Sushi, Sake and Bourbon Bars...OH MY!

Today’s post will be fairly brief.  I am slammed at the office.  It seems as though the flu has made an early appearance in my office.  Several folks have been out, super sick.  Therefore, my flow has been totally fucked up.  But, surprisingly, it is not putting me in a foul mood.  GO TRIPPYBETH!

Last night, the plan was to go to the USS Nightmare.  Well guess what? It’s not open on Tuesdays.  You’d think that someone would have checked that out. 

Oh well, we instead went to Naked Tchopsticks.  I had the Playboy sushi roll again.  I was almost swayed by noodles, but I can have noodles any ole time, I can’t have the Playboy roll anytime.  It did not disappoint, it was extremely delicious.  The sushi and a little sake made for a wonderful supper.

I HAD TO HAVE the Playboy roll again!

The sake was yummy!!!

After supper, since the evening was still young, we headed down to The Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar.  There was a nice crowd there for a Tuesday night.  I was able to snag my favorite bar stool at the end of the bar.  I first ordered the unnamed cocktail that I had on Saturday night.  He said that he didn’t have any of the ginger bitters (?)  but he would substitute.  I was fine with that, Josh is a fantastic bartender and he hasn’t made me a drink that I didn’t like.  It, of course turned out to be very yummy!  I had 2 other cocktails and one Woodford Reserve Double Oaked bourbon (can’t NOT have one of those).

Cy posing with a J Littman and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon.

Just a third of the bourbon/rye selection at OKBB.

I am still pushing for the unnamed drink to be named The Cy.  Josh suggested that I come up with my own drink, and if it’s good, he will name it The Cy.  So, I am now doing my homework.  I need to go buy some supplies and start playing around.  It has to include the Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, since Cy is made from wood.  KS and I are on this endeavor!  I really want to try some of the Hibiscus, Jasmine and Burlesque bitters... Party Source, here I come!!!

I was telling the other bartender how I had previously been in there with someone who seemed put off by the thought that I could be a “regular” there.

He said “Fuck him, he should like that fact that you’re liked and get along with people.” 

That’s right!

Now, I'm kinda mad at myself for taking him there in the first place.  He didn't deserve OKBB.  I'm selfish like that, I want them to be successful, I want them to last... But I always want to be able to find a seat at the bar!  By the crowds that I've been seeing there, I am certain that they are successful.  They're filling a niche that none of the other bars on Mainstrasse can compete with.  They're drawing a cool, laid back crowd that appreciates a delicious sipping bourbon or an artfully crafted cocktail.  It is not for the PBR, Jack-n-Coke crowd, which is just fine by me.

I talk to people, I like people.  And what I always say is “Most people like me, the ones that don’t are assholes.”

Last night I talked with a couple from The Bronx.  The male contingent was originally from Covington, the female from the West Coast.  They loved the fact that craft cocktails were making their way to the area, especially since they were planning a move back.  Cool couple.

I have my Jack White tickets printed and ready to go!!!  I can’t wait!!!  My cousin JH and I will have a blast, I hope he is as psyched as I am!

The precious tickets!

Your daily dose of Jack...

Bicycles, Bourbon and Attention Whoring

Well, Monday hasn’t started out too bad.  When I arrived at the office, someone had made good (normal coffee) and there were donuts!!  I haven’t had a donut in FOREVER!  It almost satisfies my craving for cake, which I’ve had since August, almost…

And, my Jack White tickets arrived in my email box this morning! HELL YEA!!  I was a little nervous, I’d never ordered from Stub Hub before and they didn’t arrive on the day that they said that they would.  But, now I have them and I’m soooooooo psyched!!!  Not sure yet who I’m taking with me.  I don’t really have a romantical interest, so that doesn’t seem to be an option.  But I need to decide soon!

Now for the weekend round-up!!

Friday night I went bicycling with WR and MR.  We went up to the bike trail in Newtown at Bass Island.  It’s really a great flat trail.  The ride was plagued with technical difficulties though.  WR and MR were riding borrowed bikes, trying to determine if they want to become bicyclists or not before they invest in new bikes. 

