Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Bar #49 Johnny Malloy's & Gippetto's (Deceased)




Where do you watch your favorite professional sports team and why? There is an industry of bars that seek to answer that very question and they all say the same thing, “here.” The sports bars of the world attempt to find the keys to enhancing a simple concept, watching sports. They must find the way to maximize how their food, booze, seating, atmosphere, number of different games playing, audio and visual, and of course the social aspect that makes it worth leaving the house for. Johnny Malloy's has risen to this challenge and of being bar #49.

Johnny Malloy's has its own parking lot that is bound to be full when our home teams are playing. Luckily, this wasn't one of those nights. I made my way through their large but enclosable Patio. The patio gives a place for smokers to enjoy the bar atmosphere during the summer and to sadly stare through the windows at during the winter.

Once you enter the permanently enclosed half of Johnny Malloy's there are some cool booths and a bar that can probably seat a solid 2 dozen people. However, you won't notice that until your eyes have adjusted to the rows of large flat screen TVs that plaster the bar's walls. We took our seats at the bar and waited for the bartender to make his way over to us.
As is the luck of the blog, if anything can go wrong for a bar then it will while I'm there. Tonight, the issue was, they were training a new bartender. Minus an issue at the end, the new girl and the original bartender did a good job. The problem was that as she was being trained in between serving customers, leaving awkward times when neither bartender was to be found.
I started my night off with Elevator's 1810 Oktoberfest. It was full flavored with the perfect amount of taste and alcohol. It's named after the date of the original Oktoberfest. It happened on October 12th 1810 when King Ludwig I (a prince at the time) married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in Munich and threw a festival to celebrate which reached all of Bavaria (later became an important part of Germany) by the end. This beer is the epitome of what an Oktoberfest beer should be leaving all others to try and live up to it. Now take a break from reading and go buy it while it's still around.
Welcome back. I ordered the garlic buffalo hot wings and classic mac and cheese bake to eat. The wings were ok. They were what you'd expect but didn't add anything to make them unique or exceptional. The mac and cheese bake was much the same, it was a safe bet that you wouldn't complain about and wouldn't mind eating again.


There are currently no soups on the soup and salad menu.


I have a confession to make. I'm from Pittsburgh. This was important tonight because for the first time in two decades, the baseball team I grew up with both made the playoffs and had their first winning season. I know this is when you start getting all up in arms about the Indians. I love the Indians. I still talk about their epic playoff game when the actual Cleveland environment rose up and smited the New York Yankees. Swarms of midges descended on the brightly lit field testing the grit of our pitcher and theirs. The latter was found wanting. This being said, the love of a child and his sports team is one that can last a lifetime. It allowed me for 20 odd years to say over and over again that this is the year. It wasn't. It becomes a part of you. I root for the Bucs not because of where I live but because I am a Pirates fan. I even refer to them as us. If you've moved to another city you understand. The team closest to you in distance is not necessarily the team closest to your heart.


Luckily, this evening the majority of the people in the bar had decided they wanted the Reds to lose or the Pirates to win so I felt at home. There were a small group, or crowd if you will, of three wearing Reds clothing. Between their team losing and the bar being against them, they left in under an inning. Since, going to Johnny Malloy's the Pirates would make it past the Reds that evening but lose in game five to the Cardinals. The Pirates fans were still the happiest losers you'll find, with some even calling for a victory parade. Next year I'm expecting, no demanding, a Pirates and Indians World Series


Anyway, there was some anarchy with the billing but they got it fixed with no complaint from me.


I wanted to watch a baseball game with my friends. I had as much seating as I needed plus I didn't have to get up to get up to get beer or food, plus I had plenty of options. Johnny Malloys also provided me with extra people to cheer along with me. I was able to see and hear my game better than I would have at home. Johnny Malloy's & Geppettos made my night better than had I watched the game at home. This is what's made this sports bar successful for over 35 years and why you should visit bar #49.

17103 Detroit Ave. 
216-529-1400


Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Lakewood Halloween Guide 2013

Melt
14718 Detroit

Patio Tavern: Friday, October 18th 9pm
15615 Madison
It's that time of year again!  Katie and Lauren are once again thrilled to host the best costume party on Madison!  No costume is too crazy, funny, whorish, or nerdy! We love it all!  To the newbies invited this year: EVERYONE DRESSES UP FOR OUR PARTIES! :-)
Prizes for the first and second place best costume winners!!!
Lets make this best party yet!


Quaker Steak & Lube
15312 Detroit


Five Oclock Lounge: Friday, October 25th 10pm
11904 Detroit
Hey everyone, its THAT time again....the final friday on the month is SOUL CLUB O'CLOCK..This time it'll be a tad SPOOKTACULAR...Resident GHOULS/DJ's ALR!GHT and PARTY SWEAT will be adding some seasonal monster jams to the mix..COSTUMES ENCOURAGED....and as usual 1-2-3 Dance contests w/ cool prizes will be had!

