A Shot in the Dark: Drinks in the CD’s Living Room

Walking into the Central District's Thompson's Point of View on a weekday evening is like entering the den at a black family gathering after the children and church-folk have all gone to bed—and the cognac starts flowing. The volume on the R&B-filled jukebox is turned up to loud, and men dressed in their Sunday best rehash ancient arguments while watching the NBA playoffs on grainy old televisions. There's a Miller High Life–fueled game of darts raging in the cramped area by the bar. Everyone in this black, mostly middle-aged crowd seems comfortable enough to playfully (and otherwise) tell the truth about one another—i.e., how one patron's son, in addition to his chess-playing skills, "ain't shit." Nestled at the corner of Union and 23rd, Thompson's is the Central District's living room, one of the last soul-food cafe/watering holes in the CD. It's also one that has fallen into a moderate state of disrepair, acknowledges one customer. Not that any of the clientele—the loiterers especially—seem turned off by the grime; huge helpings of oxtail and other Southern food mixed with affordable Hennessy suppress all complaints. Besides, with their choice of safe socializing places in the CD steadily decreasing, where else could they go?