Arriving: Just like Mugshots next door, Cooter Brown's has a great view of the lake out back and not a damn soul looks at it. It's a small place, but not cramped. Not cozy either. Let's call it "intimate." The bar is the focus with tables down the wall and electronic darts in the back. Even though the place is called Cooter Brown's, the jukebox isn't country-centric. Plenty of rock, hard rock and pop too.
Scoping: Cooter Brown's is a bar with a split personality. At quitting time --say 6 or 6:30 p.m. -- it's a neighborhood tavern with folks in their 30s and 40s (and 50s) grabbing a drink or three before heading home. At about 10 p.m., a new and younger crowd takes over, leaning toward the service industry. Cooter Brown's attracts all those bartenders, servers, and waitresses with pocket cash by offering 15 percent off their tab. Late Sundays, the bar plays house music and offers $3.25 pitchers.
Drinking: Happy Hour is a full eight-hour shift; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. During that time, a Heineken bottle was $2.80, a shot of Jack Daniels was $3.51 and a well bourbon and Coke (the deal of the night) was just $1.87! Tuesday night is club night with a DJ spinning techno and breakbeat for the late crew. Tuesdays also offer free drafts from 10 p.m. to midnight and 50-cent drafts from midnight to close. The manager says it's a downtown night for the crowd that doesn't want to drive downtown.
Chewing: Thanks to Florida law and Cooter Brown's desire to let customers smoke, there's not much of a menu -- and that dries up after 6:30 p.m. Twelve grilled hot wings are a decently priced $5.95, though really salty. The chicken tenders ($4.95) are a good deal too and came to the table so hot that they steamed.
Going: The men's room is worn but clean. The old flooring has been pulled up, leaving just a concrete floor. I didn't have spare change or I would have tried the vending machine by the door that promises to squirt me with a "clone" of Aramis, Polo or Drakkar Noir.
Departing: The food's just average, but if the wings and chicken fingers are why you're going to Cooter Brown's, you probably picked your bank by the basket of free Tootsie Rolls. You should be going to Cooter Brown's for the cheap prices on drinks (early) and the (late) crowd.
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