Brian L.

I don't know if "the Plate" should get a 100 thousand million star review, or be shut down (not really it's great). The place has a never-ending cast of characters, and is one of the few bars that you'll probably leave knowing 10 more people than when you walked through the door. They occupy an odd niche in Pittsfield as the latest closing bar in the city. No idea why the other bars forgo 30 extra minutes of business while scores of cars converge on the Home Plate to end the night by "sliding into 'home.'" They often reach capacity in the late evening so it's a good idea to steal home and go there 10 minutes in advance. I'm sure it's illegal somehow, but most people prefer to park in their neighbor's parking lots to avoid the extremely difficult late night possibly drunken reverse maneuver from a diagonal parking spot with only a car length between you and the building. Be careful crossing East St. as no driver expects or comprehends that people could be on the street. They now have a sign on the door warning against parking next door. Make sure you don't try to pull through the spots since there is a 2-foot high concrete curb that you may get 'high-centered' on if you don't have a lifted vehicle. It is literally housed in a house, or so it would appear. Basically, it's like if someone had and old house in an industrial section and turned the first floor into a bar. Being that Massachusetts has declared happy hours illegal, I might fear that mentioning the fact that they let people play "games" (flip cup and the like) at the Plate could cause trouble for them. However, I'm tempted to mention it because it's part of what really makes this place so much fun; it's like a college house party for adults. Beverages are also quite affordable. One star off because they cleaned the place up, although that technically should be considered a really good thing, especially on the bathroom front. They might technically have some sort of food, but the ultra-rare New England produced State Line brand of chips is usually enough for me.