As Yogi Berra said, that place is so crowded nobody goes there anymore
Those of you who know me can imagine how excited I must've been when I found out that one of my favorite bars, The Publick House in Brookline (Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen Tripel IPA on draught!), had begun to host one of my favorite pasttimes, bar trivia.
I thought it would be like peanut butter meeting chocolate for the first time, but what ensued on a recent Sunday was downright awful. The bar was far too crowded despite a recent expansion, and it was as though the surly waitstaff had never handled a crowd. The trivia jockey looked lost. The vibe was just all wrong. A bar that was my favorite because it felt like someone's home had pulled in its welcome mat. It was like trivia night was being run by Germans, but without the efficiency and only half the charm.
It was so bad, my friends and I just got up and left our table, which I think is unprecedented.
Maybe the place has become a victim of its own success. But whatever the reason, I'm torn about whether I even want to go back to the place. What's a beer snob to do?
posted by NaturalBlog @ Thursday, April 19, 2007
4 Comments:
Heh.
While the N-B and I do not share the same general opinion of the 'Yuppie Palace' in Washington Square, today's post forces an issue near and dear to my thirsty heart.
Neighborhood pubs are disappearing in Boston, and anyone who lives in our city understands how important they are to its culture.
Witness the recent 'improvements' to Pete's Pub, a local institution at Haymarket that will soon feature poetry readings in its quaint Victorian dining room. And consider the demolition earlier this year of The Littlest Bar, a catastrophe that should have brought the massess into the streets.
At the same time, Boston is experiencing a rash of theme park pubs, from the ostensibly Irish to the purportedly Brazilian. Lovely prints! Ferns! Clean lines! Blond woodwork! Blond waitstaff! I've been told that there's nothing like the $16 martinis at Foundation Lounge, but I somehow think Kenmore Square was better when we had the Rat.
These days, when I order a doubleheader and a splash, all I get is a blank stare from an Uggs-shod Ditzy Debbie who has to text her manager to figure out what I want.
And let's not even talk about corned beef hash....
How novel. This is probably the first time in recorded history that a generation feels that things are changing for the worse.
Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen Tripel IPA - how the hell do they fit that onto a tap? Sounds like it might take longer to say than pour.
THE LITTLEST WAS DEMOLISHED?!?! I no longer live in Boston. NB, Why didn't you tell me?! Memories of Good Times in that bar. My chest hurts :(
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