Week 17: Saints and Sinners and the Green Monster

Week 17 brings us to Saints and Sinners.  This is an average bar on 3040 S. State St,  however, this bar has POTENTIAL.  Downstairs is a great dance floor and upstairs is a good hang out bar with a GREAT Patio!!!.  We went to this bar again by Jon's request because some girls at the Starbucks near his work invited him.  When I arrived the boys were playing pool and Gina and Mel were watching.  Now this has been a stressful week for me so I was so happy to see my friends that I really did not care where we hung out this week, I was just going to have a great time.  I did at that. We did have an instance of the green monster showing up but that is a story that another PITLOZer will have to tell.  As it is for me, I saw my friends/family and I was as peace.  The bar itself is about 3 steins I would probably go again.  One thing against it is that there are no pitchers, however the beer selection is great with the Bohemian Vienna Lager and the Red Rock Honey Mead both available.  Pool tables were accessible, they had foozball, shuffleboard and air hockey.  The bartender was AMAZING and made great mixed drinks but also knew how Jameson should be served. The patio is the best in the state so far and I want to hit this bar again in the summer.  Not a long post tonight but then again it does not have to be, see you all next week

Week 16: Maggie McGee's and the Bachelorette Party who got Chadivus's Chest Hair!!!

Week 16, 4 whole months of pubbing and we are still at it wow!!!  So this week on Jon's request we all showed up at Maggie McGee's on Highland Dr..  This is an old school sports bar in Salt Lake and it does what it does well.  That said I am not a huge sports fan so I was kind of disinterested going in, be that as it may we had some interesting experiences.  When David and I showed up, there were roving bands of women having a bachelorette experience.  As it happened they all were in the middle of a scavenger hunt and came upon our table looking for a lock of chest hair.  Now as you know I, Chadivus am not a person to deny a damsel a reasonable request (also since David has NO chest hair to speak of)  I reached in my shirt and promptly pulled a lock of my chest follicles for the ladies' quest.  I was kindly repaid with a beer.  Now this was not the only highlight of the night.  We also had a wonderful waitress named Lori and she was on top of her game.  In addition after the Jazz game Karaoke started and I as usual was participant.  This time I had a ball singing "Squeeze Box" by The Who.  I especially loved the chorus, LOOK IT UP!!!!.  Even though the good times were had at this bar I can only give it 2 steins,  The good times were had by the patrons being involved not by the bar itself.  Pool is fair in fact we lost Jon and David most of the night, but pitchers were not available and the one mixed drink we had was fair.  Nachos were ok and the waitress was great so adding it up the bar gets a stein for pool and a stein for a good waitress.  In general the bar has too much room and while it is a great place to watch a game it is not the best place to pub.

Week 15: Club Allure or how Gangsta Jon makes us Blog the Leprechaun

So here is the skinny, Jon has been a member of the blond enforcers for over the last 10 years.  Now he would have gotten away with this if we had not decided to go to Club Allure, our first official dance club of the year.  Here is how it went down.  We show up at Allure and we are going in when out the blue they stop Jon and say "You can't go in, your shirt is a solid color and the collar is only poppin' on your jacket".  Now I am not really sure if they said it like that or if the said "Hey the tall blond one is sportin' colors we can't let im in, no we can't, someone'll get capped" but the gist is that Jon was not allowed in because he could be confused as a Gangsta.  That is right folks our 6' tall blond scruffy man is a Gangsta.  Needless to say this is bullshit and as a result Club Allure is our first 0 stein winner of the year.

Now to recover we end up meeting James and Jill from previous postings and Brandon at the Leprechaun over on 9th and 48th.  This was far better because not only was it a dive bar which I love, it was also fun.  We were surrounded by partying deaf people and signs were flying.  We had chips and salsa and it was generally very relaxed.  We even invented a guessing game named "My Disney Fantasy" We were pretty drunk and this was pretty wrong but fun and when no one around can actually hear you, a person would be amazed at how bold one would get with his or her answers.  We also played a game of telephone and that was fairly lame to be honest.  Anyway the Leprechaun has pitchers, liquor, a fair staff, the kitchen does NOT stay open late and the pool tables and equipment are in bad shape, but as a backup bar it does quite well and warrants a 2.5 stein out of 5.  Now a word on the ratings.  2.5 is not to bad and I would go back in a pinch like this was.  2 and lower however are probably a never go or go kicking and screaming.  So 2.5 is very fair for what we did there.

Week 14: VFW, Karaoke and King of the World!!!

