Updates and Bar Reviews

I just wanted write a quick update on my recent happenings and I know that a large contingent of my readership are graduates of the University of Michigan so I also wanted to give you an update on some of the newest bars around A2.

I've been living the relaxed life for the past few weeks. Although 2 weeks ago I took a spontaneous trip back to Seattle for a long weekend. A buddy was hosting a camping trip that had free beer and free BBQ brisket. That's the sort of thing you fly across the country for. It was nice to get to enjoy at least a little bit of the Seattle summertime.

I've been reading at a voracious rate. I've polished off a book about every three days. The latest was JFK's Profiles in Courage which took me longer than most. I've also been working my way through some great American novels including some Hemingway. I read The Sun Also Rises in two days at the UGLi (because I don't have a library card). Reading Hemingway really inspired me to drink, so after I finished it I went to campus corner for a couple of bottles of wine. I'm really digging Campus Corner's new bags.

I do call it my medicine.

A few weeks ago I went to play trivia at Charley's with my buddy Ting and his trivia team. I didn't know it, but it was the tournament of champions and the grand prize was a free party bus to a Tigers game. We won of course. So tomorrow I'm meeting up with everyone at Charley's for an all-expense-paid trip to Detroit to watch the Tigs take on the Nats. From the sounds of it everyone gets pretty hammered so I'm looking forward to it.

I went home yesterday and convinced my parents to get some Buddy's pizza. I've really missed Detroit Style Pizza and was jonesin' for some. It really hit the spot.

Yummy. I love Pizza.

Last Thursday I ended up going to Cedar Point with one of my roommate's friend and some of his high school friends. It was a fun trip even though I didn't know the guys that well. We bonded over a breakfast at Hardee's and we are all now lifelong friends. A while ago I had a picture on my facebook in front of the shitty Six Flags version of Snake River Falls. This is what a real Snake River Falls looks like. There is no comparison. I rode the Gatekeeper, it was a good ride. For some reason the Magnum had the longest line of all the rides most of the afternoon.

That's a 120 foot drop fools.

On Wednesday I leave on a 2.5 week road trip around the east coast. I've been spending the past week or two planning it. The idea is to drive across Canada to Montreal and then head south to NYC and then DC, Pittsburgh, Blacksburg and eventually Atlanta before coming back up to Ann Arbor via Columbus. It should be a good trip, and while it is taking me a bit longer than my trip back from Seattle, it is only 3,000 miles so basically no big deal driving-wise. I hope to blog from the road.

Tonight I took a break from blogging to write a letter to the editor of the Michigan Today magazine. The article that I took issue with is here. I've expressed my feelings towards increasing the availability of student housing in this space before, and as a campus legend it is my duty to continue to fight for campus housing as I am now living in campus housing again. This was my letter:

I enjoyed the recent article on rental housing development in Ann Arbor. Though when discussing supply and demand the article discusses the increase in supply without mentioning the equally important increase in demand. The University's enrollment has increased by 3,892 students between 2008 and 2012, which outpaces the 3,050 bed increase in beds due to new development (2,600) and North Quad (450).
(Link to the enrollment numbers: http://www.ro.umich.edu/report/12enrollmentsummary.pdf) 

We will see if it gets published.

BAR REVIEWS!!!!

1) World of Beer - South U and South Forest
This chain bar opened 2 weeks ago in the new Landmark building on the South U strip. It is not an overly big bar, but it appears they really built it well. A good mix of seating and open space. Navigating the bar is a bit tough due to some overly large bar stools, which make ordering a drink from the bar difficult despite it's decent length. They have an elevated stage for a band and actual live music is a nice touch for a bar north of the Mason-Dixon line. The bar is overly staffed which makes getting a drink easy even if the 1000 beers make deciding hard. I did find it odd that they didn't have Newcastle and the bartender said they didn't have Smithwicks even though I later found out they did (I eventually settled for a Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale).

The tough thing for this bar is going to be convincing college kids to spend $6 on a craft or imported beer when they can walk down the street and get a $5 pitcher of beer. I think this bar would do a bit better in the State St or Main St areas closer to the refined beer drinkers of Ashley's and other more upscale bars.

Service: A
Selection: A+
Atmosphere: B
Value: B-
Overall: B+

2) Old German - Washington and Ashley
This new addition to the Main Street bar scene has only been open a week but already it had me making the walk over there on a Saturday night. Located under and owned by Grizzly Peak this bar features a mix between the authentic German bar and some modern features. The pros had to be the stuffed bear in the corner and the free popcorn. The cons were an overwelming smell of pine sap and Hip Hop music blaring through the bar which didn't really mesh well with the rest of the bar.

