In addition…

In addition to all of the above, I have to say that drinking in New York city is a hell of a lot different than drinking in San Francisco. The alcohol is out-of-this-world expensive (even when we went out for sushi, the alcohol portion of our bill was $32…for only 2 beers and 2 small sakes!), and they often serve beer in glasses that I’m sure are smaller than the usual 16-ounce pint glass that we’re used to, even though they’re charging $1 or so more.

I can’t seem to find an explanation for the plethora of empty bars and restaurants in Hartford, CT. After sunset, the downtown area was so desolate, it was almost depressing: the day we went to City Steam, they said that they were closing at 10:00 PM, and many of the other places regularly close by midnight! Granted, it was the weekend before Christmas, but the night we stopped in to the Hartford Brewing Company, we were the only people there, and the bartender was considering just closing up if no one else came in. This might be the norm for a lot of small cities across the nation, but once one gets used to San Francisco with it’s hordes of bar-going people — the majority of which stay out until last call — where10:00 PM dinner reservations are the norm, anything less can be a little bit of a shock.