So I know I have been slacking on the writing but, WE HAVE NOT BEEN SLACKING ON THE PUBBING!!!  After I let Gina and Jon do the review for week 13 during their Southern Utah trip, we all decided that our next bar was going to be VFW over on Highland Drive and about 30th.  Now I am not going to lie this place is set up as an old school rec club on the top and an old ship's galley in the basement.  I LOVED IT!!!  This bar is very working class, the proceeds benefit our veterans (which by the way, David is a vet and we love him for his service (you are the best David)).  Just to set the stage we all pre-gamed at Candice's house playing Killer Bunnies until about 10 and them we headed off to the VFW.  I will admit I was very skeptical when we got there, but it has a number of things going for it, first $6.00 pitchers, second available pool tables, third a working class crowd, fourth a hot Karaoke host and lastly they had $3.50 Crown Royal shots (and Canadian whiskey is a good change up now and then)  We got there and the boys played pool and you will see that we have a burgeoning romance here.  Jon and David get freaky at the bar all of the time lol.  Next we went upstairs to listen to the Karaoke.  I bought a round and TOTAL it was only $19.00 for a pitcher and 5 shots. AWESOME.  Then we started dancing to the good songs and I once again had Gina and Melanie to myself (which is how it should be)  The girls definitely worked it this week so we ended up getting another pitcher and 2 shots for our table from a guy who wanted them to dance.  Once again this bar is very good and very working class.  It is filled with good people.  For all of the above things mentioned and the chance to hang with everyone after a little breather, the bar earns 4 out of 5 steins!!!!

Cedar City Week 13 Gina

I want it to be made known that I didn’t just go to Cedar City because I was bored. There was a purpose, besides going to a bar even. I had a dance competition in St. George and the rooms are half as much in Cedar so we stayed there instead. We looked online for Cedar City nightlife thinking that there would be a variety of choices, seeing as how it is a college town and all but alas we were disappointed to find there were 3 bars listed on the net, so we picked one that had pool tables as well as liquor for me. When we got there it was really sketchy and there were about 4 cars in the surrounding parking lots but there was a blinking beer sign in the window so we went in. Ended up paying $5 a piece to get in too, which I thought was a little silly seeing as they needed all the people they can get to go in there since there was only about 10 people total in the bar. There was however 3 pool tables in this little place. They were all taken when we got there so we grabbed a table to watch the people who I thought were a band but turned out to be just jamming. While we were people watching we did notice the door man rockin out on his harmonica with the band. We were waiting for the tables to open up when we noticed one of the guys playing pool with a woman and they were kinda touchy feely but they started to head outside and when the woman (I use this term loosely) went into the bathroom the guy started rubbing up on a different lady. After only a few short minutes lady #2 grabs his hand and outside they go. We decided that they might be a minute and that we could probably play on their table. So we start a game of 9-ball like always and I was worse than usual, which is pretty bad anyway so it was embarrassing. Lady #1 comes out of the bathroom a bit later and comes back to sit at her table which was by the pool table we were playing at. And in true Chad fashion Jon offered to play teams with her and some other old guy that was hitting on her at the moment, and thankfully they declined. While I was talking to the lady, who was trashed I think I should add, a different random couple came up and asked Jon if he wanted to play teams. At this point Jon agreed, despite me trying to talk him out of it. Anyway the guy totally ran the table repeatedly while the other girl and I barely could even hit the cue ball and were laughing about it as I had a pretty good buzz going already. The girl was named Neil and she too had noticed the guy and lady #1 and 2# and had been watching them most the night as well and we continued to watch the 3 of them being drunk all over each other. We couldn’t quite decide what lady he actually came with. Neil being a regular at the bar said she sees them in there regularly and thinks one is a prostitute but still isn’t sure which one goes officially with the guy. Round about midnight (we got there about 11) the band stopped playing and they announced that it was last call and they were closing up. So I drank the rest of the beer cause Jon was driving and started talking to the door guy who was trying to get the place closed up and asked him about the 3 drunkards. He didn’t know either but for some reason the weird guy we had been playing pool with (named Rhett) decided to go talk to them. During my discussions with these bar patrons I learn that one of the other 3 bars was shut down and the second bar was a cowboy bar and had had a fatal shooting recently. So we picked the best place in Cedar to go and had some fun while we were there. I give it 2 steins for the vodka and the pool. I might even go back to visit next year.

Week 12 Recovery and a nice sit down dinner with BEER!!!!

