Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Downtown: Tivoli's brewski breakfast

Tivoli's best daytime meal deals include beer

Oh man. I never do this.

Have beer for breakfast.

But here I am, sitting in the Tivoli, jes' 'cause of the sandwich board outside

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38488/

..."Come in for our beer and food specials, Monday thru Thursday, 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m."

This is the Tivoli pub (505 6th Avenue, downtown, at Sixth and Island, 619-232-9215), the oldest pub in the Gaslamp, open since 1885.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38480/

Came in, looking for the Canadian guys, actually. They used to run the grill in here. Always had poutine on. That's the Quebec dish of fries topped with gravy and curd cheese. Healthy? No. Scrumptious? You betcha. 

The grill's open...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38486/

...but none of the Canuck regalia no mo'. 

Instead there's Russ, big red-haired guy who could be a Canuck hockey player himself. "They've been gone two years now," he says. "But we have deals. Cheese steak, sliders, or you should try Bill the Butcher if you're hungry."

Bill the Butcher? 

Turns out it's a burger/dog/bacon patty ($9). Ooh. Could go for that. 

Except for the sandwich board deal. Domestic beer plus a hot dog for $5. 

That's what I go for. Sit up to the old bar with Wyatt Earp...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38484/

...and his sexy wife Josie...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38485/

...looking down from their portraits beside the curved glass corner doors. (I know. It's probably not the actual Josie, but a naughty Victorian substitute model.)

Whatever, I let out a big sigh. Relaxation.

"Their cheese steak's beyond good," says this guy next to me. Billy. Been all over the world. Tried to swim to Egypt from Aqaba once. Aqaba's where Lawrence of Arabia had his first great victory in the movie. 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38483/

Billy and Russ

But it's too late for cheese steak. Nathalie, the barkeep...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38487/

...brings my beer, a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and Russ brings my dog. Puts plenty of sauerkraut on top, squirts mustard. Beautiful. 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38489/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38490/

But the great thing is the bar itself. Unchanged I swear, since Wyatt's time. You just feel comfortable. Talk to the guy next to you. Soon Billy and I are yakking about Peru (his ma came from there), Germany (his pa came from there), and the Maldives (that's where he'd go back to at the drop of a hat). 

Then Russ comes by to show off his hat...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38491/

Sigh. Time's flying. And to think I only stopped here because it had a sunny sidewalk patio. Who knew I'd get sucked inside to a life of sin and likker? 

Well hey, it is the Stingaree. Guess people have been making this same mistake since 1885. 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38492/

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”

Oh man. I never do this.

Have beer for breakfast.

But here I am, sitting in the Tivoli, jes' 'cause of the sandwich board outside

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38488/

..."Come in for our beer and food specials, Monday thru Thursday, 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m."

This is the Tivoli pub (505 6th Avenue, downtown, at Sixth and Island, 619-232-9215), the oldest pub in the Gaslamp, open since 1885.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38480/

Came in, looking for the Canadian guys, actually. They used to run the grill in here. Always had poutine on. That's the Quebec dish of fries topped with gravy and curd cheese. Healthy? No. Scrumptious? You betcha. 

The grill's open...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38486/

...but none of the Canuck regalia no mo'. 

Instead there's Russ, big red-haired guy who could be a Canuck hockey player himself. "They've been gone two years now," he says. "But we have deals. Cheese steak, sliders, or you should try Bill the Butcher if you're hungry."

Bill the Butcher? 

Turns out it's a burger/dog/bacon patty ($9). Ooh. Could go for that. 

Except for the sandwich board deal. Domestic beer plus a hot dog for $5. 

That's what I go for. Sit up to the old bar with Wyatt Earp...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38484/

...and his sexy wife Josie...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38485/

...looking down from their portraits beside the curved glass corner doors. (I know. It's probably not the actual Josie, but a naughty Victorian substitute model.)

Whatever, I let out a big sigh. Relaxation.

"Their cheese steak's beyond good," says this guy next to me. Billy. Been all over the world. Tried to swim to Egypt from Aqaba once. Aqaba's where Lawrence of Arabia had his first great victory in the movie. 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38483/

Billy and Russ

But it's too late for cheese steak. Nathalie, the barkeep...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38487/

...brings my beer, a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and Russ brings my dog. Puts plenty of sauerkraut on top, squirts mustard. Beautiful. 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38489/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38490/

But the great thing is the bar itself. Unchanged I swear, since Wyatt's time. You just feel comfortable. Talk to the guy next to you. Soon Billy and I are yakking about Peru (his ma came from there), Germany (his pa came from there), and the Maldives (that's where he'd go back to at the drop of a hat). 

Then Russ comes by to show off his hat...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38491/

Sigh. Time's flying. And to think I only stopped here because it had a sunny sidewalk patio. Who knew I'd get sucked inside to a life of sin and likker? 

Well hey, it is the Stingaree. Guess people have been making this same mistake since 1885. 

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/16/38492/

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

25 Forty on Thursdays

Next Article

Goofy Foot? Dad, daughter deliver dee-lish dog

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader