Sam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
l33tminion) wrote2009-04-20 12:00 am
l33tminion) wrote2009-04-20 12:00 am
More Wanderings and a Most Curious Bar
Yesterday, I went out, had my workout, went home, and then remained indecisively inside for some time. The weather was beautiful, and I was finally able to force myself to go out while there was still some daylight left. Still, my whole mind felt somehow ill at ease. I wandered past groups of tourists in Harvard Yard and wound up standing at the center of Harvard Square, stock still as crowds of people flitted past me in metaphorical slow motion. The usual painter was there, creating his usual fantastic landscapes, spray-painted backgrounds and brushwork detail. He put on the layers one at the time, playing to the crowd, showing the work in progress each time he took a moment for the paint to dry, eliciting amazed reactions from the onlooking children as surprisingly simple steps combined to produce sunlit clouds and snow-capped mountains and stately trees. The guy cranks out these paintings at a rapid pace and sells them, glass-framed, for $10 a piece. I have one hanging on my bedroom wall.
Anyways, I had the idea in my head of going to Drink, an interesting establishment I'd found in the reviews of someone who randomly friended me on Yelp. I took the T and wandered in the appropriate direction and realized that I was in an area of town I'd frequented as a young child. I had the vague idea that being near the waterfront would make me feel more together, and it did. The slowly circling gulls, the smell of the sea air, the surprisingly deserted streets, it was all quite calming. I really need to spend more time by the ocean, considering how much I enjoy it, it's just out of the way from my usual haunts.
After some searching, I found the place and wandered in. It was a classy joint, I felt a bit bad entering in my usual scruffy state, even the patrons in casual clothes were sharply dressed. The place is bright and quiet, fresh ingredients arrayed behind the bar, which spans the whole room. The back wall is lined with glass display cases full of beetles, pinned and labeled. The bartenders are knowledgeable and talented, there's an incredible attention to detail (the glassware, the ice, the choice of ingredients) and a focus on more adventurous flavors (complex combinations and more of the sorts of ingredients dispensed with an eyedropper than you see in your conventional bar). I had three drinks: One sort of like a spicy margarita (mentioned in the Yelp review that led me to the place), a vieux carre (recommended by the bartender as an accompaniment to my appetizer (steak tartare)), and a Toronto (recommended as a good finish to the evening). I staggered home happy.
Today, I woke up early to go climbing, did some cleaning in the afternoon, then went to film club. I expect tomorrow will also be uneventful, I'm off of work for Patriot's Day.
Notes for myself on climbing progress at MetroRock:
Completed and Backclimbed - First Steps for Little Feet - 5.6 (from last time)
Completed - Inauguration '09 - 5.6
Attempted (made it most of the way up) - Pinocchio - 5.8-
Anyways, I had the idea in my head of going to Drink, an interesting establishment I'd found in the reviews of someone who randomly friended me on Yelp. I took the T and wandered in the appropriate direction and realized that I was in an area of town I'd frequented as a young child. I had the vague idea that being near the waterfront would make me feel more together, and it did. The slowly circling gulls, the smell of the sea air, the surprisingly deserted streets, it was all quite calming. I really need to spend more time by the ocean, considering how much I enjoy it, it's just out of the way from my usual haunts.
After some searching, I found the place and wandered in. It was a classy joint, I felt a bit bad entering in my usual scruffy state, even the patrons in casual clothes were sharply dressed. The place is bright and quiet, fresh ingredients arrayed behind the bar, which spans the whole room. The back wall is lined with glass display cases full of beetles, pinned and labeled. The bartenders are knowledgeable and talented, there's an incredible attention to detail (the glassware, the ice, the choice of ingredients) and a focus on more adventurous flavors (complex combinations and more of the sorts of ingredients dispensed with an eyedropper than you see in your conventional bar). I had three drinks: One sort of like a spicy margarita (mentioned in the Yelp review that led me to the place), a vieux carre (recommended by the bartender as an accompaniment to my appetizer (steak tartare)), and a Toronto (recommended as a good finish to the evening). I staggered home happy.
Today, I woke up early to go climbing, did some cleaning in the afternoon, then went to film club. I expect tomorrow will also be uneventful, I'm off of work for Patriot's Day.
Notes for myself on climbing progress at MetroRock:
Completed and Backclimbed - First Steps for Little Feet - 5.6 (from last time)
Completed - Inauguration '09 - 5.6
Attempted (made it most of the way up) - Pinocchio - 5.8-