So considering that it is Wednesday a full week after the debauchery that was the Irish Festival, I thought it was finally high time to get off of my arse and actually write the blog!!!  Well, while it is a fact that we spent a very long time enjoying Piper Down and the festivities of this years St. Patrick's Day, We still had the serious duty to our loyal readers to fit in another establishment during the week in which we could blog and review.  This week was the original Utah Pub...Desert Edge Brewery (formerly know as The Pub in Trolley Square).  Now this pub is a wee bit different than the bars and clubs we have all been attending since the PITLOZ group has gone about.  First food is very important and this is also the first pub where we get to sample local microbrews in their home environment.  To say the least I was very happy with both.  For dinner I ordered the French Onion Soup with the side of fresh fruit (and it is the time that the strawberries are coming in from California yum), Gina and Jon ordered the French Onion Soup and the Rare Roast Beef Sandwich, David ordered a Mushroom Bacon Burger (off menu) and lastly Melanie had the French Onion Soup as well.  So without a doubt, the French Onion Soup was a hit all of us loved it!  The mustard for the sandwich was wonderful and I even had half of David's burger (those of you who do not know David need to understand that this man really only eats one time per day and it is exactly at 2:00 PM, I think this is his hangover prevention diet) and it was tasty as well.  With the food out of the way next comes the beer and today we had pitcher of the Pub Pils, a solid favorite and The Inversion Ale.  The Inversion Ale is my favorite of the night with a deep dark filling taste with a wonderful smoke flavor made from home smoked malt barley.  This is a heavenly beer.  Pitchers also make this pub great but I recommend you going with a student BECAUSE each student receives 2 pitchers priced at $6.00 each with their student ID,  This is great for me because Jon and Gina are in school and that made for a very economical night of wonderful beer, food and company.  I give Desert Edge Brewery a 3 stein out of 5 stein review.  The beer was great, the service and food were good, but the atmosphere does not provide the other pub enjoyments that I love.  This is a great first stop pub for dinner if you are planning a long night out otherwise I recommend this pub for exactly the way we used it, a nice place to have dinner and beers with good friends.  Next stop week 13 which is actually going to be picked by.........GINA!!!!!

Week 11: St. Patrick's Week and the one we've been waiting for PIPER DOWN!!!!

So yes I know it is Monday and all that but this weekend was the kickoff of the Chadivus County Irish Festival as you can all see.  Now I am waiting till today because the PITLOZ group has been represented at Piper every day since Thursday.  First off Thursday was a great party.  We were there, Clint from work showed up, the band Potcheen played great Celtic jams and it was FUN!!!! We all got a wee bit trashed and that was fine because Piper Down has a great policy.  If you spend at least $45 they will give you a ride home!!! You can not beat that at all.  So drink up, we had at least 7 rounds of shots and you guessed it, Jameson!!!  Ellen was our waitress and she was a trooper keeping us well oiled.  Gina was the only one not shooting all Jameson although she had one so bully on her.  Jenna was also there which made the day fun as well.  Melanie of all people let herself drink up as well so everyone was in a great mood.  On top of it I got to hang out with a very cute fiddle player named Laura who was a member of Potcheen (this band is great I even bought them a round).  With Thursday over, David and I went back to Piper on Friday and saw the Dropkick/Flogging cover band.  We had an enjoyable night even thought the band was very weak (one tempo was all they know and it was so fast they were sloppy).  The Piper crowd and the bar itself was not a problem in the least.  Saturday was the St. Patrick's Day Parade for Salt Lake so the kids and I headed down and then when it was over David and I headed to Piper once again.  The bar was very different....and to let you know I do not fault Dave the owner at all he knows what his money season is.  This is his time of year to play up the Irish of his bar and he did it and I am NOT one to disagree.  The regulars at Piper get a whole lot of bonuses throughout the year so this time of year they had all better pay up to keep this great bar open.  Drinks were more expensive and no pitchers were available on Saturday but the food was great Irish fare and it made us appreciate the bar even more.  Side note everybody needs to play Killer Bunnies!!! (thanks for showing us the game Candice).  After Saturday we decided to go to Piper Sunday morning for brunch and this time we were joined by some PITLOZ newbies Nicole and her husband Mike plus Ruthie and Jen.   Thanks all of you for coming.  Brunch was awesome and Piper does it right with $1 mimosas and a free bloody Mary bar.  In addition beer is a great breakfast drink!!!!  So as you can all see I love Piper Down it is a truly great bar in Salt Lake (and I am even going to so it is THE best bar in Salt Lake).  Obviously this is 5 out of 5 steins for great service, knowing how to treat the regulars, a great owner, normally great beer selections (next time make your light lager different than Miller for St. Patrick's) great food and truly great atmosphere!!  Thanks for providing that Dave and we will see you on Wednesday for St. Patrick's day!!!!!!!

