I could not tell you the last time I went to a theater and watched a movie. I can tell you that it has not happened yet during this decade. I just am not a movie person. And therefore I couldn’t care less about the Oscars. Which is a problem because every damn bar in the city, it seems, shows the awards ceremony with sound on. You can’t get away from it.
It also seems like a different crowd comes out that night. I remember two or three years ago, I ended up at Bardog on Sunday night. Now, keep in mind that Bardog is a locals’ bar less than a block from where I live. It’s just about impossible to not know someone in there. But on that Sunday night, I knew not a soul, and everyone in the room had their eyes glued to the TV. Except me, that is. “Where did these people come from?” I wondered. “I’ve never seen any of them before.” The Oscars kill half of my Sunday Fun Day.
Last night I was in Blind Bear about midnight, and Jamie asked if I’d be playing poker today. At the time I was undecided, but now it seems like a damn fine idea. Poker is the anti-Oscars.
Although, I have met one Oscar I liked this weekend…
About 7 last night I went in the Majestic for dinner. I wanted to stick with something in the medium-priced range, as I’d already made a generous donation to the Flying Saucer Fund yesterday. I’d pulled up the menu on my phone and pretty much decided on the Majestic’s tender, juicy roasted half-chicken.
Before I could get the words out of my mouth, bartender Frank said, “We have a special tonight. It’s Filet Oscar, an 8 ounce filet topped with crab meat and Bearnaise sauce. It comes with sides of asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes.”
SOLD!
I ordered it medium rare and it came out perfectly prepared. The crab meat/Bearnaise not only served as a delicious topping for my filet, but as a delicious dipping sauce for my garlic mashed potatoes. Although I spent a little more than I intended for dinner, I had absolutely no problem with it because I got a first-class meal. I had no idea the green Muppet who lives in a garbage can knew how to prepare such a fabulous steak.
(Apologies for mentioning a filthy garbage can in a food post. I’ve seen worse, though.)
I wish I’d asked Frank to recommend a nice red wine to go with the filet, but as I said I’d been hitting it hard at the Saucer for several hours. I settled for a Coke with my meal. That allowed me to keep going until 2 AM, something I haven’t done a lot of on the weekends lately. I caught about an hour of Jayna Morgan and the Sazerac Sunrise Jazz Band at Blind Bear. They were excellent, authentic ’20s speakeasy music. I wrapped things up at Bardog, taking a tip from my friend Pete who reminded me it’s really good in there very-late-night.
I didn’t get up until 10:30, so I won’t make brunch at the Majestic today. I’ll probably lead off at the Saucer, then migrate to the Silly Goose where I need to discuss a few things with people. Then on to poker at Blind Bear. Perhaps I’ll bring a set of earplugs so I don’t have to hear the Oscars while I play.