Back from the Midtown crawfish fest. It was all right, not the greatest festival ever but not the worst either. I didn’t get crawfish, because they were charging $10 for the same size Styrofoam box of crawfish that the Flying Fish sells for $4.99. I’ll wait for Rajun Cajun to get my crawfish.
Started out last night at the Saucer, and here’s the beer report.
Previous total: $1,197.75
Beers 197, 198, and 199 by my count (but 190, 191, and 192 by the Saucer’s count):
Blanche de Bruxelles draft $4.75
Mendocino Red Tail Ale $6.00
(*)Irish Car Bomb $7.50
Tip: $18.25 x ~30% = $5.00
Total: $23.25
Grand total: $1,221.00
Blanche de Bruxelles was a particularly good value for the money. The (*) is to note that I didn’t actually pay for the car bomb – Air Traffic Mike bought it for me. The $7.50 is for recording purposes only.
Today I start my “bonus beers” – bonuses for the Saucer, that is. The second and third beers will begin the beers I should not have to drink because I should already be to 200, but will have to drink because the Saucer lost so damn many of my beer tickets. I guess that’s what the managers refer to as “profit.” They should give my BFF’s mini-me the Employee of the Month Award for losing as many of my tickets as all the other waitresses combined. With 8 beers left to go by their count, that means I’ll finish number 200 on Monday, and on one day between now and then I only need to drink 2 plate beers. My plan is to only do 2 tomorrow, as Dos Equis Special Lager is rumored to be the Fire Sale, and that’ll allow me to enjoy more Special Lager on Sunday and push an additional plate beer back to Monday for Pint Nite prices.
I also need to find out if my BFF really is banned for life from the Saucer, and if so see if I can get her un-banned so she can attend my plate party. Usually “banned for life” lasts about a week in the case of former employees, so I doubt it’ll be a big deal.
After doing my 3 at the Saucer (plus a couple of Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat Fire Sales), I hopped the trolley, took it all the way north, and walked across the Auction bridge to the River Inn on Mud Island. It really wasn’t a long walk at all. Not counting the trolley ride it was probably no more of a walk than it is from my front door to the Saucer. I also noticed Tug’s, the casual restaurant/neighborhood bar across the street on Harbor Town Drive. I’ve been meaning to try that place for a while. I would’ve stopped in, but all the bar seats were taken and and I was already running late besides.
So I headed up to the rooftop of the River Inn for my friend Kacy’s birthday party. It was a little chilly but an elegant affair nonetheless. Everyone was dressed well, but thank goodness, no ties. I posed for a pic with Kacy and her friend Christina, both of whom were wearing tube top dresses. As soon as she sends it to me, I’ll post it, and it will probably make a second appearance during Tube Top Month.
Hung out there until 10:30, met several people who read the blog. Then Kacy announced a venue change to Swig. I told her I’d catch up in a little while. With Tug’s so close, I couldn’t resist the chance to check it out.
This time I got a seat at the bar. They have two long bars, with every bar seat in view of a large HDTV. The bartender was someone I knew (she used to work at McGuinness), so things were off to a good start. I counted the bar seats – there were 22 of them, lots of room to camp out. The decor reminded me a little of Fox and Hound, and while that may sound like a slam on the place it’s not – it’s the crowd at the Cordova Fox and Hound that sucks, not the place itself. Bar menu was reasonably priced. Didn’t get a look at their full food menu. I had a pint of Blue Moon, which was $4.75, slightly high but still acceptable. At least they don’t charge $5.50 for a pint of Blue Moon like the Westin does.
Overall I liked the place and will go back. Probably won’t go back much, though, since there are so many places I like in the Downtown core that are more convenient to get to. But if someone who lived on the Island wanted me to meet them for a drink there, I’d have no problem with it. Mud Island now has a locals’ bar, which is one of the things I always thought it was missing.
Walked back across the Auction bridge, and as I did I realized I really wasn’t feeling a late night of partying, not after staying up extremely late several weeknights. So I decided to head home. There was no trolley in sight going my way (it figures), so I started walking. Stopped in Westy’s for Paul’s Drunkass Food (one of the wild rice dishes, with shrimp and mushrooms), then went home and went to bed. Hated not to be there to party with Kacy, but I knew if I stayed out late I’d wake up cranky and put off doing my taxes.
…and that’s the Friday recap. Time to go out and start gathering information for the Saturday recap.