This weekend in DC I died and went to Beer Heaven...only to find out that Chesterfield has its own entrance to the frothy gates, much more conveniently located to St. Louis!
I like to drink beer. Not lite beer. Not cheap beer. Beer. It is a relationship that has been well-maintained over the years and carefully groomed and I can honestly say I understand my relationships with some of my favorites beers much better than I do with some of my best friends.
So my idea of a perfect Saturday night in DC? The Brickskeller, with over 1000 beers on the menu (and a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records). This would not be a night for Bud Lite. This was a night of Blow My Skull Off (stout, rum, lime juice and cayenne pepper), Skip and Go Naked (beer, gin, grenadine and lime juice), and Midas Touch (made to taste like beer from the Roman Empire).
Add in the fact that some of the best college friends on the planet (you know who you are) were there and you couldn't have pulled me away with a team of Clydesdales on A-Rod's steroids diet!
So imagine my surprise upon finding out soon after about the International Tap House, right here in Chesterfield! Count 'em... 40 beers on tap... 460 more in bottles...39 styles of IPA... Smoke-free.... A beer take-out option... 7 HD TVs...each beer served in the glass its brewers intended... Oh, and Blue Moon is the normalest beer you will find on the menu.
So yeah it's in Chesterfield, a locale I have traveled to just once in 5 years, but for me, it might just be the stairway to beer heaven. Catch you there soon!
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Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monday, November 24, 2008
Inspiration and Hope from the Nation's Capitol
Just got back from a whirlwind 36 hours in DC, and boy does St. Louis have a few things to learn...but so does DC
Y and I spent the weekend (or at least 30 hours) in DC this weekend, doing some undercover research versus St. Louis, venn diagram style. My initial, gut-reaction thoughts on the comparison between the two:
Transportation: Our gripes have been well documented here, but St. Louis doesn't stand a chance. For anyone wondering what a world-class transportation system does for a city, take a weekend riding the Metro in DC and you will find out. As a kid, I could't get over the cool machine that took your ticket, spit it back out and opened the space-age gates. Now? I can't get over a public transit system that goes wherever you want it to go, comes when you want it to come, and has stations that look so cool. Seriously, riding the Metro can be a night all its own, it's that good.
Options: This is another place where DC reigns above supreme. In St. Louis, you choose the kind of place you want to go, and then from there choose between the three places that fit that bill. In DC, choosing the kind of place leaves you with dozens of NEIGHBORHOODS to choose from, each which have multiple places you could go. And if you get tired of the 20 bars in the neighborhood you chose? Hop back on the Metro and you will be somewhere else in 10 minutes.
Cost: Same for transportation (possibly even a little cheaper in DC), DC drinks a little more, DC food a lot more, DC gas a lot more... No surprise here when I say St. Louis is a cheaper city
Convenience: Started drinking at 4pm, stopped drinking at 1am, never had to think about a driver or how I was going to get home. Enough said.
The Clientele: By this, I just mean the people in general that I interacted with throughout the weekend (strangers, not my friends) in the Philly airport and in DC. Maybe I have been in the Midwest too long, but I tried to help a man with his bag down from the overhead bin, and he glared at me like I was going to steal it and disappear, despite the fact we were crammed into an overcrowded airplane. I'm just trying to help dude. Guess I forgot we don't do that out East.
Cool Factor: This is the biggest gut reaction of all, but it's the feeling that, wherever you are, whenver you step outside you are in the middle of the action. I'm talking Sunday morning, walking down Mass Ave from Dupont to Gallery Place, more was going on around me than in the middle of the Loop on any given night. I will admit, this could just be a DC bias showing through, but there is just an energy surrounding everything you do and everywhere you go that St. Louis is sorely lacking. DC is the hot girl who knows how hot she is, while St. Louis is the mousy girl with glasses who is afraid to let her hair down because maybe someone will notice and talk to her.
Ultimately, that is what it comes down to... Yeah, you are going to pay a little more in DC and the people are going to be a little more abrasive. But you get all the perks that come along with big city life while being able to get anywhere you want with relative ease. Now if St. Louis could just get that transporation thing down, couple it with some more choice for entertainment and keep the low prices and Midwest charm, maybe we could get to work on that cool factor. Whaddya say?
Read More......
Y and I spent the weekend (or at least 30 hours) in DC this weekend, doing some undercover research versus St. Louis, venn diagram style. My initial, gut-reaction thoughts on the comparison between the two:
Transportation: Our gripes have been well documented here, but St. Louis doesn't stand a chance. For anyone wondering what a world-class transportation system does for a city, take a weekend riding the Metro in DC and you will find out. As a kid, I could't get over the cool machine that took your ticket, spit it back out and opened the space-age gates. Now? I can't get over a public transit system that goes wherever you want it to go, comes when you want it to come, and has stations that look so cool. Seriously, riding the Metro can be a night all its own, it's that good.
