I went to these places on Saturday night.
9-9:30pm - Avenue - I had a beer and a snack (cucumbers with blue cheese and peanuts in a buffalo sauce for $5) at this gastropub on Orange. I was a little disappointed in the menu. Some goofy snacks, burgers and pork belly). I'm off gastropubs to begin with and they aren't the measure of these in any case. The place is basically the same layout as all the places that preceded it. A wall of seats, a bar and some high table seats up front. The bartender was nice and knowledgeable. Their collection of "premium" beers was adequate, but, not awe inspiring. The place was pretty crowded.
9:30-10pm - I tried out the bar at the Aloft (a cheaper version of the W chain) for the first time. It's in the old OUC building where Orange meets the 408. The entrance to the hotel was nice. They put in a pool and a lounging area out front. The bar was a typical hotel bar. It was empty when I arrived and there were around eight people when I left. The bartenders say it gets good towards the end of the night when their drunken guests try and prolong the party.
10-11pm - Schumann's Jaeger Haus - I've written about them (on Church) before. This time I tried some food. I had some meatballs (3) for $7. They were surprisingly good. No rubbery bits. Not overcooked. Not bad for 10pm. I think they didn't serve food after 10pm the last time I was there. This time they did. It seemed to help with the occupancy rate. Alot of people came in and ate while I was there. They all seemed to like their meals from what I could hear. Service was good. Food came out fast. They have a very reasonable $8 lunch menu. The schnitzel and wursts seemed appetizing. I wish they would do pig knuckle. I still think they did a good job making it look German.
11pm-11:30pm - Dubliner's - They cut Don Jefe's (on Chirch) in half and made a good looking pub that serves alot of whiskey. It was packed. It may have been because they had a private party earlier or CFers can't avoid a pub to save themselves. It looks like it was the right move for them. I'd guess for us it means another similar type place is about to go under. A weird thing I noticed was that they were now charging a cover for Don Jefe's and there was a line to get in. If they can charge $10 to get in now, why did they feel the need to cut its square footage in half?
11:30pm-1am - Hooch - I ended up on Wall St (no cover to get in now) and grabbed a drink at this place that replaced Slingapour's. It looked the same. It was packed. They need more than 3 bartenders. The two rooms play different music. I hung around outside on Wall (they replaced Sauced with a bar and kept the name and sign). It (Wall) was pretty packed too. A funny sighting was that girl Cat (?) from Survivor stumbling around like the trailer rat she is. Now with fake boobs. No sign of her "boyfriend" from that season of the show.
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