The Bar Tab: Tink’s, for new friends, no frills and cheap drinks

Tink's is outfitted with five TVs, an NFL package, two pool tables, a 12-seater bar, high-top tables, darts, a Golden Tee golf game and a digital jukebox.

I like an honest bar -- a spot where I am not expected to be an expert on the properties of beer or bodies of wines, but where strangers will be candid with me about real-life, no-nonsense things. I got that last week at Tink’s Lounge.

At the East Bradenton locale off State Road 70 in Cedar Plaza, bartender Jessy Rainsberger greeted me with a long-time-no-see hug and a fruity cocktail (she remembered from her last post at a Sarasota pub!). As I slurped mix of grenadine, coconut rum and soda, a regular named Bob became my next-stool neighbor.

“We’re very much a local spot,” Rainsberger says. “We’re always curious about the newbies. We look out for each other. If we don’t like you, you’ll know.”

I hope I passed the test, because Tink’s passed mine. The test -- for that night, anyway -- consisted of two points: 1.) Can I be entertained here without an emergency crossword puzzle?, and 2.) Can I spend less than $20?

I scored two mixed drinks and a Slim Jim for $11 sans tip, and Bob kept me occupied with an encyclopedia of anecdotes. Flying colors, really.

“Do you know who John Waters is?” Bob asked me, only to recount a gripping tale about the time he met him in his Baltimore, Md. hometown.

In-between learning Bob’s life story, I got Tink’s.

The bar is about a quarter-century old, owned by Kelly and Steven Crawford, and has all the standard, no-frills trappings: five TVs (three flat-screens and two mounted from the ceiling, with an NFL package), two pool tables, a 12-seater bar, high-top tables, darts, a Golden Tee golf game, a digital jukebox playing Mumford & Sons singles, and plastic ashtrays. Only cash is accepted here but there is an inside ATM. And while food is not allowed, Woody’s Bar-B-Q is in the same strip mall just steps away.

There is free pool on Sunday night, preceded by free food in the afternoon (the bartenders are known for bringing in spaghetti and chicken soup, which usually run low by 2 p.m.) At 8:30 p.m. Thursdays is free Texas Hold‘em poker.

Bar hours are 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, and happy hour is from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with $4 Captain Morgan and Jose Cuervo drinks, and $4.75 Crown Royal selections. A Bud Light on tap is $2.50, and Rainsberger will kindly tell you that your draft options are always “Bud Light and Bud Light.”

There is even package liquor here, so if you are feeling fancy, you can bring home a bottle of the Glenlivet for $54.09.

Either way, as the placard on the back wall states: “Be Nice or Go Away.”

Tink’s knows how to keep it friendly.