After spending the weekend in DC and seeing firsthand the aftermath of the Barack Obama cult-like insanity in our nation's capitol, I am inspired to clarify the focus of my musings. Lately these snapshots of a martini quest have changed in direction somewhat, much like the future path of our country. So without being too political, I have decided to redefine the purpose of my prose. These notes have become more of a record of multiple types of cocktails in multiple cities; however the original journey has not been sidetracked. I will still press on towards that goal of the perfect martini (in Charlotte, nonetheless), and any other drinking on the side will continue to be included as I see fit.
Therefore, let us digress to a Capitol Hill style martini. Lola's - an excellent name for a bar, pastry shop, restaurant, boutique, or pet! Carrie, my dear friend from across the pond (not the pond in my neighborhood but the really big one known to many as the Atlantic) and I, exhausted from eating an excellent meal prepared by her lovely fiance, Matt, decided the best course of action to revive ourselves was to go for a cocktail at Lola's. Filled with the stylish Capitol Hill crowd, and a nice sprinkling of Marines, it was a great place for us to pass a few hours on a Friday night.
After finding two chairs - next to each other! - at the crowded bar, we ordered: Bombay Sapphire for me (no fruit, no olives) and a dirty vodka for her. The martini definitely received a solid 9. Not too much Vermouth, glass chilled, only a few razor thin ice chips floating at the surface. Tasty.
More and more of Carrie's friends begin to arrive and the absolute icing on the cake was Rob and Sean. These make you feel like sunshine mixed with a lazy afternoon - a little giddy and absolutely relaxed. Once we coaxed Sean's inner hip hop diva out into the night things got really fun. If I hadn't gotten that second martini I would recall for you some of the witty remarks!
There is a great fireplace outside as well. I imagine on a cloudless night you could see the stars between the rooftops. Gorgeous. Lots of little tables are clustered together and I ended up teaching French to Brian, Nick, and Sean - well Sean was determined to speak Spanish - but I think we managed to communicate!
Lola's and her martinis get a 9. I do love DC - go Redskins!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Seeing Double
2 trips to the Double Door Inn in the past 6 days - can we say, I like this bar (please do NOT begin singing Toby Keith now). This is decidedly my "new favorite old bar" or however we worked that out. Mandy has agreed to be my support system for my lounge singing debut; however I don't even have a song picked out yet.
Sproule, Tony Diamond and Jessica (we need to get her a nickname) have agreed to come out and support my debut as well, but for the price of free admission and cocktails all night...yeah that's going to happen! On Saturday night Mike, the attentive and personable bartender, said he'd put Ms. Smith on the list... and he did! I felt like a rock star when I arrived with my fan club waiting and my name actually on the list.
So when the great Bill Hanna took a break I stopped him and said, I want to be a singer and Mike told me I have to talk to you. He very politely blew me off and told me to take his class at CPCC but it's full this semester. Than he gave me an ear test - which of these two notes is lower - DA or DA (can YOU tell the difference?). But I passed the ear test and he told me if I picked a song and we practiced maybe I could sing. And then he went to mingle with his admiring fans.
A few drinks and a couple of sets later, he meandered back over to us, and Jim the drummer (whom Mandy had been chatting up for the past 20 minutes) tells Bill I want to sing, so he asks me what songs I know. None. I realize I don't know any songs all the way through. An exasperated Bill tells me to learn some songs - Do I know Ray Charles - Georgia? Yes, I actually do (sort of) and he agrees to let me sing during the 3rd (or was it 4th) set. And then 5 minutes later (I am very excited by the way) some guy named Amari gets up and sings Georgia. I mean, really sings Georgia. It was incredible and way better than I ever could have attempted.
So later (next break) Bill says, I think we already played your song. So now he feels bad for me and agrees to let me come to his office for 15 minutes next Tuesday and learn what Key I sing in and we can practice "Misty." Have I mentioned I don't even know this song...now I have homework, from a Bar!
So next Thursday maybe I'll see you at the Double Door (and I'll be a little misty...)
Sproule, Tony Diamond and Jessica (we need to get her a nickname) have agreed to come out and support my debut as well, but for the price of free admission and cocktails all night...yeah that's going to happen! On Saturday night Mike, the attentive and personable bartender, said he'd put Ms. Smith on the list... and he did! I felt like a rock star when I arrived with my fan club waiting and my name actually on the list.
So when the great Bill Hanna took a break I stopped him and said, I want to be a singer and Mike told me I have to talk to you. He very politely blew me off and told me to take his class at CPCC but it's full this semester. Than he gave me an ear test - which of these two notes is lower - DA or DA (can YOU tell the difference?). But I passed the ear test and he told me if I picked a song and we practiced maybe I could sing. And then he went to mingle with his admiring fans.