The amazing Melanie!

Bromance revisited

David, Jon, Gina and Melanie is in the back

Gina's cleavage. Not nearly as impresive as Melanie's or Chad's...

Melanie and Gina drunk

Tonsil hockey

Gina trying to get in on the David action

Melanie and Gina dancing

Melanie, Gina, and DAVE dancing drunk

Chad with his pipe

Chad with pipe and beer

Melanie, Jenna, Gina, and the band guy who wanted Melanie

Chad and his lovely fiddle player Laura

Andrea and her husband, new friends we made at the bar. (As a side note I think Andrea bites harder than sara does.)

2nd Annual Chadivus Irish Festival and St. Patrick's Week Events

Hey everyone here is the agenda for the upcoming Chadivus Irish Festival all are welcome to show up on the days they can!!!!!

Week 10; UTAH COUNTY DUN Dun dun!!!!

So we have finally left the safe liberal confines of our Salt Lake county bars and ventured forth among the lands of people we do not willingly associate with!!!!  Translated, Gina had a dance competition at Thanksgiving Pointe and we felt that it was a great opportunity to try a bar in the land south of us where by nature we assumed the pubbing was going to be a bit more challenging.  Actually just south of the Thanksgiving Pointe on the eastern border of Lehi there are 3 bars.  I pass these bars every time I take my kids back to their mom's house so I had a general idea of what we were going to do.  I picked a bar called The Big Easy and I must admit there were some things that made me nervous as we went in (number one we had the only cars in the parking lot that were not 3/4 ton pick ups).  However once we got in we were quite happy, there were a good selection of tables and booths a big  dance floor and probably the best stage I have seen out of all the places we have been this year.  In addition there were 2 pool tables that were pay tables and a nice smoking patio.  As usual I bought the first round and we got things started.  (If any of you can guess what the round was attach a comment I want to see how many of you are paying attention).  The bar had a great beer selection and pitchers were available.  We were able to play pool all night and before the band played, a local patron picked Dropkick Murphy's The Warriors Code and Flogging Molly's Drunken Lullabies on the jukebox.  This was way cool and very unexpected since easily those are my favorite bands.  The band that played this night was also a pleasant surprise they were called Cellar Dogs and play a Southern Fried style of classic rock (plus making some INXS and Talking Heads covers in their own style as well).  Plus we met a lovely young lady with a strong set of pipes named Ms. Andrea Starr who belted out some great songs during the bands first break.  As the night drew on Gina decided I needed to drink shots like she did last week, this might not have been the best idea since she matched me shot for shot as well and I am easily the size of 4 Ginas (plus those of you who know me also know that my first super power is an immunity to beer)  as a result....well you can all probably guess what happened in that contest.  So in closing I am giving The Big Easy a 3.5 stein out of 5 this week.  This is a bar I recommend if you find yourself in Utah County for a night and depending on the band playing, it would make a great destination bar as well.  Kudos go out to our first Utah Valley experience and I am kind of excited to see how the pubbers in Provo will act later in the year.

Watchin the band

Chad happy beyond belief ......Andrea Star

Cellar Dogs

Melanie's cleavage!

A church pew...in a bar

Couch #1

Couch #2

Couch #3

Week 9 Canyon Inn or How many shots does it take.......

