Turning the Titanic

I decided several weeks ago to attend a happy hour tonight that was being sponsored by a group that I've socialized with in the past and had a good time with. The event was being held at a "European-style" lounge in DC. European means no decoration and neon uplighting, for those of you that were wondering. One sip of my $6 (on special, normally $12) cosmo cleaned the plaque off my teeth. Bottled lime juice, anyone? I'm discussing the merits of Bruce Lee in general and as Kato in the Green Hornet series in particular when the jackass that waged a harassment and threat campaign on me in October walks in. Fine. There are over 200 people in the bar. We don't have to cross paths. I continue to talk, people move in and out of the conversation as they mingle. I notice that Jackass is slowly working the crowd to get closer. Nuts to that! I do not need any more drama with this guy. I leave, but I wasn't ready for the night to be over.

Once I'm back in Silver Spring, I head over to Ray's the Classics. I figure if the bar is too crowded, I can just snag some Chik-fil-A for dinner. The slowly sinking ship of my evening is completely salvaged by a great seat at the bar, a tall Dark and Stormy and a perfectly done hangar steak. The maitre d' tries to tempt me with the caramel apple desert. "Next time" I promise. The place is practically empty so I end up talking with the bartenders most of my meal. This was the happy hour experience that I was looking for. Easy conversation, fantastic cocktails, great food. Ray's turned the Titanic for me.