This was a good idea.  However, the bikes that they were riding didn’t have gears.  For flat rides, it’s really not a huge issue.  The bike that MR was riding was the most craptastic bicycle I’ve ever ridden. 

The first issue with it was that MR is tall; it isn’t a bike for tall people.  We raised the seat and the handle bars as far as we could to make the riding more comfortable.  The handle bars kept sliding back down, we didn’t have any tools to tighten the bolt up.

So, after MR struggled with the handle bars and the uncomfortable position.  I offered to trade bikes.  I’m significantly shorter, so the handle bars at the lowest position really isn’t an issue for me.

Riding that bike was like riding through a river of molasses!  I don’t understand, it shouldn’t have been that hard, the road was FLAT.  I wouldn’t ride that bike if someone gave it to me, I wouldn’t ride it to the dump to throw it in!  No wonder MR was struggling so! 

So we only rode a few miles.  I let MR take my mountain bike home and try it out for a while.

Bicycles without gears are only good if it’s 1923 and you are wearing a seersucker suit and carrying a parasol. 

After the ride I treated them to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse, we had a really great time.

I LOVE margaritas, lime margaritas with salt on the rim.  Who like sugar on the rim??? GAG

Saturday morning C and I took his kiddos to the Race for the Cure at the Red’s stadium.  We didn’t RACE, but participated in the Family Walk.  We had a great time walking, and then walked around the city, down by the river and back across the Purple People Bridge to Newport.  Finished the morning off with brunch at the Pepper Pod in Newport and checked out a couple of thrift stores.  I didn’t buy one thing! Very unusual for me!

Saturday night I went to Chez Nora with T for dinner.  I love the rooftop deck.  I had never been up there before, I’ve only had drinks downstairs at their bar.  I had some yummy bbq beef brisket, a veggie medley and mashed potatoes!

My Saturday night look.  I wanted to show off my super cute hairband, but it didn't photograph too well.

After dinner we headed up to The Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, still my favorite bar!

The last sip of my Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon.  I need some of those glasses for my party glass collection.

The, as of yet, unnamed drink that Josh whipped up.  I, of course, suggested naming it "The Cy".  He did say that if I drank enough of them, he'd name it after me!

All the bartenders said “HI” when I walked in “Hey, you haven’t been here for a while!”  It DOES feel like Cheers!!!

T asked “Are you a regular here?”

Actually, I’m not a regular anywhere.  I just don’t blend in I guess. 

“Yea I can tell that you like attention” T said.

Uuuuummmmm WHAT?!?!

I don’t think that I like attention any more than anyone else.  T back peddled a little bit, but still totally meant it, I could tell.

I did suggest to Josh, one of the bartenders, that they should have a singles night, with an informal bourbon tasting and a simple mixology class.  I think it would be a great idea!  Maybe I’ll email that idea to them on Facebook as well…

There aren’t enough singles activities.  Except for the occasional POF dance and I’ll never attend one of those again… UG!!

And with a singles function at OKBB, even if I wasn’t interested in any guys, there would still be BOURBON!!

Sunday, I was a slug.

I did laundry, napped and cleaned out a closet.  I finally got C to get his stuff out of my closet on Sunday.  So I actually accomplished something even though I was a slug!!

I was also consumed with thoughts of my next tattoo yesterday.  So I spent some time researching symbols that I'm interested in.  I want to get in on my inner arm, right below the antecubital space.  More to come on this...

And now…. It’s Monday again!!

One week until Jack White!! I'm so psyched, I can hardly stand myself!!!!

Bourbon, unicorns and the Weekend

Good morning my friends! The weekend is almost here!!

This week has gone by pretty quickly and hasn’t been too terribly busy.  As it stands I haven’t made many plans for the weekend.  Just for Sunday.. planning to go to the Know Theater (http://www.knowtheatre.com/index.html) to see “Hundred Days” by The Bengsons (http://www.knowtheatre.com/shows/thebengsons.html) with A.  I have not spent enough time in a theater… I was at the Know a few years ago, a friend’s daughter, AZ, was putting on a one-woman show.  She was fantastic!!