We got the Rot Bier, The Soggy Viking Strong Ale and a Kolsch Style, all were good none were great. They only offer about 5-10 different beers. We didn't try any food, but since it comes from upstairs I'm sure it is great. It wasn't too busy for a Saturday night and there were maybe 40 people in the bar that could seat 100. Overall the beer was tasty but the music left us feeling a bit out of place.

I'm on the left in the blue T-Shirt.

Service: B
Selection: C
Atmosphere: C
Value: B
Overall: B-

3) R.U.B Pub BBQ - State and Packard
When Packard Pub went out of business it was only a matter of time before some new venture moved in. That venture was R.U.B Pub which has opened it's third restaurant in a location many view as cursed given the number of failed ventures that have occupied the space. Differing itself from Packard Pub, Rub Pub bills itself as a BBQ restaurant first and bar second. They didn't do too much different to the space, but have added some great deals. I've been in a few times, and tonight i ate dinner there with my roommates. Since it was Monday everything was 1/2 off - both food and drinks - which is an insane deal.

I got the BBQ platter that has brisket, pulled pork, BBQ chicken and ribs along with two sides and toast. It was a great deal of food and I washed it down with a tall Labatt Blue Light. The brisket was a bit dry, but when you go to eat at 9 PM it's hard to expect a fresh brisket right out of the smoker. The waitress forgot about us for about 8 minutes but made it up by giving my roommate a free beer. Besides the 1/2 Monday's they also have this deal after 10 PM every night.

The $1 long islands are actually much better than you would expect for a $1 long island. The bar is fine and they have plenty of TV's that make it the type of place that is great for watching a game even if you aren't hungry. Overall it's a pretty good neighborhood bar.

Service: B
Selection: B
Atmosphere: B+
Value: A+
Overall: A-

The average weekend

Dear Diary,

Earlier this week I was at my weekly meeting for the large scale project that I'm in charge of at work. Our contractor on the project said that the capstan (essentially a large winch that hauls a vessel into dock) they are installing as part of their project would be complete this week and we were invited to to attend the initial start up on Friday morning. There was some potential in this.

The first step was obvious. I got back to the office and immediately organized a happy hour for that afternoon. At the aforementioned happy hour I mentioned the start-up testing to my supervisor and how it would be a good experience to attend and to see where the capstan was made and to also witness the start-up. With my smooth talking and a few beers I got the okay to attend along with my backup on the project.

So on Thursday night I hopped on a ferry to Seattle. I took my Seattle girlfriend out to a dinner on the waterfront. It's restaurant week and that means I get to go to restaurants I normally can't afford. On Friday I slept in and then went down to the start-up test. The company that built the Capstan was in South Seattle in an industrial area. It was my Camaro and a whole bunch of trucks.

As Frank Sobotka once said "We used to build shit in this country, now we just put our hands in the next guys pocket." We'll this was one of the few times that I actually got to see something actually get built in this country. The company that built the capstan has been around over 115 years, and served America so well that the city of Seattle actually threw them a parade after WWI. We took a tour of their plant and got to see how the piece of equipment was built. One of the great things about the Government is that we demand that every material that we get is produced in this country. It felt really good to see government money getting spent on a much needed piece of equipment that is made by a local company with local materials and local workforce.

What also felt really good was having it take enough time that going back to the office was out of the question. We got done a little before noon and instead of going back to the office I decided to take a few hours of leave and hang out in Seattle. I drove over to Alki Beach for lunch. People don't tend to associate Seattle with beaches, but there are a number of good beaches in the area, and many more places that feel like a beach town.

It was a little chilly at the beach, but it was nice and relaxing. That is my signature picture face, which I entirely resent. I had plans to hang out in Seattle and go to the Mariner's home opener that night. After lunch, I got a call from the bossman asking if I could come in on Saturday for a little overtime. I love me some OT, so I said of course. It was easy work, just watch some guys work. So I cancelled the Mariners plans and drove home.

After I got home, I got a message that I no longer needed to come in on Saturday. So this meant I could get crazy Friday night. I got home right about the time that everyone else was getting off of work. We decided to go down to our local bar right on the waters of Liberty Bay. We drank there and got some dinner. Then we moseyed on down to the next bar and played some pool. I left a little early to go home and watch Full Metal Jacket.

On Saturday, I woke up and decided to tidy up around the house and thought about what flowers to plant this year. In the afternoon I called some buds and had a cookout. I went and bought some pre-marinated meats and hosted a pretty good meat grill. Afterwards we went out to see 21 Jump Street.

Sunday I had planned a Picnic with my girlfriend. We packed a cooler and we went to Fort Ward State Park in Bainbridge Island. The state park used to be an Army Coastal Defense fort and then a Top Secret Radio Listening Post in WW2. The day started a little cloudy, but quickly cleared up to become a terrific day. We played Frisbee and ate sammiches.

It was a freebie 3 day weekend and I didn't do anything crazy, but I still made the most of it. It was the type of weekend that as a mid-20 year old I should come to expect.