry about any peeping though, because if you close the door, the doorman just may shove it open and tell you about the Alpine Cafe's bizarre "no closed door" policy. At this point you will likely hurriedly finish your beer and leave. It doesn't appear that the Alpine Cafe is interested in broadening their market. Sad City can really only recommend the Alpine Cafe for those who are looking for some mildly uncomfortable urban tourism.