Well this week we decided to go to Canyon Inn, a popular bar with Utah's ski and east side crowd, and this week I opted to be the designated driver so that Jon and Gina could let loose.  This is was a great plan until Jon got a really bad headache so unfortunately he stayed in for the night.  Now this always makes me sad when a PITLOZer is not there but being the dedicated trooper that I am, I valiantly moved forward and made sure that Jon would be properly honored in his absence by all of us drinking his fair share of alcohol (or because I was driving that his significant other would drink his fair share of alcohol).  So Gina and I headed up to the bar which is located at approximately 7200 S. and 3500 E,  When we got there David and Gina we waiting for us but the bar was packed so the its reputation as The hot spot was proving true.  We did not have high hopes for finding a table and as we looked at the crowd a feeling of dread wafted over us.  This place was cougar central! The only problem was that they were definitely the hunters.  Remember last week at Liquid Joe's, the Bros were on the prowl, well this week was the opposite and it was just as lame.  Luckily we found a small table area by the pool tables and we were able to score a pool table as well.  This was great and it really was great and became the jumping point for a very fun night.  Pool at Canyon Inn is $6.00 an hour which allows you to enjoy and play till you are done, but discourages people from camping out at a table.  We started the night off with Shots (Jameson for everyone EXCEPT GINA (who drank vodka)) and a pitcher of Bud Light.  That is right I said pitcher so this place already had points.  The even better thing is that the Pitcher of Bud was $6.00 and the shots were about $3.50 each so the night was getting better.  Gina's friend Jeremy also joined us and he bought a pitcher of Killian's ($9.00)  so in general the drinks were very fair.  Now this is the point where I tell you about the girls I start flirting with but I was not feeling it tonight so I just people watched and had fun. However, those of you who know me know that I have a huge deep belly laugh that comes out when I am really enjoying myself and as it happened I was really having fun.  Little known to me though this laugh has powers as well because I am Chadivus and it is inevitable that people are drawn to my natural charismatic presence.  So I let out some deep laughs and this guy who stands 6' 2" and is very imposing hears the laugh and responds by adopting our group (specifically ME) as the one he wants to hang with because he senses a deep presence of MOJO (his exact words) in me and he decides to become my posse for the night.  Now being the gracious man that I am I deign to let him hang and am polite to him (but unlike him I am not feeling the same deep bond of brotherhood so I manage to keep him at arms length).  So back to the rest of the group.  Well Gina by now is feeling a bit happy, but we all decide that it is time to make sure she get fuschnickered up and we tease her that she does not drink whiskey like everyone else that goes with us, so what does Gina do, she takes the dare and buys us all another round of Jameson (good for her) and then proceeds to man up and drink it down and experience the deep shudder from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head (this was truly amazing to watch).  Well let us just say that the flood gates were opened and by the end of the night Gina won!!!! She had 2 more shot of vodka and finished off our beers.  Jon you have been remembered!!!  Now to the review.  Canyon Inn gets a 3 stein out of 5 rating.  This is a good hang out bar if you can get there early enough to get a seat.  The band was a generic 80s butt rock cover band but rally played with energy.  The drinks are very fair priced and the pool policy works great.  The cons of this bar really have to do with the crowd that frequents it.  They have a very elitist attitude.  Secondly there are not enough tables in the main area and the floor plan needs some work (people have to pass through all 3 ongoing pool games to get to the patio or the bathrooms)  I would say this bar is good to go back to, but I think that it is not a first choice like A Bar Named Sue or Piper Down would be for me.  See you all at week 10.

Week 8 Liquid Joe's: On today's show we are going to watch the Bro in action.

So 2 full months of pubbing is over and we are having a great time over all, but it was inevitable that a club would be found that is truly lame.  Liquid Joe's is basically a big warehouse style room with tables, stage and dance floor.  If you have never been here you quickly notice that it is full of packs of women being stalked by Bros and nothing more.  Now as many of you have read over the past 8 weeks, I LOVE the pub experience, friends, comfortable surroundings, good drink, a chance for good food and a chance to meet interesting new people and hang out.  Liquid Joe's did not provide an atmosphere that I would consider to be a pub experience.  Yes I had friends there who are amazing and great, Gina, Jon, David were all there, plus we were joined again by James who you met at Sue's in week one and his girlfriend Jill and they added to the fun I DID have tonight.  The surroundings were anything but comfortable.  A crowded dance floor and hard bar stool style chairs with a very blah decor that felt kind of cold and industrial (which did not match the music playing) made me just never settle in (although the location of the table Gina got us was AMAZING!!! perfect to watch everything that happened).  As for the drink I was not impressed, once again NO PITCHERS (clubs in this state have to get the message!!!) secondly the Jameson was a bit sour (this could be from my only drinking the 12 year lately and the club only had regular) and David and I were convinced that the PBR was watered down bleh!  We were late so I do not know if there was a kitchen or not I am guessing not because nobody had  food at their table.  Also Jon kept checking the 2 pool tables and the people playing pool were not the sharing type. As for the last reason I go to the pub, meeting people, that was ok, The table next to us was filled a with a group of married women having a girl's night out (and these ladies were fun to watch because every bro that came up to them was shut down as fast as a failing bank) but since I am Chadivus my easygoing personality opened them up and I got to share shots and conversation (it also helped that they saw me laugh every time a loser Bro came up to their table and that one of them accidentally bumped me and spilled my shot of Jameson all over me.  Hey I am not above using an opening like that to get good conversation started heh heh).  Lastly our waitress Courtney was a gem and it is for her that I give Liquid Joe's their one and only Stein of the night.  She really took care of everything I asked of her and she was just plain cool!.  Oh I forgot the Spazzmatics played and I think they are a very rehearsed cover band good song choice of 80's alt pop hits were played all night however this band just goes through the motions, they play great but lack the interest in what they play I just did not feel that they were into the music.  So to recap:  Liquid Joe's receives 1 stein out of 5 steins and the only true highlight of the club itself was the waitress Courtney, everything else I liked I would have liked anywhere because it had to do with our group of friends.  Week 9 is coming up stay tuned.

