Showing up at a bar (especially your favorite bar) at 12:45 AM or so often proves to be most entertaining. When we got to the Toronado around that time, Avery and I noticed a couple of groups of people who had obviously been there for many, many hours. At one end of the bar were three guys who kept making the heavy metal devil sign with their fingers and headbanging along to the jukebox, no matter what kind of music was playing. Every so often they would let out a few whoops and order another (large) bottle of a Belgian ale. By the time they ordered their last one, they were in need of a designated pourer in a major way. One of the guys started to pour the ale into a glass and missed it completely, eventually pouring half of the bottle’s contents all over the bar. They all just laughed and kept headbanging.

Just then a twenty-something from twenty-somewhere rushed over, pointed above the bar at the rather long and dusty row of all the empty display bottles, and excitedly asked for “one of those big $50 bottles” (of Duvel, a Trappist Belgian ale), at which point Avery turned to me and said “I always thought that bottle was a joke!” This bottle is HUGE. Huge enough to keep 10 people drinking for a couple of hours. Two feet tall kind of huge. Be aware that it is now 1:00 AM, there are only five people in their party, and Duvel is meant to be sipped, not chugged. Needless to say, they somehow managed to finish the entire bottle. The purchaser then raised it over his head and turned the empty bottle upside down in drunken triumph. “You guys rule“, said Johnny the bartender, somewhat patronizingly.

Beer in the morning, beer in the evening, beer at suppertime.

Saturday night, we met up with Shawn (from the Sausage Chronicles) and Chrystyna, the publisher of Cigar Lifestyles Magazine at the Toronado to have a first beer before heading out to a party at Marcus’ place. Boy damn, it was hot… so we stuck with light German beers (I had a Pilsner and Janet had a Hefeweisen).

So, we head out to the party… and it was a blast! It was a lounge party, so velour and fedoras were everywhere… as well as the ubiquitous Cosmopolitans. Would I ever order a Cosmopolitan at a bar or restaurant? No. But, when you’re at a party, you tend to order a “Whatever’s in the shaker” Cosmos were in the shaker, and that’s what we had.

So, 12:30 rolls around… and Janet and I turn into pumpkins because we had to get up early this (Sunday) morning… so we grabbed a cab and bailed.
However, no night would be complete with out a final visit to the Toronado to see how everything was going, and to have a final beer… so we made a quick stop off to the Toronado to have a final round. My last beer was the new Lagunitas Ipanator… one of the best beers that I have had in the last year or so.

I feel sorry for those people who don’t establish themselves as regulars at a local bar. There’s a great pleasure that I get when I head into the Toronado and see the same faces, the same bartenders… the fact that there’s a group of people that you recognize and that they recognize you back. The fact that you are part of a community, bound by your enjoyment of a specific place… the commonality of enjoying TV over a beer with a group of people that you never talk to… never see outside of the bar, but become your family for a few hours a week. That’s the pleasure of being a barfly.

Tonight was the night to go and visit an old friend. The old friend was named Boddington, as in Boddington’s Cream Ale and the place where I had it was Lucky 13. Janet and I decided to stop off at Lucky 13 on our way home for a few beers. I forgot how much I really love that place. Beyond the great music… and beyond the great Frank Kozik posters decorating the walls… and beyond the 2 pinball machines… the place just has great booze.

Lucky 13 has 20 or so beers on tap… including a number of German and Domestic beers (no Bud, Miller or Coors!) on tap, a great selection of German and Belgian beers in the bottle, and Berliner Weisse with both Raspberry and Woodruff syrup.

The last time I was at Lucky 13 was for a co-worker’s birthday. I decided to have a Berliner Weisse with woodruff syrup. Talk about a bizarre looking beer! Berliner Weisse is an iridescent white beer, which is extremely sour, like a Belgian Lambic, due to its Malolactic Fermentation. When you add the alien-green Woodruff syrup, you end up with this x-files shimmering green sweet-and-sour beer. Not my favorite drink, but it’s unique, and that’s worth an occasional drink.

However, I did not have the Berliner Weisse this time. Today, I stuck with Lagunitas IPA and Boddington’s Cream Ale… a treat at any price, especially when it is on Nitro pump and especially when it is one dollar off due to the happy hour! I decided to have an Underburg as well. Yum.

It was a hard decision to not have an Old Potrero, which is always a treat at $9.75 … but I have a bottle at home… and I didn’t want to splurge.If I haven’t ever raved about the selection of Whiskeys and Tequilas at Lucky 13, let me do it now. Rave. Rave. Rave.

Beer was followed by Chili and Baconcheeseburgers at Sparkys. Healthy? Naaaahh. But it was tasty.

I used to be intimidated by Lucky 13, mostly because it’s difficult going into a neighborhood-type bar where most of the people are obviously regulars (the way I think that the Toronado USED to be before all the obviously clueless started looking it up in their Hip Spot Handbooks).  It’s a pretty looong bar, too, and really crowded on Saturday nights.  It has a real “inside” kind of feeling…if you’re not a regular you KNOW you’re not a regular. But it’s nice at like, 6:00.  And they do have a great selection of alcohol.