We r cleveland's most dapper rock & soul dance party at 45rpm and FREE OF CHARGE...Secret SOUL Club, The Boss City's Boss Party where ALL MOVES ARE ALLOWED

Northern Soul
Garage screamers
Jungle rockers
Mod groovers
Fuzz blasters

Around the Corner Saloon & Cafe
18616 Detroit


Harry Buffalo
18605 Detroit

Spitfire Saloon: Friday, October 25th 12 am
1539 W 117th
HALLOWEEN PARTY Torments / Scoliosis Jones

Riverwood Cafe
18500 Detroit

Spitfire: Saturday, October 26th 12 am
1539 W 117th

HALLOWEEN PARTY Gluttons / Fuck You Pay Me /Kill the Hippies

Iggy's
13405 Madison

McGinty's Pub: Saturday, October 26th 9pm
13751 Madison
It's that time of year again so get dressed up and come have some fun with us. We will have two costume contests with prizes. One for individuals and one for couples and other fun stuff going on.

Mahall's
13200 Madison


Avenue Tap House: Halloween 9pm
18206 Detroit
Tricky Dick

SpitfireFriday, November 1st 12 am
1539 W 117th
HALLOWEEN COVERBAND SHOW


Corky's Place
13302 Detroit




HALLOWEEN COVER BAND SHOW
Fri, November 1, 12am – Sat, November 2, 12am


Monday, October 14, 2013

Lakewood Wine & Craft Beer Festival

I started off with 15 drink tickets and cool 4 oz glass to drink my 15 beers out of.

Got to meet the man behind Franklin Brewing Company in Elyria, OH, Howard Ross.  I also, tried their America's Gold.  It's a kolch style ale.  What that means to you is some extra hoppy taste mixed with a big drop in bitterness giving you an interesting tasting but very drinkable beer.

Beer #2 was Harpoon's Winter Warmer.  It's full of good flavors including ginger bread without being over powering or nauseating.  It looks to be one of my favorite Christmas ales of the new season.  That's the last I'll talk of next season's beers at least till after Halloween.

Beer #3 was called Wheat Freedom.  This was a beer in the opposite direction.  It had that wheat beer bitterness that I prefer with a well rounded taste of lemon to make sure we all new it was a summer beer.
Thor Platter's band been a fan of the blog for a while now and is always worth giving a listen to.
One of the big contributors of this event was Lakewood's World of Beer.  Now, you could say that their involvement just makes it some big chain bar event.  You'd be a little right.  This gave us three things:  a better organized event, more than likely a better selection of beer and wine, and Shawn Freeman.  Shawn's the general manager of Lakewood's World of Beer.  He is one of the friendliest most enthusiastic people you'll ever meet.  Shawn loves craft beer and I believe that he has a secret plan to make everyone he meets to love it just as much.  He made his bar and this event something a bit more special.

My next beer's name was lost to the night but my notes say that the beer was forgettable too.
Beer #6 was Goose Island's Sophie.  A light and hoppy beer that shows that you can make a quality beer that everyone can enjoy.

Melt's a great bar I've been before and their official blog day is coming soon.
25th Anniversary from Lakefront Brewery that uses apricot to make their beer instead of masking it.  You'll taste a different nuance every time you drink it.
This is the best hard cider I've ever had.  It's crisp taking advantage of a non-sugary tangy apple flavor with a hint of honey.
I had Pizza BOGO for the first time for dinner.  Besides a great combination of toppings I liked the cheese on the pizza more than just about anybody else's.  I also realized that 8 little beers in is a good distance on an empty stomach.


The scary game of the night was Jenga with 2x4s.  I played against Johnny and our new friend whose name is probably Andrew, if not sorry.  Both of them either work or have worked for NASA.  We started with the rule that if you touch a piece then you have to pull it out.  The game went fine for a bit until I picked a low piece that didn't want to move.  That meant there was a lot of weight pushing down on it. We did not have the rule, however, that I couldn't touch other pieces.  So I pressed down on the top as hard as I could and yanked.  Two pieces almost came out, leaving the tower precariously reliant on my hand on the top.  I knocked the pieces back in place with newly released board.  I have found that in games played with drunk people if you add in enough confidence with a big smile anything is possible.  When I said, "we never said we couldn't hold the tower up with my other hand;" the rocket scientists happily went along with it.  The tower no longer had a proper center of gravity and every pull caused lots of swaying and twitching by all of us.  We all had one more successful yank until Johnny was unlucky enough to have the swaying tower fall.  The best thing about Giant Jenga is watching everybody scatter as the log tower attempts to smash everyone in its path.  As the loser, Johnny had to drink what we decided on next, which was mixing a glass of wine in with our dozen+ beers of the night.
Roo Brew is not from Australia, it's from Akron.  It's not made by a beer brewery it's made by a winery.  There was a day when the people of Akron Law School said we need beer and this winery said, "Sure, Why not."  It's a smooth beer with a slight taste of mint.

This was the disturbing place where the glasses were rinsed off into.
After this point my notes just become a mess of autocorrecting.  Regardless if you are going to drink anything I drank this night, drink this, it's amazing.
If you were the designated driver you got in for $10.  Thanks Katie!
Hi Sue!
I drank Mama's Little Yella Pils by Oskar Blues Brewery, a favorite for those that love a good pilsner.
I've already written about  21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon beer.  In a world where watermelon beer should be awful this is awfully good.
This beer is super clean and an excellent example of a higher quality Eastern European beer.  Keep an ear out for more news from this foreign beer in the future.

I don't know what I drank from her booth.  I somehow drank two of them.  They were 9% alcohol.  She is currently yelling chug and I drank the glass in under a second.
I hope everyone had a great night.  I know we did.  See you all next year!