Last night we held our first Progressive for Drinking With the Saints, and it was a grand success.

Our fun began at Barnett’s Pub on Franklin Avenue in downtown Waco. I said a few words about the book, and participants were fêted with a bottle of Killian’s Irish Red in honor of one of the day’s saints, St. Kilian. Barnett’s manager Seth Higginbotham served us fantastic pizza flatbread treats, which he explained were part of a new menu Barnett’s was debuting this coming week. (In fact, all next week they are serving free lunches between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.!).

Here are some of the forty friendly faces that joined us:

Next stop was Dichotomy Coffee and Spirits on Austin Avenue, where manager Andrew Anderson served us a delicious San Diego cocktail in honor of another feast day that falls on November 13, that of Saint Diego. I said a few more words about the book, and owner Alina Mikos told us a little about Dichotomy’s unique double commitment to fine coffee and fine spirits. Here is some of the Progressive Gang at Dichotomy:

Our final destination was the Wine Shoppe on Austin Avenue, where owner David Mayfield greeted us and told us a little about his shop and about the crisp and fruity Spanish wine he had chosen for us in honor of Saint Diego’s home region. (He also treated us to some excellent cheese and charcuterie that paired nicely with the wine.) And we toasted not only to a successful night, but to the engagement that very day of April and Michael, two of our participants!

We have fewer photos of this leg of our journey, as our photographer was getting a little tipsy at this point (grin). But here is a shot of me and my awesome wife Alexandra, who kept everything going behind the scenes.

Our sincere thanks go out to the good folks at Barnett’s, Dichotomy, and the Wine Shoppe for making everything run smoothly and taste delicious, and for all our participating Drinkers with the saints!

Sorry you missed the Progressive or eager to go again? Don’t despair: we had such a good time, we hope to do this again in the future. Like us on facebook, and we will keep you posted!