Irish Coffee

Go ahead and burn my cool card. I've learned to accept tattoo sleeves and tramp stamps, but I just can't understand why people put tattoos on places they can't hide, like necks and faces. Didn't they learn anything from hickeys? As I said to one of my friend's children: "Do you really think you'll still think pink Uggs are cool two years from now? Well, imagine if they were tattooed on." So when I spotted the guy with more face tattoos than Mike Tyson who was playing pool at Dougherty's, I couldn't resist asking what he did for a living — even though I felt like my grandma. But he had a good answer: He's a tattoo artist, one of many colorful — literally — regulars who've found a home at Dougherty's. The bar was opened a few months ago by a couple of former Brix bartenders, including Wes Ingram, who insisted I try an Irish coffee ($7) made with Jameson Irish Whiskey, Kahlúa, Baileys Irish Cream and Crème de Menthe, and topped with Baileys-infused whipped cream. While I was catching up with Wes about our past drinking history, he told me that Dougherty's has invented the quintessential sobriety test: If someone wants to drive home and the bartenders think he's had too much to drink, they get out that old Hasbro Operation game, and if the drinker can remove the wishbone, he gets his keys — if not, he's getting in a cab. Smart idea. Like my tattooed friend, Dougherty's is destined to make its mark on the drinking scene.