Sacramento Thursday: Pre-Flite Lounge

Okay, okay.  I know that for some of you who don’t live in Sacramento, a Sacramento Thursday post is boring & seems lame & I AM SORRY.  But seriously, y’all.  This bar?  IS AMAZING.

Also, if you ever come visit me, I will totally take you here.  Probably more than once.

A little back story: Pre-Flite is one of those bars where you need to know somebody who knows about it.  For me, this knowledge came in the form of my good friends Leslie, Steph and Becca who casually referred to Pre-Flite during a girls wine night at my house.  I was told three notable things: the bar is hidden, the drinks are ridiculously strong and they serve bologna sandwiches.  I’ve already made my feelings about bologna perfectly clear on this blog, so you can imagine how delighted I was by this prospect.

I showed up on a Friday afternoon for happy hour with the girls & tried in vain to locate the bar, which is in the basement of a local mall.  Finally, I approached a security guard & asked him if he knew where Pre-Flite was.  He nodded & led me into the abyss.

Literally, you walk downstairs into a seemingly innocuous area and then it sort of appears before your very eyes.  I walked in to find a couple making out feverishly against a wall outside the bar.  Definitely set the “dive bar” tone.

The first time I went, I arrived earlier than my friends & went & sat at the bar alone.  I was immediately welcomed into a conversation & even met a man who had also just lost his teaching job.  I hung out with the regulars until my friends showed up.  The drinks were strong (like, after two drinks I was all wasteyface) & cheap.  The seats are comfy & the decor is something straight out of the 70′s: lots of brown, bucket seats, a giant pinata shaped like a cocktail & more light-up beer signs than you can shake a stick at.  My friends jokingly call this bar the Regal Beagle, a la “Three’s Company” & yeah, that’s it exactly.

The second time I went to Pre-Flite was even better than the first, if possible, simply because of the cutest older lady who works there.  She offered us bologna sandwiches & her homemade bean dip — both which were arranged on a table for the taking by any bar patron.  My drink was never empty, my parking was validated & she was SO NICE, it was unbelievable.  My friend & I were there for several hours, nursing drinks & chatting & while a few parties came in, the bar never got crowded & everyone that came in was just as mellow.

Free bologna sandwiches.  YESSSSS.

While Pre-Flite may not be for the “see & be seen” crowd, it’s definitely my go-to for a cheap, comfortable fun place to drink in the afternoon.  I mean, can you really go wrong with an UNDERGROUND BOLOGNA BAR?

I didn’t think so.