A small,
intimate restaurant in
Tivoli, NY (69 Broadway St.), Cafe Pongo offers interesting
entrees and an excellent variety of
wines. In addition to being an pleasant place to enjoy a dinner with friends, it is also the primary
bar for
Bard College students on weekends.
Staffed by Bard students and happy to serve the most obnoxious, drunken artists outside of France, Cafe Pongo frequently suffers the deleterious effects of being a college bar: vomit liberally sprayed all over the tasteful tables, broken glasses adorning the outdoor patio, and plenty of table-dancing.
The Bard shuttle drops drinkers off directly at the door until 4:00 AM. After that, progressive alcoholics are left to wander Tivoli's deserted streets, hoping to gain entry into a house in which the residents are unarmed, or at least also drunk and ready to make new friends (some have my acquaintances have been less than successful in this endeavor).
The prices are reasonable, around $3.00 per drink, and the patrons are generally friendly. Although sometimes criticized for being a "fern bar," Cafe Pongo is a decent place to get blasted during long nights in the mid-Hudson valley.