{"id":1681,"date":"2008-03-08T11:24:09","date_gmt":"2008-03-08T17:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.paulryburn.com\/blog\/?p=1681"},"modified":"2008-03-08T11:25:31","modified_gmt":"2008-03-08T17:25:31","slug":"friday-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.paulryburn.com\/blog\/2008\/03\/08\/friday-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our CEO let us go early yesterday because it was snowing.\u00a0 Not that I had to worry about driving a car home or anything, but still, that didn’t stop me from taking off at 3:00.<\/p>\n

I was going to chill out and relax at the apartment for a while, but I got a text saying the entire gang was at the Saucer already.\u00a0 So I headed up there.\u00a0 The gang was seated at the bar, and would you believe it, for once I didn’t get chased down by an overzealous waitress and actually got to keep my tab at the bar.\u00a0 My first three beers were my plate beers, so let’s go ahead and get the beer report out of the way.<\/p>\n

Previous total:\u00a0 $528.75<\/p>\n

Beers 97, 98, and 99 (but 92, 93, and 94 according to the Saucer):
\nGrolsch $4.00
\nNegra Modelo $4.25
\nYoung’s Double Chocolate can $8.00
\nTip: $16.25 x ~ 30% = $5.00
\nTotal: $21.25<\/p>\n

Grand total:\u00a0 $550.00<\/p>\n

The Young’s Double Chocolate came in a really cool purple and orange can.\u00a0 It has one of those widgets that makes the beer foam up when poured.\u00a0 Normally I hate stouts but Double Chocolate is actually pretty good.<\/p>\n

So we drank and talked and hung out for a couple of hours, then moved to the dart boards where I suffered one of my most embarrassing moments ever at the Saucer.\u00a0 I lost at darts to Skippy.\u00a0 That’s right, SKIPPY.\u00a0 I don’t mind losing to him in a trivia match about operas of the 19th century, but darts???\u00a0 That should never happen.\u00a0 Since I’ve had readers request more Skippy pics, here ya go.<\/p>\n

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This picture must have been taken during Happy Hour, because you can see my super-sized Dos Equis Lager in the foreground.<\/p>\n

After darts we decided we were hungry, and a group of six of us went to Sauces for dinner.\u00a0 It took longer than usual to get there because a few of the gang stopped and threw snowballs at each other.\u00a0 I was looking for a bum to lob a few snowballs at, but didn’t see any.\u00a0 I guess the bums get snow days off from “work” too.<\/p>\n

Here’s a pic of the Nuh-Uh Girl eating at Sauces:<\/p>\n

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Everyone had praise for the food at Sauces.\u00a0 I had the lobster ravioli, which was delicious.\u00a0 A couple of people got the BBQ Bacon Burger, which Otto described as “like the Baconator, but with really good meat and bread!”\u00a0 The Nuh-Uh Girl got a seared tuna salad which was HUGE.\u00a0 The Nuh-Uh Sister got the lettuce wraps, which she cut up and turned into a salad.\u00a0 We got a pretzel and later some bread, which came with several dipping sauces, including a really tasty remoulade and a lobster sauce which everyone loved.<\/p>\n

However, the service was not so worthy of praise.\u00a0 After we sat there for six or seven minutes, no one had brought us menus so the Nuh-Uh Girl just went over and got them herself.\u00a0 They had run out of bread and had to bake some more, and it didn’t come out until we were nearly finished with our dinner.\u00a0 It seemed to take an eternity for them to get dessert out to the one person who ordered it, despite the fact that only a handful of people were in the restaurant.\u00a0 By the time I got my check I was so annoyed that I decided to leave a $2 tip on my $18.79 tab – and remember, I’m a big proponent of tipping servers well downtown, and ordinarily I would’ve left $6.\u00a0 Then it took them another 20 minutes to split our checks.\u00a0 Then the server came over with a pen and said, “We can’t get the computer to split it right, do you guys mind doing it?”\u00a0 Then the owner came out with the correctly split checks.\u00a0 Well, almost correctly split – she got the Nuh-Uh Girl and Nuh-Uh Sister’s tabs mixed up because they have the same last name.\u00a0 By that point we were all boiling mad, and I reduced my tip to $1 on $18.79, and even then I felt like I was being a dollar too generous.<\/p>\n

So, would I recommend Sauces after that experience?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 I think so.\u00a0 The food was outstanding.\u00a0 I have a feeling maybe the owner gave her employees the night off due to the snow, and had a few friends helping her out.\u00a0 I’ll come back and try the place again on a more normal day.\u00a0 I just hope the service I got last night is not typical there, as it was the worst I’ve had since The Romanian Sensation left town a year and a half ago.<\/p>\n

THREE text messages from the Red Rooster last night.\u00a0 Guys, this is really getting a little bit ridiculous.\u00a0 One a day I don’t mind, but three is excessive, and if I had to pay per text message I’d be calling them up and complaining.<\/p>\n

Had a good discussion about restroom attendants over dinner, and Chad and the Nuh-Uh Girl helped me clarify my position on restroom attendants.\u00a0 If they have stuff like gum and cologne and combs laid out, and I take some of that stuff I have no problem tipping them.\u00a0 But I am NOT going to tip them for handing me soap or a paper towel, as I can get those things myself.\u00a0 Nor do I believe I should have to tip them for keeping the bathroom clean and stocked with soap and paper towels, as clean, stocked bathrooms should be part of what I get in exchange for the cover charge.<\/p>\n

So I ended up back at the Saucer with my friends Frank and Laura and Amie (hey, I actually know two Amies now – the other Amie cuts my hair).\u00a0 We sat on the benches and listened to the West TN Wife Swappers for a while.\u00a0 I was surprised by how busy the place was.\u00a0 It was pretty close to a normal Friday night in terms of the crowd.\u00a0 After a while we decided to go someplace quieter and ended up at the bar at McGuinness.\u00a0 Our favorite bartender Amy was working and we hung out there until after 2.\u00a0 Then we walked home (all of us live on the Main Street Mall).\u00a0 As we walked I failed to notice an icy metal plate in the sidewalk, and BAM – down I went, with a landing that would’ve made professional wrestler Mick Foley proud.\u00a0 I wasn’t hurt though.<\/p>\n

Tigers play UAB in just a little while.\u00a0 Time to get dressed and get out somewhere and watch the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"