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.