This weekend was marked with visits to two bars. The Elixir and the Toronado.
Friday Night – The Elixir:
After work on Friday, Janet and I decided to head down to the 16th/Valencia district for dinner. Since we got there before our dinner reservation at the Slanted Door, we decided to stop at a bar for a few beers while we waited. The bar we chose was The Elixir. The Elixir used to be part of the Jack’s Chain, which encompassed five bars around the city. The Jack’s Bars were known around the city for having dirty lines (which makes the beer taste nasty) and surly waiters. The Jack’s chain broke up last year, and the bar known as Jack’s Elixir is now just called The Elixir.
The Elixir is small, about half the size of the Toronado… but they have more taps than the Toronado (about 55) which is great, even though they dedicate a few taps to Budweiser.
The people at the Elixir at 5:45pm on a Friday is like the crowd at the Toronado at 5:45pm on a Friday. Mostly regulars, a few people in the neighborhood for dinner, and a couple of obviously lost tourists. I only had time for a few beers, so I had a Boont Amber and a Lagunitas Pils. Janet only had time for a Pear Cider.
Saturday Night – The Toronado:
Well, Saturday night was spent at the Toronado. We were ready to go out to the Toronado at 7:30, but since we didn’t know who was going to be on shift, we decided to wait until about 8:30 so we would get there before the 9pm rush. Anyway, we got in to the bar at about 8:45 and grabbed two seats at the center of the bar, and lo and behold… who shows up behind the bar… none other than Robert.
So, Robert comes on over and serves us up our first beers. I had a Lind Boney Fingers, a seasonal black lager, and Janet had a Spaten Oktoberfest.
9pm rolls around and the bar is still about half full when Ian and Johnny come in to start their shift. The two of them are looking at pictures from the Toronado’s 11th Anniversary Party… trying to decide which picture should be put up on the wall of bartender candid photos. As we finished our first pint, Johnny came over and told us that our second pints were being taken care of by Robert, who had just ended his shift. Janet had another Spaten Oktoberfest and I had a Hop Ottin IPA.
At 9:30ish, the crowd-o’-yuppies arrived, asking for “shots of tequila” and the like. Luckily, they didn’t come in droves, they just came in drips and drabs. All in all, it was a relatively bland night… no great moments (aside from Johnny finally breaking down and “talking shit” about the yuppies). We finished up the night with us each having a Thurn und Taxis Roggen (a rye beer)… and then for our final beers, I had a Hoegaarden Wit and Janet had a Framboise.
Every once and a while, it’s nice to have a quiet night at the bar… and last night was certainly one of those nights.
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