The Cincinnati Blues Festival (http://www.cincybluesfest.org/) is this weekend, Friday and Saturday night.  I’m contemplating checking that out.  I love blues… I’ve previously seen a couple of the acts that are scheduled, should be a rocking good time.

It’s also the Great Inland Seafood Festival (http://www.greatinlandseafoodfest.com/) at The Levee….. But I don’t know if I should be stuffing my face like I’d want to…  My parents may be going, I told them to let me know if they did….I could voluntarily stuff seafood down my gullet while simultaneously being force-fed a big fat portion guilt.  With a bonus of some snide comments about my tattoos, lifestyle, etcetera….. Sounds like a good time, right???  And they wonder why I seldom ever go back home.

It’s not ALWAYS that bad though, I sound like a brat.  They are good people, we just don’t see the world the same way, or live our lives the same way.  They really can’t wrap their heads around the world that I live in…. I’ll always be a country girl in my heart, I just don’t live that way anymore, and I don’t want to….. There is so much more life out there…… AND I PLAN TO LIVE IT!!!

Last night I attended the services for JG’s dad.  His mother broke my heart, she was so distraught…. They had a big love.  Sometimes I’ve wondered if big loves really do exist.  I’ve never had one, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t possible.  I have, I suppose, seen some evidence of them.  JG’s parents, my friends KS & KS…. It’s rare, almost mythical to me…. Like a unicorn. 

I want a big unicorn….. But they are shifty…… I can’t lasso one…….and they’re clever…..can’t bait one…….. And shooting one just seems wrong.

HOW THE HELL DO YOU CATCH A UNICORN??

Apparently they frolic a lot too…. Fuck…… I am no frolicker…… this is going to take some serious strategic planning. 

Maybe there’s a book? “How to Capture a Unicorn in 3 Easy Steps” I’d download that shit straight to my iPhone. 

I’ve heard it told that sometimes a unicorn will frolic itself right into your lap, when you weren’t even looking for a unicorn! I believe this happened to my friend KR, she definitely has a unicorn, that just parked its little sparkly one-horned self right in her lap! Hell, she didn’t want a unicorn, said she didn’t even like unicorns…. Now she’s plaiting its mane…..

Maybe unicorns are attracted to indifference….   I should change my approach to unicorn wrangling.

Ok…… I got waaaayyyyyy off track……….

Back on the rail.

After the services last night, I stopped at the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar (I love that place!) and had some Double Oaked Woodford and a Horse’s Neck cocktail.

I’ve never really been a go-to-the-bar-by-myself kinda girl.  It’s not that I’m shy, I’m not shy at all…. I’m not really sure what the issue is, but I did last night and I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.  I actually felt very 1943 in my skirt and heels, sipping on a bourbon neat.  The bar just has a cool laid-back vibe, folks chillin’ enjoying their libations.  No one looking to get laid, no douchey dudes or slutty chicks….. I’m at home there.  The bartender Josh even remembered me from my birthday hijinx! The other bartender said that they were like Cheers… I look forward to them saying “Hey TrippyBeth!!” the next time I walk in!!

I’m starting to feel my tadiction raising its colorful little head.  Itching for some ink and my last tattoo is just barely healed.

I have no patience, I want everything NOW…. I am constantly like a kid on Christmas Eve.  Minus the fear of having pepper thrown in my eyes. (My grandmother told all the children that if we tried to sneak a peak at Santa Claus delivering presents, that he would throw pepper in our eyes! I grew up thinking that old Kris Kringle was an asshoke).

I want to have a dragonfly added to the half sleeve in process on my left arm, as I’ve decided that is the one I want to finish first.

The dragon fly is so colorful and graceful…. So many variations….

I only want flowers, butterflies, dragonflies and bees in the sleeves….. girly.

Now to decide who I want to do it…. Do I drive to Dayton for Kevin? Return to my boy Dustin? Try someone new? 

Decisions, decisions…..

Well I am off my friends!!!

Enjoy your weekend!! TrippyBeth will enjoy hers!