A few drinks and a couple of sets later, he meandered back over to us, and Jim the drummer (whom Mandy had been chatting up for the past 20 minutes) tells Bill I want to sing, so he asks me what songs I know. None. I realize I don't know any songs all the way through. An exasperated Bill tells me to learn some songs - Do I know Ray Charles - Georgia? Yes, I actually do (sort of) and he agrees to let me sing during the 3rd (or was it 4th) set. And then 5 minutes later (I am very excited by the way) some guy named Amari gets up and sings Georgia. I mean, really sings Georgia. It was incredible and way better than I ever could have attempted.
So later (next break) Bill says, I think we already played your song. So now he feels bad for me and agrees to let me come to his office for 15 minutes next Tuesday and learn what Key I sing in and we can practice "Misty." Have I mentioned I don't even know this song...now I have homework, from a Bar!
So next Thursday maybe I'll see you at the Double Door (and I'll be a little misty...)
Only One Drink Away
Blues - who's got 'em? We all have the blues sometimes. Hell, BB King had the blues every day and I'd say it served him well.
Well, this was no BB Kings, but it was Ed's. Ed's Tavern that is. What is it about having a few drinks after work? I mean, you still spend most of the time talking about work, the occasional lipstick lesbian (or bitter ones), and yet you feel better about it all afterwards. Somehow, a little gin, or in the case of my fellow commiseraters some Guinness, well regardless of your poison, it smooths things out a bit.
Another bar with dark wood - not quite as dark as Sine, but Sproule picked it out and since he's Irish he has credibility with pubs. Our little server was fairly attentive, I suppose the gauges in his ears meant he could hear us better. But it all really started when we heard the CONTEST about the ladies of the 80's. And who better then a couple of guys ...older...than me to be ALL over this one. Play a song for a few minutes (T-dog "this one has to be Kim Carnes. No wait, this one is Kim Carnes!") and write down the name and artist.
Family guy side note - picture Peter as Kim Carnes.
So we listened as attentively as is possible for a threesome who is a few into the evening, and I thought we had done pretty well, what with my recognizing Madonna and Like a Prayer (because clearly no one else knows that song). Turns out there was a group more savvy than us since at the end we didn't win the 10 free beers in a bucket.
The point - there were martini's at Ed's and despite the fact they are around a 3 on the grand scale (hell they don't even have Bombay Sapphire!) and they (once again note the plural) were served in those ridiculous non stemmed glasses, the company was pleasurable and the songs were a bonus.
Remember, you're only one drink away.
Well, this was no BB Kings, but it was Ed's. Ed's Tavern that is. What is it about having a few drinks after work? I mean, you still spend most of the time talking about work, the occasional lipstick lesbian (or bitter ones), and yet you feel better about it all afterwards. Somehow, a little gin, or in the case of my fellow commiseraters some Guinness, well regardless of your poison, it smooths things out a bit.
Another bar with dark wood - not quite as dark as Sine, but Sproule picked it out and since he's Irish he has credibility with pubs. Our little server was fairly attentive, I suppose the gauges in his ears meant he could hear us better. But it all really started when we heard the CONTEST about the ladies of the 80's. And who better then a couple of guys ...older...than me to be ALL over this one. Play a song for a few minutes (T-dog "this one has to be Kim Carnes. No wait, this one is Kim Carnes!") and write down the name and artist.
Family guy side note - picture Peter as Kim Carnes.
So we listened as attentively as is possible for a threesome who is a few into the evening, and I thought we had done pretty well, what with my recognizing Madonna and Like a Prayer (because clearly no one else knows that song). Turns out there was a group more savvy than us since at the end we didn't win the 10 free beers in a bucket.
The point - there were martini's at Ed's and despite the fact they are around a 3 on the grand scale (hell they don't even have Bombay Sapphire!) and they (once again note the plural) were served in those ridiculous non stemmed glasses, the company was pleasurable and the songs were a bonus.
Remember, you're only one drink away.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Sine
Irish pubs. The idea is always fun, but the reality often leaves more to be desired. At least, since I haven't been to Ireland I'd like to think their pubs are actually a lot more fun. But this one wasn't bad. And since I ordered a martini (I know all the beer drinkers can groan in unison), I thought it should be included in the quest.
This is an unusual post since I wasn't with Mandy nor was I even in Charlotte. I went for a quick weekend in Richmond to visit my sister, her hubby, and my darling niece, Trinity. After a grueling day of getting our nails and eyebrows done, and a very quick jaunt into Target, we realized we were very hungry and needed to get a cocktail and an appetizer.
