The new North Laine Pub and Ten Green Bottles

One of us had a birthday recently (it was me! Ashley!) and while it wasn’t too wild it was altogether pleasant. Turns out becoming 28 isn’t all that crazy, who knew? We began the birthday festivities on a gorgeous autumnal October evening at  Ten Green Bottles, a hybrid wine shop/bar on Jubilee street, across from the library. What a cute place! You can sip wine by the glass from a small menu, order nibbles, buy bottles to drink inside or buy a bottle or two to take home for your own means. I loved it. The vibe was great and the service was impeccable-our waitress was friendly and helpful and super chill. We will most definitely be going back-perhaps for their Loire Valley wine tasting in November?

After an hour or two of fancy wine drinking, we moved our little party over to the brand spankin’ new North Laine Pub & Brewery, located at the home of the former Gloucester. It’s big and shiny and has plenty of space, with brewing stills behind the bar, wood floors and the highest ceilings around. Our crew staked out a corner booth and got our drink on for a good few hours. I partook of the cherry stout and, while I’m usually not a stout-drinker, it was delicious. We even managed to make a fabulous work of art courtesy of the provided children’s busywork that we’d co-opted from the family that had been sitting in our spot prior to our arrival. A great way to pass the time, no matter your age!

Overall it was another great night out in Brighton, and it was nice to hit up some new places to put into the repertoire, a little out of our zone of usual bars/pubs.  A solid birthday in Brighton for this Ohio girl!

JB’s American Diner on the Brighton Seafront

Just a few blocks down from the Brighton Pier is a hole in the wall restaurant that is easy to miss unless you’re looking for it. JB’s American Diner is only marked by a flat sign on the building, although you may see more people sitting out front if you stroll by on a sunny day – they have room for seating outside!

JB's American Diner, Brighton

Jon and I checked out the place a few weeks ago with some friends for a leisurely Sunday lunch.

Being American myself, I was ecstatic (no exaggerating) just to find a place with some of the admittedly not-so-healthy foods from my homeland. My new guilty pleasure restaurant!

The menu is chock full of the expected American fare: huge burgers and hotdogs, giant portions of fries and onion rings, and yummy milkshakes harking back to the soda counter days of 1950s America.

As you can see, the walls and ceilings are covered with posters of the glamorous old stars – Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe. There are also some…uh…quirky choices in there, like a giant stuffed caterpillar hanging from the wall, and a version of “The Last Supper” starring Batman (of course).

Either way, it adds to the ambiance, and I felt just like I was in an American diner back at home. We ordered a Mexican Burger (filled with jalapeños, guacamole, and salsa), a foot-long chilli hotdog and a side of onion rings, which turned out to be giant. I couldn’t really stomach that much, unfortunately, but it was all the better for Jon and his gaping maw! To keep things as unhealthy as possible, we washed it all down with an Oreo milkshake. As you can imagine, we were stuffed full for the rest of the day!

All in all an enjoyable experience. The food is exactly what you’d expect – huge, well-priced, and full of greasy flavor! Recommended!