Enjoying life from the Patio.....

A recurring theme is arising with my friends and our after-hours adventures: we like patios. A lot. Furthermore, we judge a venue on its patio. I would venue that our list of necessities in a restaurant/bar/after-hours gathering location would look something like the following

1) An enjoyable patio—preferably lined with trees

2) Economical food and drink specials

3) Menu variety

4) Actual tastiness

5) Location—close to either work or home

And numbers 3-5 might not even warrant being on such a list given a strong showing on 1 and 2. I would venture to claim that a YP will go out of their way to enjoy a drink on a nice patio.

One of my favorite patios is now Rojo in Highland Park. Not only does Rojo benefit from being happily situated on Rushton Park, but the eclectic mix of YPs, neighborhood locals, and Birmingham natives makes Rojo a fun spot. The park attracts dog-walkers; many even bring their dogs to the patio for dinner, which pleases dog-lovers like me profusely.

With such a quaint glimpse of slower city life, one feels like they are – for a moment—a life-long resident of Highland Park.