Sub Par

Friday night I went to check out the new bar called Par located at the old Hi-Pointe. The establishment used to be a counter culture bar that played host to many unknown rock bands. Last year it went under. Recently reopened, Par provides a much different atmosphere.

Walking in, the exposed brick and long mahogany bar gives it a very classy feel. However I was there at 8PM on a Friday night and there were about 4 others there including the owner and some kids. Note to the owners, little kiddies running around your bar on a Friday night is not conducive to a fun adult atmosphere.

The drink selection is minimal. There are only 3 wines to choose from, a chardonnay, riesling and a merlot. The beer selection was fine for me, including all the standards, but everything was bottled, nothing on tap. There are a couple 42” plasmas that seem to be nice to watch a game on. One is at the bar, and the other near the back.

As I ventured further in I noticed what seemed like someone’s living room, and not in a cool hipster way either. There were couches with blankets ( to keep warm?) and pillows ( for a nap?) The furniture overall was just very suburban, ugly area rugs and all. When I left I felt like saying “Thanks for having me over!”

All in all I don’t think this place will be around long. There is no buzz about the opening and it’s just not cool enough to develop the clientele by word of mouth.

My drink and my two step.

I think my liver has recovered enough to drop a quick recap of Mardi Gras 2008 St. Louis.

Friday night 4 of my friends got in town and we all played poker at my place. We proceeded to get belligerent. I won $13.70 which I soon forfeited after finding out they would leave me 6 of the 12 free cases of beer they brought with them from Columbia.

Saturday morning could have been better, not because we were hung over, but because I lost my damn keys and we looked for them for an hour only to give up, leave the door unlocked and take a friends truck. We were happy to be on the road and I soon forgot about the keys.

As soon as we stepped foot into Soulard we stopped at the first beer stand that crossed our path and bought buckets of beer 83oz of golden goodness. These turned out to be a poor choice because they didn't have a handle and we had to switch hands every 5 minutes to keep each arm from cramping. Those 83 oz were gone by parade start and the plastic bucket met it's demise via a spike to the ground from me.

The hurricanes came next, along with a little help from the trusty flask. what ensued after I doubt was pretty. I began to dance to every note of music I heard with anyone that would put up with me. It brought tears to the eyes of every man woman and child. I also told everyone I saw that " I like to party." We ran into more friends and headed back to the house at dark. The white castle invasion came next, a little more card playing and we were out by 3AM...Oh the memories.

...Sunday morning I woke up wiggled around a little and heard my keys crash to the floor, they were under my covers the whole time...