Bar Night

I don't go bar hopping, bar crawling, bar going, really.  But, I went on what, for me, is a major bar outing last Saturday, February 6th, to The Graduate and The Avenue.

The Graduate

Claremont x College Ave (across the street from the Safeway)

The Graduate wanted to be a dive bar and failed.  Sure, it has student specials for $1.50 PBR and $3 well drinks.  Sure, it has a cheap boilermaker.  But the dive-ness ends there.  They have specialty drinks, for one: on Saturday they offered a fresh fruit margarita and a "Salty Snoop": well gin, grapefruit juice from a 5.5oz can, and a salted rim in an old fashioned glass.  And it was tasty.  Simple, not particularly special, but a nice beverage altogether.  The Ace cider was what it was right out of the bottle: it's not sweet like Wyder's, it's adult cider for adults.  My friends got strong whiskey cokes and gin and tonics from the nice bartender in the "Bartenders Are Gods" t-shirt, a proficient multi-tasker.

But The Graduate is plagued by a bad bartender.  She stood in the midst of the bottles, staring off, looking confused, when I walked up to the bar.  After a few minutes watching her walk around, serving one drink, counting bills, I said "Hi."

"Hi," she said, and walked away.

Hmm.  Eventually she took our order, in shifts because she didn't seem willing to take the whole order at once.  In the end we got our drinks.

Later my friends ordered Chili Bombs, an abominable combination of Whiskey and Tobasco in a Red Bull.  The first time, two and a whiskey coke cost $19.  The next time, three chili bombs cost $27.  Well thanks, lady.  That is a cheap whiskey coke.

Enjoy the free popcorn with Sriracha, an exceptional combination.  Enjoy the one bartender, the ever-louder jukebox, the clean cut, Cal t-shirt and hoodie wearing clientele.  Enjoy the people who walk by every 20 minutes and clean off the table.  Dive bar?  I don't think so.  But the Avenue is.

The Avenue

4822 Telegraph Ave x 48th

Much older clients, duct tape on the ceiling.  Granted, we didn't arrive until 1am, but the crowd was thin and unenthusiastic.  I think there were two other females in the room at the time.  The pool table was soon unattended--where does that happen?  We enjoyed a quick drink in the stained arm chairs around the fireplace, keeping quiet so as not to disturb the man sleeping contentedly at the table next to ours.  Lovely.