"A drinking town with a baseball problem." This is the slogan of the Doubleday Cafe. Despite these words, the Doubleday Cafe is not a drunkard's paradise. Instead it is more of a restaurant with a small bar by the entrance.
This one-room restaurant is attractive. The front side a large window and the red brick walls are covered with posters and pictures of local sights and national sports icons. The room has high ceilings which made me think this place was once a warehouse.
The food is good and is served in an appetizing fashion. Most places in Cooperstown seem to be either simple, diner-like cuisine or upscale. The Doubleday Cafe is one of the few in-between places. For lunch and dinner, burgers, nachos and your usual pub fare seems to be the way to go. The cafe also offers omelettes for brunch, but I've never been here at the appropriate time of day.
To live up to the hype - or at least the slogan - the Doubleday Cafe offers a wide selection of beers. Your regular national and imports are represented, as are a few local selections.
In trying to make this restaurant out to be something special, T-shirts and pint mugs are sold. Both feature the cafe's logo (the bar's name over a baseball diamond and crossed bats) and the motto is written on the back of the shirts. The shirts are nice, in colors you don't always see in such places: olive green or maroon as well as the normal black.
In 2001 my friend John and I were up in Cooperstown for the Induction Weekend. The night after the induction, we found ourselves watching the Cleveland-Seattle Sunday night game. This was one of the best times I've ever had as a baseball fan, as we were all there as fans, talking about the sport and watching what turned out to be a classic game.