Speakeasy 21- Cocktails Downtown

It was my birthday last week, and a good friend and I started the celebration at Speakeasy 21. I had avoided this place for a while; I find the bars right in the office towers downtown are often just too loud, or filled with, you know, rich idiots (I am trying to write at least one post without using the word douchebag, but perhaps one about the Bay street bar scene isn't the place to start.)

We were seated quickly, but it was pretty crowded for a Tuesday night. It was indeed loud, but no worse than anywhere in the area, I guess. The cocktail I had was delicious. Now, I am fully aware that I am late to the party on practically everything cultural these days (just see my TV reviews; have you heard of this Game of Thrones business? ) but the throwback cocktail thing- I have been doing this for years.

I was ordering sidecars in bars back when you had to tell the bartender what was in them. I was scouring antique stores for coupe glasses before they became ubiquitous again. For me, it was an Algonquin Round Table thing. My love of Dorothy Parker et al meant a lifelong infatuation with the style, if not the liquor itself. Still, although it's delightful to have a drink at the actual Algonquin when I'm in New York, I'm relieved that I can finally get old-school cocktails in so many places.

At Speakeasy 21, I had a Sloe Gin 75, which was like a French 75 but with some Chambord thrown in. Very good. I can't comment on the food, since my friend and I just had drinks, before meeting some others at Montecito for dinner (more on that later). I'd definitely go back and try something else from the menu. I have 2 friends who work in that office tower, and I noticed they had patio furniture about to be set up, should this mother%$#*%ing Canadian winter ever end.

Comments

Writing at Night

This is how I do it. My brain turns on at the weirdest times. I first saw a pen like this when I was in my 20s, in a TV report about a movie reviewer, who used one to take his notes in a dark theatre. I searched everywhere, and finally found one. Before I had it, I tried a few other tactics to help me save for posterity the incredibly deep, meaningful thoughts I felt I was having at night. I tried just writing with a pencil in the dark, but that didn't work out too well. My writing, on a good day, looks like someone suffering from the DTs sprayed Silly String on paper during an earthquake. What I mean to say is, it's really, really bad. So, the pencil thing was a bust. Next, I bought a mini-tape recorder, but my middle-of-the-night mumbling was almost worse than my writing. It seemed like my Shakespearean musings would be lost to humanity. How tragic! The pen. Then, I got my flashlight pen. It was a revela...

Girls Who Wear Glasses

Image- Pinterest I had braces for 3 years. That may give you some idea of how out of whack my teeth were as an adolescent. My dad used to say I could eat corn on the cob through a picket fence. Even with good insurance, he still referred to my braces as "the trip to Hawaii." I had them removed just a few weeks into high school. I was perfect, for about a month. Then, one day in math class, my teacher asked me to do the problem written on the blackboard. "There's something written on the blackboard?" I said, which was both smart-ass and true. I couldn't see a damn thing on it. So, off I went for an eye exam, and, sure enough, I needed glasses. I was not pleased. Hipsters hadn't yet been spawned by the devil, and the only people who wore glasses were nerds and old people.

Go Human Beings!

Elaine: "I will NEVER understand people." Jerry: "They're the worst!" If, like me, you have ever had to utter the sentence " Excuse me, but could you not clip your toenails on the bus? ", you might understand my frustration with my fellow human beings. A casual observer of this blog might go away thinking I'm an irredeemable misanthrope, but that's not (entirely) true. Yes, during the average day, I scold strangers for various offenses, but it's only because, well, let George explain. The thing is, though I sort of hate people, I love humanity, if that makes any sense. By any criteria, we really are the worst- millennia of religious oppression, warfare, tribalism, sexism, and yet... look at all the good stuff! Some guys with crappier tools than you have in your garage built this. Respect.

Blue Velvet Sectional

Search This Blog