Rebecca isn't big on going to downtown Richmond. With me being a non mother and her being a mother, I have absolutely no idea what it is like to have a child you cannot give back on any day of the week, so why she doesn't go downtown very often is outside my capacity to comprehend. But I am being less than understanding so I didn't make a big fuss out of her not knowing exactly where we were headed when we got there.
Parking. It can be a challenge in any city. But for two women who are hungry and lacking any sense of direction in where they are and where they are going, parking became a major issue. More of a comedy of errors than anything else. Once downtown we realized we needed to eat before we even found a gallery to visit, and by the time we got there (4:00) and figured out where we wanted to eat, we realized the galleries would be closing once we'd eaten so we may as well skip them. Why are we downtown again? Oh yes, well now it is to eat instead of look at art. That's fine with me, we'll do it next time and we'll plan it a little better (I'll find the galleries and hours - and parking - and then I'll drive). Besides, I love to eat.
Europa - if you are in Richmond and you like food GO HERE. It is fantastic.
That is our final destination and after driving down Cary Street 4 times, we find it. And then we drive by twice more while we look for a place to park. I remembered seeing one up the street, but when we turned around to go back we didn't go up far enough so we missed it. And then we realized there had been a parking lot so we went back up to the lot, but there was no entry from our one way street position, so we went down again. But on the eighth try, we DID IT! We pulled into the parking space, adjusted to be inside the lines, and then got out of the car. We walk down to Europa and it starts to rain. No worries, we'll be inside momentarily. Except that when we try the door, it's locked. We cannot go in until 5:30. DAMNIT. But we are hungry. What are we going to do? We just spent 20 minutes and $6 on parking to not eat there? Oh no.
So there's this Irish pub, Sine, up the street (by the parking lot - hee hee), and we decide to go there and have a cocktail and an app. I decide if we are going to have a cocktail it needs to be a proper one, so I order a martini, and Rebecca orders a Guinness. Which is acceptable since we ARE in an Irish pub and she has no idea I am even writing a blog about martinis...this wasn't even going to be on my blog until I ordered it!
Sine is one of those very woody types of places, lots of wood. Tall booths (made of wood), large thick tables, great wooden mouldings around the ceiling, beams, wood floors, and of course, an impressive wooden bar.
We order our drinks and choose an appetizer (spinach and artichoke dip - generic but quite good). The server quickly reappears with our drinks and we fall in, smoking, sipping, generally enjoying the darkness and the raininess of the afternoon. I am smug with our versatility, our ability to plan all sorts of glamorous things and then adapt when they go differently than planned. After our drinks we did go to Europa and I had one of the best meals in my life.
The martini - 8. Sine - 7. But do stop in if you get lost on your way to a gallery.
This is an unusual post since I wasn't with Mandy nor was I even in Charlotte. I went for a quick weekend in Richmond to visit my sister, her hubby, and my darling niece, Trinity. After a grueling day of getting our nails and eyebrows done, and a very quick jaunt into Target, we realized we were very hungry and needed to get a cocktail and an appetizer.
Rebecca isn't big on going to downtown Richmond. With me being a non mother and her being a mother, I have absolutely no idea what it is like to have a child you cannot give back on any day of the week, so why she doesn't go downtown very often is outside my capacity to comprehend. But I am being less than understanding so I didn't make a big fuss out of her not knowing exactly where we were headed when we got there.
Parking. It can be a challenge in any city. But for two women who are hungry and lacking any sense of direction in where they are and where they are going, parking became a major issue. More of a comedy of errors than anything else. Once downtown we realized we needed to eat before we even found a gallery to visit, and by the time we got there (4:00) and figured out where we wanted to eat, we realized the galleries would be closing once we'd eaten so we may as well skip them. Why are we downtown again? Oh yes, well now it is to eat instead of look at art. That's fine with me, we'll do it next time and we'll plan it a little better (I'll find the galleries and hours - and parking - and then I'll drive). Besides, I love to eat.
Europa - if you are in Richmond and you like food GO HERE. It is fantastic.
That is our final destination and after driving down Cary Street 4 times, we find it. And then we drive by twice more while we look for a place to park. I remembered seeing one up the street, but when we turned around to go back we didn't go up far enough so we missed it. And then we realized there had been a parking lot so we went back up to the lot, but there was no entry from our one way street position, so we went down again. But on the eighth try, we DID IT! We pulled into the parking space, adjusted to be inside the lines, and then got out of the car. We walk down to Europa and it starts to rain. No worries, we'll be inside momentarily. Except that when we try the door, it's locked. We cannot go in until 5:30. DAMNIT. But we are hungry. What are we going to do? We just spent 20 minutes and $6 on parking to not eat there? Oh no.
