For those who are not old enough to remember, "fern bars" were where the pretentious people went to socialize (before they were called yuppies in the 1980s).
Typically fern bars would feature natural light (which only day drinkers would notice), a lot of wood panelling, thick rugs, stained glass lamps and yes, fern plants hanging all about. Nobody went into those places to order a beer and a shot. No, you typically would order a complicated "foo-foo" cocktail with about 7 ingredients and a lot of fruit like cherries, squares of pineapple and slices of citrus.
On the jukebox would be a lot of Neil Diamond, Lobo, Bread, Carly Simon, James Taylor and yes, Steely Dan.
It was a place where singles would hangout as well as younger married couples who managed to find a babysitter for the night. The men looked like Mr. Kotter (from "Welcome Back Kotter") and the women looked like Mindy (from "Mork & Mindy").
A fern bar was considered "classy" at the time. Leisure suits were very much in!
