Casey's On Central   

Downtown professionals meet for the notoriously strong cocktails after work, the local rugby club pops in after practice, and you can almost always find an artist and a frat boy among the diverse crowd. Casey has been tending bar here for years, and he's just as quick with some over-the-counter therapy for loyal customers as he is with your favorite drink. A hodge-podge of Christmas lights, license plates, banners from local colleges and Key West kitsch covers the walls, making the decor an eclectic, if slightly odd, mix. But as all loyal patrons know, Casey's isn't an image-obsessed kind of a place. You can feel free to come as you are here -- be it in flip flops or slingback mules -- and check that ubiquitous line, "So, what do you do for a living?" at the door. People come to Casey's to drink, to catch up with friends and make new ones and to listen to local acoustic performers jam on the small stage. The outdoor terrace, fronting on Central Boulevard, is always a favorite spot to sit on a balmy Florida evening. During weekday happy hour, business types loosen their ties to kick back on the front patio while enjoying 50 cents off most drinks. Thursday nights are the busiest here, with hordes of downtown dwellers turning out en masse to kick the weekend off early.