The Silver Mark is a pub located in Dragon's Gate, near the edge of Old Market. It has the look of and old British or Irish pub - two stories of old bricks, many of them glazed, that was at one point a home, and it presumably functioned only as a house until Alain bought it. The colors are dark but cozy inside and out, with hunter green shutters and doors, a side yard on the left (when facing the building from the road) with a low brick fence and two old willow trees, and a fire escape on the other side that skirts around the chimney. The front door is on the right half of the building with a simple but handsomely painted wooden sign over it - "The Silver Mark."
Going in through the front door, the right-most quarter of the room is the most open, extending all the way to the back wall of the building. There is a fireplace with a few chairs, though they are most often turned to face the pool table and the dart board - a place for people to sit and be warm while they take a moment to watch their friends play. On the front wall several feet to the right of the door, inside the "Corner" (as that quarter of the bar is called), is a chalkboard with various results and rankings from pug, pegasi races, the duels, and occasionally other sports.
Close to the bar, in the back left of the Corner, is the cellar door. It is almost always locked. The only things seen coming out of there during business hours are kegs and bottles, when they are needed.
Running most of the other three quarters of the floor, against the back wall, is the bar. It is heavy and wooden, and a bit darker than the counter in the Red Dragon, matching the similarly shaded floorboards, tables and chairs. The bar's antique but refurbished, as are the Vienna swivel bar stools. A mirror runs the length of the back bar, interrupted by a couple of doors and another smaller chalkboard, this one reserved for current games and matches - a single radio sits on the back bar to keep the bartender or whoever's in charge of the chalk updated.
Several ales are kept on tap, and as long as Badsider keeps brewing and selling, there's always Badsider to be had at the Silver Mark. The liquor selection does not have anything the imagination can conjure by a long shot, but the selection of rum, vodka, bourbon and scotch is impressive, as well as numerous red wines, and only a few token white wines kept in small supply.
The doors behind the bar lead into the kitchen, supply room, and the brewery, three attractively antique (or at least antique-looking) copper machines that produce Silver Mark Pale, Amber, and Black Lager.
Along the front wall across from the bar are several booths, and near the left wall some larger tables. The left wall is more recently built than the rest of the building and has a single door on the front corner, most often kept locked. It leads to the stairwell to the second floor where Alain lives, and also the small hallway to the side door.
The pub does not open until 7 February.
Going in through the front door, the right-most quarter of the room is the most open, extending all the way to the back wall of the building. There is a fireplace with a few chairs, though they are most often turned to face the pool table and the dart board - a place for people to sit and be warm while they take a moment to watch their friends play. On the front wall several feet to the right of the door, inside the "Corner" (as that quarter of the bar is called), is a chalkboard with various results and rankings from pug, pegasi races, the duels, and occasionally other sports.
Close to the bar, in the back left of the Corner, is the cellar door. It is almost always locked. The only things seen coming out of there during business hours are kegs and bottles, when they are needed.
Running most of the other three quarters of the floor, against the back wall, is the bar. It is heavy and wooden, and a bit darker than the counter in the Red Dragon, matching the similarly shaded floorboards, tables and chairs. The bar's antique but refurbished, as are the Vienna swivel bar stools. A mirror runs the length of the back bar, interrupted by a couple of doors and another smaller chalkboard, this one reserved for current games and matches - a single radio sits on the back bar to keep the bartender or whoever's in charge of the chalk updated.
Several ales are kept on tap, and as long as Badsider keeps brewing and selling, there's always Badsider to be had at the Silver Mark. The liquor selection does not have anything the imagination can conjure by a long shot, but the selection of rum, vodka, bourbon and scotch is impressive, as well as numerous red wines, and only a few token white wines kept in small supply.
The doors behind the bar lead into the kitchen, supply room, and the brewery, three attractively antique (or at least antique-looking) copper machines that produce Silver Mark Pale, Amber, and Black Lager.
Along the front wall across from the bar are several booths, and near the left wall some larger tables. The left wall is more recently built than the rest of the building and has a single door on the front corner, most often kept locked. It leads to the stairwell to the second floor where Alain lives, and also the small hallway to the side door.
The pub does not open until 7 February.