So there's this Irish pub, Sine, up the street (by the parking lot - hee hee), and we decide to go there and have a cocktail and an app. I decide if we are going to have a cocktail it needs to be a proper one, so I order a martini, and Rebecca orders a Guinness. Which is acceptable since we ARE in an Irish pub and she has no idea I am even writing a blog about martinis...this wasn't even going to be on my blog until I ordered it!
Sine is one of those very woody types of places, lots of wood. Tall booths (made of wood), large thick tables, great wooden mouldings around the ceiling, beams, wood floors, and of course, an impressive wooden bar.
We order our drinks and choose an appetizer (spinach and artichoke dip - generic but quite good). The server quickly reappears with our drinks and we fall in, smoking, sipping, generally enjoying the darkness and the raininess of the afternoon. I am smug with our versatility, our ability to plan all sorts of glamorous things and then adapt when they go differently than planned. After our drinks we did go to Europa and I had one of the best meals in my life.
The martini - 8. Sine - 7. But do stop in if you get lost on your way to a gallery.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Dancin, Dancin, Dancin!
Let me clear my throat
The girl with the scarf around her waist, the girl with the dress/shirt, the guys dancing in the corner until the beers kicked in, and of course, the Cody look alike in pink...what would we do at clubs if there weren't other people to laugh at?
Let me see that tootsie roll
Suite...or shall I say Sweet! Not nearly as cool as all the hype from what the girls said, but I had no preconceptions, so I enjoyed myself. What are you going to wear tonight? Too much fun. I had forgotten how great it was to get out there and shake it with the girls, to put on way too much eye makeup and wear a short skirt (over jeans) and really let it out. Have a few cocktails. So really, there were no martinis in this night, but there were gin and tonics and Jack and Cokes, and some beers. Mandy, Laura and Heather, out on the town, looking for only a little trouble. And we found only a little. Those guys on the sidelines thought the dancers were just as funny as we did, and we shared a few giggles over them! There were some really good ones, too. And there was someone over in the private booth section giving hugs to the ladies - was it Chris Rock? Too short I think, and I didn't ask my posse for confirmation, but I really think it could have been him. Isn't it funny how sitting at a private booth actually makes some other people think you might be important?
Piano Man
Two pianos, four pianists, a drummer and a sax/keyboard player. What a great place! They actually played piano man - I didn't think it would happen. It was fun though. I think we might have been the only people singing along, but fuck the rest of them. We had a ball. And then Mandy found some new gay friends. I am not sure that they knew they were gay, but we thought they were. Pink shirt...yes. You like my nail polish - definitely.
Pita Pit
And then we encountered everyone we met that night back at the pita pit. What a great idea. I love that place. Pita sauce almost as good as Showmars.
Ladies?
So when is our next night out on the town?
The girl with the scarf around her waist, the girl with the dress/shirt, the guys dancing in the corner until the beers kicked in, and of course, the Cody look alike in pink...what would we do at clubs if there weren't other people to laugh at?
Let me see that tootsie roll
Suite...or shall I say Sweet! Not nearly as cool as all the hype from what the girls said, but I had no preconceptions, so I enjoyed myself. What are you going to wear tonight? Too much fun. I had forgotten how great it was to get out there and shake it with the girls, to put on way too much eye makeup and wear a short skirt (over jeans) and really let it out. Have a few cocktails. So really, there were no martinis in this night, but there were gin and tonics and Jack and Cokes, and some beers. Mandy, Laura and Heather, out on the town, looking for only a little trouble. And we found only a little. Those guys on the sidelines thought the dancers were just as funny as we did, and we shared a few giggles over them! There were some really good ones, too. And there was someone over in the private booth section giving hugs to the ladies - was it Chris Rock? Too short I think, and I didn't ask my posse for confirmation, but I really think it could have been him. Isn't it funny how sitting at a private booth actually makes some other people think you might be important?
Piano Man
Two pianos, four pianists, a drummer and a sax/keyboard player. What a great place! They actually played piano man - I didn't think it would happen. It was fun though. I think we might have been the only people singing along, but fuck the rest of them. We had a ball. And then Mandy found some new gay friends. I am not sure that they knew they were gay, but we thought they were. Pink shirt...yes. You like my nail polish - definitely.
Pita Pit
And then we encountered everyone we met that night back at the pita pit. What a great idea. I love that place. Pita sauce almost as good as Showmars.
Ladies?
So when is our next night out on the town?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
