Ok, like I said in yesterday’s update : Oh well, it’s not the first time that we’ve been there until 2am, and it won’t be the last. Well, last night we were there until last call once again. When we got to the Toronado, we realised that the only bartender on shift was Ian. Saturdays are strange days at the Toronado… sometimes it’s empty, sometimes it’s quite busy. Ian was hoping that the night was going to be slow when he agreed to be on shift alone yesterday. Since Ian is the newest Bartender, and yesterday was Dave (the Owner’s) birthday party, Ian figured that Johnny should be able to enjoy the party. Ian, unfortunately, was wrong.

Anyway, back to the bar. Ian responded to our presence by swiftly bringing a round of Underberg. Mmmmm… Underberg. That and a Hop Ottin IPA started off the evening… a Lind Jolly Roger and a Lindeman’s Framboise (along with more Underberg) finished off the evening. All said, it was a perfect evening at the Toronado.

The only thing that should have made the evening better would be some incident with the Yuppies… oh wait! I did have some yuppie incidents. The first incident happened a few minutes after arriving at the Toronado. I needed to get to the bathroom, and in my way were a gaggle of cardigan-wearing yuppies. So, first, I asked nicely “Excuse me”… when nobody responded, I said “Pardon me, coming through”. I figured that the third time would be a charm, so I tapped on the queen-yuppie’s shoulder and said “‘Scuse me, coming through…” when that failed to produce a response, I just pushed my way right through them. Queen yuppie made some half-assed attempt at copping an attitude with me by yelling “Hey, watch it there!” Ooh… I was trembling.

The yuppies struck again while we were into our second beers… another yuppie came up to the bar and ordered a Bass and two shots of Jager[meister]. Excuse me, do you SEE Bass ale on the board? Do you see any hard liquor or anyone else drinking a mixed drink? No. I have never believed that there is no such thing as a stupid question, and assholes like this prove me right every time.

Last night we were on the fence about going to the Toronado, only because we had gone on Friday night and ended up staying until last call. But we decided that we wanted to see Ian, so we went and again ended up staying until last call, mostly because Ian was the only bartender on shift, which is always cool. Had Framboise all night (expensive taste, I know!) first Lindemans in the bottle and then Lindemans on tap (bottle’s better). I still don’t understand those people who come to the Lower Haight all dressed up to go to the Toronado. At least dress the part if you’re going slumming. Sheesh.

Lat night, after the Brian Setzer concert (check today’s entry in the smirks section to see what we thought of the show) we went to the Toronado for what was planned to be a couple of beers. We ended up staying there until last call. Oh well, it’s not the first time that we’ve been there until 2am, and it won’t be the last.

Most of the night was spent talking to Steve, one of the bartenders/bouncers. He’s one of those types who you always see at the bar, but never really talk to. Last night we talked. It was great! We spent almost 2 hours discussing why movie sequels suck… which led to a discussion of Star Wars, cartoons, and all other geeky stuff. Like I have said before, it’s the personality of the bartenders and the barflys that really creates the mood at a bar.

On a beer-geek note, I had the new Jolly Roger from Lind Brewery… which at 8% abv is a strong beer to start with. From there, I moved onto a pair of Hop Ottin IPAs from Anderson Valley Brewery, which were mild in comparison at 7.5% abv. We ended the night with a Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait, a sour Belgian Lambic beer with a touch of sour cherry added in the secondary fermentation.