November 24, 2015

I decided to try out a new place for my quick-eat-something-before-heading-to-the nursing-home meal. Atmosphere is okay. On arrival, there was a couple at the bar, maybe 10 years my senior. Then four business attire dressed older men drinking crappy bottled beer. One does a double take when I sat down and looked me up and down.

I am on the side of the bar so I can’t see the beer taps clearly, but down farther from the taps, I immediately recognize that their wines by the glass are primarily Orin Swift selections. So, you know, decent but I can’t imagine what they charge by the glass. Overpriced buy-because-of-the-label stuff, right? I admit, I am a sucker for Saldo because of that old label-maker red and white “Saldo.” It even conjures the sound when I see the bottle. click-click-click-click-click. kerchunk. cliiiiiiiiiiiiiick kerchunk. click-click-click-click-click. kerchunk. click-click-click. kerchunk.

I ask for a local beer that isn’t Bell’s. I know they have Bell’s on tap. Gotta, right? Bartender (everyone knows her name, btw) offers me a Griffin Claw out of Birmingham, or a Sam Adams. (what?) I got the Griffin Claw. An IPA. Not bad. Nice finish.

For food, I ordered the lobster bisque. It was decent. The puffed pastry lobster spanning the top of it was a nice touch, but didn’t distract me from the small amount of chunked lobster in the bowl. Heritage Tavern spoils me with their generous lobster portions. I also ordered the burrata. It was good as burrata is bound to be, but didn’t compare to Papavero’s. My big complaint is that the grilled toasts that accompanied it had a faint, and sometimes stronger, taste of fuel or butane or something. Not good. I should have asked for plain bread.

My surprise came from the two men who ended up arriving and sitting right next to me. Also older. Time for eavesdropping. I hear the one start talking about the Dow. The other says, “I blame Obama”. The other man says, “if he’s doing such a terrible job, how come we’re doing so great financially?” They talk some more. About the Lions. Guy next to me then says something about being behind a Chrysler that has a bumper sticker that says “Pro Life. Pro God. Pro Gun. America.” Guy two shakes his head. Guy next to me says, “and another sticker that says, ‘Man plus Woman = Marriage.’ Well, that’s par for the course.” They talked some more about the republican candidates and how dividing they are demographically. All the while I can’t believe I’m hearing this from Grosse Pointers. Who knew there were liberals here.

I got home and told my dad where I ate and what I ate. He says, “yeah, your sisters drop me off at your mom’s and go there to drink their dinner.” “‘Drink’ their dinner?” I asked for clarification. “Yep”, he says.

I wish I’d had another.