Saturday Night Journey

From Midlothian to Short Pump, through Carytown, the Fan and into Shockoe Bottom, we log the miles, the drinks and the good times of June 2, 2012.

Photos by Scott Elmquist

9:52 p.m.

Capital Ale House Midlothian

Mike Richardson, 37

Drinking: Blue and Gray Kolaboration Kolsh.

Hometown: That’s a great question — [friend: That’s the second time tonight, brother!] — My dad was in the military, so my hometown would be Columbia, S.C. But all over.

Why here: What brought me here tonight is a rare free pass from my wife. My wife actually went out last night with her friends, and she said that she was going to let me go with my friends tonight. Logistically this was a great location. It was a good central meeting point. And Capital Ale House is known for their beers.

Memorable vacation drink: A couple of months ago my wife and I went to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Paradise Island. Let’s see … rum runners, piña coladas, Bahama mamas — pretty much all the touristy drinks.

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10:22

The Halligan Bar in Short Pump

Bryan Woodward, 25

Drinking: Bud Light.

Hometown: Richmond. About a year ago I moved to New York. I’m an actor — I’ve been working on that. I came back for a friends’ engagement party. This is the first stop after the engagement party.

Why here: Halligan, before I moved, just opened. And this was like our place to go, right? Plus, in Short Pump, your pickings are slim. I grew up here so we knew about other bars as they opened, it becomes a hot spot — go to the hot spot, go to the hot spot …

Memorable vacation drink: One of my favorite places — and I go back there every year ever since — is Cayman Islands, right? Margaritaville. I am Jimmy Buffet at heart. All my friends here, they say that I’m constantly on vacation.

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11:05

The Continental Westhampton

Caroline DuRat, 28

Drinking: Ketel and soda with two lemons.

Hometown: Charleston, S.C.

Why here: I’m just visiting. My boyfriend (Beau Pratt, pictured) is from here. Just a random trip.

Memorable vacation drink: I was just in Harbor Island, and I had a goombay smash.

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11:23

New York Deli

Dominique Graves, 25

Drinking: Ciroc and pineapple juice

Hometown: Richmond

Why here: We were just out walking around, and we saw that a lot of people were in here, so we came in here. I’ve been here once before. I like it, I enjoy it. It’s very calm and relaxing.

Memorable trip: The Bajamas. Maybe like rum and pineapple juice.

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11:34

F.W. Sullivan’s Fan Bar & Grille

Jonathan Arno, 24

Drinking: Bourbon and ginger.

Hometown: Glen Allen

Why here: A good friend of mine was here. We were at Strawberry Hill Races all day, and had a good time. And hanging out at my buddy’s house playing a little beer pong, we came out here, and you know, that’s what it is.

Memorable trip: Charleston, S.C. Every time. Everything. There’s a restaurant there, they have a mango sweet tea — it’s not even alcoholic, but it’s unbelievable. You put a little vodka in that. …

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11:44

Racine

Ashley Hudson, 24

Drinking: Red Bull and vodka.

Hometown: Bethany Beach, Del.

Why here: An engagement party. My boyfriend’s friends from high school.

Memorable trip: Where I’m from, they make a drink called a pain in the ass. Which is kind of like a Miami vice. It’s a strawberry daiquiri and a piña colada combined, and they stick a shot of 151 in it. They serve it at a bar called Secrets down in Ocean City, Md. It’s a frozen drink. It’s a vacation drink, for sure.

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12:23 a.m.

Godfrey’s Restaurant and Nightclub

Brandon Booker, 23

Drinking: PBR.

Hometown: Richmond

Why here: Just to get out the house and hang out with some friends and chill a little bit. It’s a great atmosphere. I love to come here and dance. I love the shows they have here.

Memorable trip: Yesterday, I went to Texas Beach, and we had something I call Brandon juice. It’s something I created. It’s pink lemonade, vodka, with fruit punch.

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11:55

The Camel

Ethan Johnston, 21

Drinking: Maroon Effect Ale.

Hometown: Midlothian

Why here: It’s got really good food and a cool atmosphere. I’m actually playing in two of the bands tonight. Night Idea and Houdan the Mystic. I play drums.

Memorable trip: I went up to Brooklyn with Houdan the Mystic and had a local lager up there that was pretty good. Brooklyn Lager.

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12:46

The Tobacco Company Club

Morong Koy, 30

Drinking: Citron and soda.

Hometown: Virginia Beach

Why here: I moved here for work, and I absolutely love it here. I had been here probably eight years ago when my girlfriends were at VCU, and I absolutely love living in Richmond compared to Virginia Beach. It’s a breath of fresh air, it’s alive, it’s a growing city. And it’s a little metropolitan in Virginia.

Memorable trip: Hawaii. The best mai tais. It’s the best drink I’ve ever had. The coconut and the pineapple. It’s utterly amazing.

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1:01

Kai

Chris Townsend, 24

Drinking: Jack and Coke. That’s my tried and true.

Hometown: Richmond — I got it tatted on me.

Why here: Tonight I got my family in from Cleveland, Ohio. I brought them down here because this is historic, this is poppin’, this is family, this is love. They’re actually going down to Virginia Beach, but I had to give them a little flavor of the RVA.

Memorable trip: The Lucaya delight in the Bahamas. I drank ’em from 8 o’clock in the morning to 8 o’clock at night, puked about eight times in-between, just kept drinkin’.

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1:15

Lucky Buddha

Daniel So, 23

Drinking: Bud Light.

Hometown: Hawaii

Why here: Just the environment. I love it here. It’s one of my favorite bars. Just the tempo — I love it.

Memorable trip: Las Vegas. What is it called? Absinthe.

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1:40

Wonderland

Tracy Holcombe, 44

Drinking: PBR.

Hometown: Chester

Why here: I love the owner, Chad. He’s been a good friend of ours for lots of years. If you love Rob Zombie, I would say that this is the place for you.

Memorable trip: We went to Universal Studios for Halloween, and hit all of the haunted houses. We did not drink on that one.

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1:54

2113

Glenda Smith, 62

Drinking: Argentinean wine and Irish coffee.

Hometown: Southern California

Why here: We were going to a burlesque show downtown at Gallery5, and we came here for dinner first. And then we came back. Every time you drive down the street there’s people everywhere, and there’s like a new vibrancy and a new energy in this area that’s great. Just to have all this influx of people into the East End is really exciting.

Memorable trip: I took a really memorable trip up to Aspen, and I had a hot chocolate and schnapps.

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