Comments on: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/ Bars, bartenders and imbibing in Beantown. Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:49:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: dave http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-30462 dave Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:41:43 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-30462 I stopped in Eastern Standard last Sunday to see if I could still get the "Bushmills in the Afternoon" (was not able to stop in on St. Pat's Day). Unfortunately not. Looks like I will need to give it a whirl at home. Anyway, did a Final Ward on recommendation from the bartender. I enjoy being able to talk with the bartender to come up with something to drink. A few easy questions (liquor, with/without citrus, rocks?) and viola a drink is made. Spot on by the way. I have also noticed the crowds at the bars, even on "off nights" (ie not Thur/Fri/Sat). It is an interesting phenomenon, due to the economic climate. I stopped in Eastern Standard last Sunday to see if I could still get the “Bushmills in the Afternoon” (was not able to stop in on St. Pat’s Day). Unfortunately not. Looks like I will need to give it a whirl at home. Anyway, did a Final Ward on recommendation from the bartender. I enjoy being able to talk with the bartender to come up with something to drink. A few easy questions (liquor, with/without citrus, rocks?) and viola a drink is made. Spot on by the way.

I have also noticed the crowds at the bars, even on “off nights” (ie not Thur/Fri/Sat). It is an interesting phenomenon, due to the economic climate.

]]> By: ljclark http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-30025 ljclark Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:58:06 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-30025 Alex, thanks for the view from SF! May the bars that offer the best experience win. Alex, thanks for the view from SF! May the bars that offer the best experience win.

]]> By: Alex http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-30013 Alex Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:58:45 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-30013 So far, San Francisco seems to be doing ok. Certainly there are bars that are hurting, but between observations, and what friends in the industry are telling me, it's not as bad as I thought it would be by now. There's no doubt that people are doing a bit more drinking at home, but at the same time, I think people are looking for the communal feeling that comes from knocking back a drink or two at a good bar. I suspect that the first bars that will fail will be those that weren't places people generally felt comfortable in to begin with. Part of why booze is recession proof is because a lot of people look at going out to drink as an experience, and not just a place to get a beer. So far, San Francisco seems to be doing ok. Certainly there are bars that are hurting, but between observations, and what friends in the industry are telling me, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be by now.

There’s no doubt that people are doing a bit more drinking at home, but at the same time, I think people are looking for the communal feeling that comes from knocking back a drink or two at a good bar. I suspect that the first bars that will fail will be those that weren’t places people generally felt comfortable in to begin with. Part of why booze is recession proof is because a lot of people look at going out to drink as an experience, and not just a place to get a beer.

]]> By: Arnold http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-29965 Arnold Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:40:18 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-29965 It could also be that the Boston area has not been as badly hit by the downturn (yet). I know that is the case with the housing market, and the area has not made the top ten list in unemployment figures. But that is just a guess based on no facts. It would be interesting to hear how similar bars in NYC and San Francisco are doing. It could also be that the Boston area has not been as badly hit by the downturn (yet). I know that is the case with the housing market, and the area has not made the top ten list in unemployment figures. But that is just a guess based on no facts.

It would be interesting to hear how similar bars in NYC and San Francisco are doing.

]]> By: ljclark http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-29955 ljclark Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:32:00 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-29955 Good point, JG. Craft beer has been doing double-digit growth for the past few years, with few signs of stopping. The whole "affordable luxury" phenomenon is at work. Alcohol may be recession-proof, but is going out? It's a lot cheaper to drink at home than at a bar. Good point, JG. Craft beer has been doing double-digit growth for the past few years, with few signs of stopping. The whole “affordable luxury” phenomenon is at work. Alcohol may be recession-proof, but is going out? It’s a lot cheaper to drink at home than at a bar.

]]> By: JG http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-29947 JG Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:06:22 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-29947 I was listening to something, I think on NPR, a few weeks ago talking about how the craft beer industry is still going strong. Alcohol is recession proof, although even those brewmasters were admitting that people were tending to shift things down a notch in terms of how expensive their beers of choice were. I was listening to something, I think on NPR, a few weeks ago talking about how the craft beer industry is still going strong. Alcohol is recession proof, although even those brewmasters were admitting that people were tending to shift things down a notch in terms of how expensive their beers of choice were.

]]> By: ljclark http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-29919 ljclark Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:08:16 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-29919 I ordered a margarita at Bonfire a few years ago, and the bartender gave the drink about two-and-a-half very gentle shakes, as if she were afraid of breaking the ice cubes, or actually making the drink cold. Hmm, maybe the Lawrence Tierney guy will be promoted to bar manager... Mmm, I don't know, Slim. I'd say that guy looks pretty 1977. I ordered a margarita at Bonfire a few years ago, and the bartender gave the drink about two-and-a-half very gentle shakes, as if she were afraid of breaking the ice cubes, or actually making the drink cold. Hmm, maybe the Lawrence Tierney guy will be promoted to bar manager…

Mmm, I don’t know, Slim. I’d say that guy looks pretty 1977.

]]> By: MC Slim JB http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/comment-page-1/#comment-29910 MC Slim JB Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:04:14 +0000 http://drinkboston.com/2009/03/15/it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times/#comment-29910 Ugh, I hate A-Rod, but that Bonfire cocktail struck me as the dumbest thing I'd seen in a long time. It's odd, because that bar has been up and down for a while. When it opened, it offered the most insulting, over-sugared excuse for a Caipirinha I'd ever tasted (didn't help that I hated the dining room food.) Then I found myself meeting a friend there a few months back, and got served by an old-school guy in the Lawrence Tierney mode: gruff, bullet-headed, solid, skilled. That raised it up a lot in my estimation. A syringe drink knocks in back down to idiot-land. I also must observe as so often happens in ads that shoot for retro that they always get the hair wrong, like a 50s cowboy movie where Dean Martin still has his duck-tailed pompadour. I'd say that dude in the CC ad's got a modern long haircut, not 60s/70s. Ugh, I hate A-Rod, but that Bonfire cocktail struck me as the dumbest thing I’d seen in a long time. It’s odd, because that bar has been up and down for a while. When it opened, it offered the most insulting, over-sugared excuse for a Caipirinha I’d ever tasted (didn’t help that I hated the dining room food.) Then I found myself meeting a friend there a few months back, and got served by an old-school guy in the Lawrence Tierney mode: gruff, bullet-headed, solid, skilled. That raised it up a lot in my estimation. A syringe drink knocks in back down to idiot-land.

I also must observe as so often happens in ads that shoot for retro that they always get the hair wrong, like a 50s cowboy movie where Dean Martin still has his duck-tailed pompadour. I’d say that dude in the CC ad’s got a modern long haircut, not 60s/70s.

]]>