Options: This is another place where DC reigns above supreme. In St. Louis, you choose the kind of place you want to go, and then from there choose between the three places that fit that bill. In DC, choosing the kind of place leaves you with dozens of NEIGHBORHOODS to choose from, each which have multiple places you could go. And if you get tired of the 20 bars in the neighborhood you chose? Hop back on the Metro and you will be somewhere else in 10 minutes.
Cost: Same for transportation (possibly even a little cheaper in DC), DC drinks a little more, DC food a lot more, DC gas a lot more... No surprise here when I say St. Louis is a cheaper city
Convenience: Started drinking at 4pm, stopped drinking at 1am, never had to think about a driver or how I was going to get home. Enough said.
The Clientele: By this, I just mean the people in general that I interacted with throughout the weekend (strangers, not my friends) in the Philly airport and in DC. Maybe I have been in the Midwest too long, but I tried to help a man with his bag down from the overhead bin, and he glared at me like I was going to steal it and disappear, despite the fact we were crammed into an overcrowded airplane. I'm just trying to help dude. Guess I forgot we don't do that out East.
Cool Factor: This is the biggest gut reaction of all, but it's the feeling that, wherever you are, whenver you step outside you are in the middle of the action. I'm talking Sunday morning, walking down Mass Ave from Dupont to Gallery Place, more was going on around me than in the middle of the Loop on any given night. I will admit, this could just be a DC bias showing through, but there is just an energy surrounding everything you do and everywhere you go that St. Louis is sorely lacking. DC is the hot girl who knows how hot she is, while St. Louis is the mousy girl with glasses who is afraid to let her hair down because maybe someone will notice and talk to her.
Ultimately, that is what it comes down to... Yeah, you are going to pay a little more in DC and the people are going to be a little more abrasive. But you get all the perks that come along with big city life while being able to get anywhere you want with relative ease. Now if St. Louis could just get that transporation thing down, couple it with some more choice for entertainment and keep the low prices and Midwest charm, maybe we could get to work on that cool factor. Whaddya say?
Read More......
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Moishe's in the House
Monday morning, I returned from a very interesting experience in the nation's capital... having missed my flight the night before (damn yellow line)
What was this magical mystery tour, which paid for my flight, and threw me into a room with 20 or 30 twenty-somethings? It was none other than a Moishe House retreat.
After seeing college, camp, Cincinnati, and youth group friends, and some family... it was time to get down to Yidness.
I showed up at the predetermined address, not quite sure what to expect.
Here I am, a relatively new member of the MH crew, showing up in a well established House. Would I like the kids? Would they be the kind of Jewish kids who are quite nice, but wouldn't really make it onto my interesting list? Would they out Jewish Geography me?
The answers ended up being yes, remains to be seen, and everyone's a winner at Jewish Geography.
Really though, I have to admit that I enjoyed the group. All stereotypical Jewish mixers and discussions of Jewish identity blah blah blah aside, it was fun, and interesting.
And I was able to bring up a core incongruity that underlies the tension in the Jewish humanist leanings and feel comfortable about saying it (ask me later).
Not only that, I got to sit in with a jazz band at Adams-Morgan day, free-style, and connect with some people all over the country.
The retreat reinforced my belief that all over the US, and really the world, 20-some-year-olds are redefining and breathing new life into ancient traditions and culture, adding a new twist to an old standard, and finding any excuse to party with fellow MOTs.
As we move into our new Moishe House, to create an better space for us, we invite you to hit us up and join us in building an exciting young Jewish community.
Read More......
What was this magical mystery tour, which paid for my flight, and threw me into a room with 20 or 30 twenty-somethings? It was none other than a Moishe House retreat.
After seeing college, camp, Cincinnati, and youth group friends, and some family... it was time to get down to Yidness.
I showed up at the predetermined address, not quite sure what to expect.
Here I am, a relatively new member of the MH crew, showing up in a well established House. Would I like the kids? Would they be the kind of Jewish kids who are quite nice, but wouldn't really make it onto my interesting list? Would they out Jewish Geography me?
The answers ended up being yes, remains to be seen, and everyone's a winner at Jewish Geography.
Really though, I have to admit that I enjoyed the group. All stereotypical Jewish mixers and discussions of Jewish identity blah blah blah aside, it was fun, and interesting.
And I was able to bring up a core incongruity that underlies the tension in the Jewish humanist leanings and feel comfortable about saying it (ask me later).
Not only that, I got to sit in with a jazz band at Adams-Morgan day, free-style, and connect with some people all over the country.
The retreat reinforced my belief that all over the US, and really the world, 20-some-year-olds are redefining and breathing new life into ancient traditions and culture, adding a new twist to an old standard, and finding any excuse to party with fellow MOTs.
As we move into our new Moishe House, to create an better space for us, we invite you to hit us up and join us in building an exciting young Jewish community.
Read More......
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