LTE: The Rat Can Still Be A Bar If You Day Drink There
DrinkingFeaturedLTE March 16, 2021 The New England Classic

I’ve heard about the glory days of 1978, when The Rat was the most bodacious, tubular joint in town to shake your thing and meet some bitchin’ lads and ladies. Legend says the drinking age was 18, that light beer flowed as though a gift from the gods, and that games of backgammon stirred up nightly brawls. The coolest-of-cool DJs serenaded the Boston College youngsters with disco like it was going out of style — because, well, it was.
I’ve been wishing that The Rat would go back to the way it was. I’m so tired of the mundane, monochromatic scenery, the spinning glizzies, the awkward walk down each side to only to find there aren’t any tables and everyone’s just staring at you. To put it simply, I was born in the wrong generation. I just wanna party like it’s 1978.
And in a moment of transcendence, I realized that I could. This ideal party scene is in my reach, if I just set my mind to it. When I slip a little something special into my battery acid-flavored coffee, it’s like I enter the Hot Tub Time Machine. The Rat is a hip-hoppin’ bar, born again.
Suddenly, I’m at ease. No longer does the fact that I’m alone, sitting diagonally from a stranger at a table for six, plague my consciousness. Sometimes, I get so wasted that I confidently order a chili dog — and I enjoy it. I don’t even care if I have to be carried out at 2:30 PM by the aforementioned stranger. Those glass doors are the shining beacons of day-drunkenness that get me through each week.
I know one day, I’ll tell my kids about when The Rat was the grooviest bar in town, but just for me.