Downtown NA pub crawl Wednesday night.

In honor of the honorable Don Barry, world traveler, scholar and the author’s cousin, who is in town for a brief stay before jetting to New York and Europe for the usual round of summer frolics, those of us forced to remain here are going to do something previously thought impossible: A pub crawl of ... yes ... downtown New Albany, with Don in tow.

That’d be a pub crawl with good beer, and not the area standard of swill. It ain't Bamberg ... but it's better than before.

This largely unplanned event will take place on Wednesday evening (May 30). We will be meeting at the Baylor residence (1117 E. Spring) at 5:30 p.m., and then decamping by foot to the nearby La Rosita for culinary succulence. Stated simply, there is no better Mexican cuisine in the Louisville metropolitan area than that prepared and served by Israel Landin and his family.

After various morsels, we’ll walk down Market Street and examine the Bistro New Albany’s expanded libations list, which now includes top shelf liquors. Founded in April, 2006, the Bistro New Albany offers fine dining in the historic New Albany Inn hotel building at 148 E. Market. It has an excellent, atmospheric patio, and four or five NABC beers always on draft.

Later, we’ll stroll around the corner to the brand new Connor's Place for nightcaps and cigars on the patio. Connor’s Place, with relaxed sports bar ambience and casual dining in a historic building at 207 E. Main Street, is former BNA partner Dave Himmel’s labor of love. It has another knockout outdoor seating area and two NABC beers always on tap.

Afterwards we’ll walk back to the starting point via Main Street and 11th. Readers and friends are invited to join us at one or all of the stops.