Jon feeling David up

Melissa and Jill

Gina and Jon

James (the shocker) Jon and Robin

Gina and Robin....both very drunk

Chad having too much fun with Gina

Jon being tough and Jill eating his arm

Week 7 The Bayou

Well after last week we needed to see if we could regain energy.  My opinion is we have!!!  Attending this weeks event were the 5 main PITLOZers plus Sara and 2 virgins Ryan and Candice.  This weeks pub of choice was The Bayou AKA specialty beer heaven.  This is going to be short and sweet for me because my head is already reeling.  I liked this bar's selection but the waitresses were a hard sell style that bugged me.  This is more of a restaurant than a true pub so you have to order food to make it worth it (the sweet potato fries are heaven), it also took a while for a table.  No pitchers were served (always a downer for me) although we did find a beer that Sara would drink which is a monumental task.  I give the Bayou a 3 out of 5 stein review, it pricey but fun and the selection is to die for but no pitchers and the hard selling waitresses were a definite downer.  As for the experience It was wonderful to have everyone around and those of you who know me already know what I was enjoying this week even after the funeral for my grandmother (and for those wondering, bad things still are needing to be done but I do like to move on and have been known to not let the past cause me to not live life) with that said I am slowly passing out and am looking forward to next week.

David with a fun new beer

Chad with a fun new beer

The group

The toast!

Week 6 Junior's

Well it finally happened, all of our plans were made and then life inevitably changed up on us and we ended up running out of time on Saturday.  With that said I still managed to hit a pub at 12:00 midnight on Saturday and I must tell you, I am incredibly grateful that there are not private club rules in place anymore.  First of all as it was getting late the group of us were trying to come up with a plan to go on Sunday because none of us were in the mood to go on Saturday.  As a result I just decided to go find at a least a little hole in the wall so I could have something to write about (I guess you could say I was have blog writer responsibility guilt).  I then proceeded to go downtown to find such a place.  I found a parking place and got everything together and started heading for Johnny's on Second when I realized I had forgotten something so I headed back to my car.  When I got back to my car I found out that I had been a dumb ass and locked my keys inside.  I guess the stress of the week and my exhaustion were both getting the best of me so I proceeded to berate myself and then I called Gina to come pick me up to get my spare keys.  (Biographical side note:  I have always been a detached person when it comes to building friendships over my life I generally have huge trust issues, but Gina, Jon, David and Melanie are just amazing. I am so humbled by how good these friends of mine are to me and I want each of you to know that I am grateful you put up with me and all of my eccentricities.  I love each of you!!!!)  Anyway while I was waiting for Gina and Jon I walked down to Junior's.  Now everyone, Junior's is the first bar I ever went to.  Back in the day it was a little beer bar over on 500 S. and 200 E. across from the library.  This bar ALWAYS has the best music playing.  Classic Jazz and Blues are the only things you hear at this bar ever.  The new location is on 300 S. between State and Main so I went over and sat down and ordered a pint of PBR ($2.50) and just took a breather.  Now when the owners moved the bar they made sure to take the original bar counter which has a bunch of old classic nostalgia sheet music laminated onto it and is made a of a solid hard wood that has been stained a red brown.  They also brought over all the pictures of the various local jazz combos that used to play there. (it is weird to see the pictures of everyone I went to college with playing).  This is a true comfort bar for me.  Going in there is like eating homemade pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, it feels like home.  There are always drink specials (even if it is just $2.50 well shots of Lord Calvert) people are just there to talk and drink and enjoy each others company.  Now because of my history with Junior's, I honestly can give it a 4 stein out of 5 rating (sometimes the bartending has been inconsistent and it is a bit small) this place is just a very good mellow night out I would recommend it to anyone just needing that neighborhood I belong type of bar experience.

