I spent a while looking for Brouwer’s Cafe, which is located a few blocks off the main streets of Fremont, but it was well worth it once I got there. By being away from a main street, Brouwer’s is able to occupy a huge space, which is at once both cavernous and yet oddly intimate, with small tables and booths on the ground floor and tables rimming the edge of the upstairs, which looks down upon the ground level.

We were lucky to get the semi-private reading room in the upstairs corner, which was perfect for a loud gathering of friends and acquiantences around a large round table. The service was a bit slow, which can be expected for a large bar, but the beers and food more than made up for it – it’s hard to go wrong with over 50 beers on tap, over 100 more in bottles, and happy hour specials.