Week 5: Area 51 aka Dancing Queen (or am I a King???)

So this is week 5 and the steam is still not out, although I am pretty sure that some weeks will be about the one beer in the shitty bar (hopefully not).  This is another week where I have the kids so we were creative and decided on a Thursday extravaganza.  There is no better place for a Thursday dance and boozing night than Area 51 Salt Lake's premier Alternative music dance club and Thursday is 80s NIGHT!!!  We all went and were once again joined by Janell (YAY) .  Let me start off stating that one of the best bartenders in Salt Lake is Tess who works here.  We have been going to Area once a month for about 2 years now and Tess as soon as she sees us has shots of Jameson and a pitcher of PBR ready for us.  She is amazing and always looks out for her people.  Well we got our drinks and sat down toasted with the shots and Madness "Our House" came on so I slammed a beer and took the girls to the dance floor (it is an amazing sight to watch the hippest Old Man in the world dance with drop dead 20 somethings and every guy there always has this look of "Why does he get to dance with 3 hotties?" Well those of you who come out with us know and I am leaving it at that!) Jon and Dave retain their "DIGNITY" and do not dance so this is my job.  We came back in to the bar area, drank some more, listened to great music including the Cult, General Public, Depeche Mode, New Order, Tears for Fears and Dexy's Midnight Runners.  It was great and we always have fun, I hit on all sorts of Alt and Goth girls, Gina, Janell and Melanie dance up a storm and we drink!!!  This time was just as great as every other.  To get down to the drinks, a bit pricey but fair compared to other dance clubs.  The club patrons in the bar are generally hip but unlike a good pub, there is a bit of a meat market feel.  The patrons on the dance floor are just annoying because most of them are 18 (well they say they are 18) and have very little social skills at all.  They bump into you dancing and there are quite a few loser solo guys trying to dance with groups of girls.  I enjoy playing the shield for the ladies of our group and I generally throw a few well placed elbows and body shots (and since I am pretty much the size of a mountain it is fun to watch what happens).  One funny thing we noticed this time was the window of ASS.  This is a window in the bar that looks out onto the dance floor.  It started off being a window of female ass that you can see dancing on the dance floor (and the funniest thing were the three over 21 guys being voyeur pedophiles watching the younger girls dance(disturbing so I called them out))  It later turned into the window of MAN ASS which was just inane.  So the rating is 3 out of 5 steins.  Area is a place we will always go.  We love it but as long as it is an 18 and over club I can not in good conscience give it more that 3 steins.  Go for the great music and Tess and the cool atmosphere it is definitely 5 stein material but anyplace I can go to and be on the dance floor with people the age of my children is not somewhere I will go more than once a month.  Last note it did not work out for Abyss this week so stay tuned for next weeks bar.

Melanie teasing us

Jon and Gina

Chad and Janell get cozy

David and Melanie get cozier

Ass window!!!

Janell approves of the ass window!!!

The boys "bonding"

not quite sure what this is......

The Foxhole Jon's Review

The Fox Hole has the makings of a very good bar. Since it just opened, that means that they are off to a great start. It has three pool tables, and half a dozen TVs. It boasts a multi page menu and a great selection of beer on tap. The wait staff is friendly and responsive, and the karaoke on the night we went was fun. The pool tables are cheap (not free). I actually consider that to be a nice thing, since we got to spend some time on them, which wouldn’t have been the case otherwise. There was no cover, which easily pays for a pitcher of beer and a few games of pool all by itself.
With that said, The Fox Hole has some room to grow. I don’t just mean literally, although it would be very nice to see the place with another room (you know, somewhere to retreat to when karaoke hits a streak of country songs and your ears start to bleed). As Chad mentioned, there was also some not insignificant confusion as to whether the bar had a team.
Now I know that we are in Utah, and we don’t have a pro football team. A bar starting out can’t afford to alienate potential patrons. However, the displaying of nearly half of the banners in the NFL is taking that mindset too far. I noticed at least three sets of divisional rival banners up in the place, you can’t root for both the Seahawks and the Niners, nor can you back both the Chargers and Raiders, or the Bears and Packers. Maybe the owner isn’t a football fan, I don’t know. But some of those rivalries are serious and you do yourself no favors by trying to play both sides.
I would liken it to decorating part of your bar with Utah banners, and another with BYU paraphernalia; it just doesn’t work. So if you want to make it a local sports bar, decorate with a Jazz theme. If you want to make it a football oriented sports bar, pick a few teams and stick with them, create sections and make the “our state doesn’t have a team” concept work for you. But make sure none of the teams hates each other first. The only way to make the crazy collage effect work is to make it about great players and not teams, Feature Joe Montana and Dan Marino posters instead of the Dolphins, Niners, and Chiefs. That’s a successful formula; it shows involvement with the sport because at least during some stage of the process someone with sports acumen was consulted.
The other major lack in the bar was liquor. I don’t know if a full liquor license was available, they are in astonishingly short supply thanks to the fine print in the law that abolished private clubs. I hope it wasn’t a choice on the part of the owner. I am perfectly happy drinking beer all night most nights, but my girlfriend prefers liquor, and that option should be on the table at a sports bar. With a full bar and some more room, this place would be an awesome place to frequent. I’ll give it a 4/5 steins on potential, though if décor improvements and/or a liquor license aren’t forthcoming my rating will drop.

David's Tiki Lounge Review from Week 3

Burt’s Tiki Lounge was our destination for Week Three.  From the moment I opened the door I liked this place.  The décor was awesome and gave the place a good vibe. The cover was $8.00 this night, a little steep but as long as it all went to the bands, it’s okay because they were both amazing. The place was a little crowded, and felt small, but we were able to snag some chairs bar side to watch the show.  Drinks were well priced and after starting my first PBR, I started to look around and get a feel for the place. There were no tables, so no pitchers or waitresses, which made sense for the place.  The stage was amazing! It was like an actual concert stage including lights and speakers. There was a wide variety of people in the crowd, and Chad made his rounds talking to the people from his college days who were here to see the band, Sturgeon General. After the first band had finished, the place cleared out a bit, presumably to go out on the patio to smoke.  This by the way was another great factor to Burt’s, a patio where you can smoke, and enjoy your drinks. As Sturgeon General got ready to play, the place became as crowded as before and even louder. People started dancing stage side and I had the feel of being at a concert at USANA, except I could order liquor and beer, it was great! Overall the place was good, as a bar I would give it a three out of five stein rating. As a place to go to see a band, I would give it a five out of five stein. It was definitely set up to be a better concert venue, than your average bar. So if you’re looking to see a band, head to Burt’s.  If you want a place to sit and leisurely drink, then maybe another bar is for you.

Week 4 the Foxhole Pub West Jordan Utah

Week 4 is in the oven and done!!!  We went to this little place in West Jordan called the Foxhole on 7087 S. and Redwood Road.  I was not able to find a logo but I will keep looking.  Attending this evenings debauchery were Janell, Sara, Gina, Jon, Melanie and David plus myself Chadivus.  This place was fun!!!!  OK so the low down first of all the night was all about the Karaoke and the beer,  PITCHERS WERE AVAILABLE and it was only $7.50 for domestics on a Saturday night.  On the down side liquor was not available as of yet.  THe place was way clean and the service was good.  The Karaoke was happening but it helped to to have 3 good singers in the house going up 3 to 5 times each plus Janell who sings great and is my duet partner of choice.  (It also helped that one of the good singers was a kryptonite (who also had a treble clef tattoo to match my bass clef tattoo) so that made my night eye candariffic.  In addition to the singing, the boys played pool and the girls danced (thanks for the memories Gina and Melanie) and we pretty much owned the audience.  Now to wax philosophical, when you go to a local Karaoke bar, BE A GREAT AUDIENCE!  If you want to judge the people who sing get the fuck out or get your OWN ASS UP AND SING!  The audience makes the singing and it is damn scary to get up in front of everyone.  With that said we loved the song choice tonight and it just made the night GREAT.  (ONCE AGAIN THANKS FOR THE DANCING).  Janell told me to tell you all her rating which was 4 steins out of 5 because the bar was clean, service was good, Karaoke was fun and it is close to her house.  I myself give the Foxhole 3 steins out of 5 because the service was good and it was clean, Karaoke was great and it was easy to get a pool table.  To get the other 2 steins, liquor would have had to be available and they need to decide which team they support (as a sports bar you SHOULD not have 2 division rivals flags on the wall next to each other).  The Foxhole was fun and we will go again.  Next week we are looking at partying with our good friends Charissa, Marda and Traci at Abyss to see some of their favorite bands.

Sara and Janell

Melanie and David

they were trying but Chad is just not the same as David

Chad entered the strong man contest

He came in third

The real Man Love!!!!!