WEEKEND UPDATE, OLYMPIC STYLE..

(credit: Anthony Ocasio, ScreenRant.com)

The past weekend was a long and mostly enjoyable one, with an "international" flair.  It started on Friday night with the opening ceremonies of the London Olympics.  I was torn on whether or not to put the audio on for the ceremonies, because to be honest, as nice as it is to watch it, you never quite get to enjoy it.  Between the constant chatter of patrons and the occasional douchebag making crude comments, it's almost pointless to play the sound.  But since it is the Olympics and it only comes once every four years, I said what the hell, and it ended up being a good call.  The ceremonies looked pretty cool and a lot of people stuck around for the whole show.  It ended up being a good night because of it.

The rest of the weekend found me taking a much-needed quick road trip to my home away from home, Montreal, Quebec, with three members of the Sunday Brew Crew, DOUBLE S, NORBIT and BIG MONEY GRIP.  I was a bit worried about making the long trek by car because quite frankly, I don't have the patience to do the car thing like I used to.  But we got to Montreal in pretty good time (about 6 hours) and the rest of the weekend (really less than 24 hours) was a blur.

Some of the highlights included seeing Thierry Henry in our hotel (the NY Red Bulls were in town to play the Montreal Impact);  Surprising the boys with what turned out to be a great dinner at Vieux-Port Steakhouse.  And of course, late night debauchery at McLean's Pub was the biggest highlight of the trip.  The staff there treated us well (as always) and made a fun trip that much more enjoyable.   After some late, late night smoked meat poutine at Dunn's Famous (La Banquise was too far away), we finally called it a night, with a long drive home ahead of us the next day.

All told, it was a great trip- just wished we would have had more time to really take in the city.  Especially since it was my first time visiting the city during the warm weather season.  It's such a beautiful city to begin with, being able to enjoy it in the summer was a bonus and only made me love it even more.  If you haven't had an opportunity to visit Montreal, Quebec, Canada, you have to do so.  So totally worth it.

So now I'm back, ready (or maybe not) to start another week.  The Olympics are in high gear (though I have to say, I really hate NBC's tape delay policy), NFL training camps are open and pennant races are getting hot in baseball (and the trade deadline is on Tuesday).  Should make for a fun week!

AND FINALLY: After years of requests, we finally have STONE ARROGANT BASTARD on tap ($7/pint)! It's highly ranked by many beer experts and with good reason.  It's a damn good beer, plain and simple, and at 7.2% ABV, it carries a nice kick too.  Definitely worth a try!

That's it.  That's all I got for ya.  Time to get back to the salt mines!


TONIGHT: Enjoy $2 domestic drafts and 2-for-1 Wine/Sangria by the Glass during our weekly "MONDAY NIGHT UNWIND"!  Catch more Olympic coverage as well as baseball via the MLB Package!  


Cheers!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...

After what seemed to be years of yapping and moaning about taking another trip to Montreal Canada, I finally did just that.  One of our bartenders (CHELSEA LATELY) was going to go there with a group of classmates for a student conference and we decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to make that long-awaited getaway back north.

So after taking care of a lot of last minute errands for the bar, we hit the road for what would be a six-hour drive through the lovely State of New York and into Canada.  Now I've been to Canada a few times now but never driven there, so I was somewhat intrigued for what I would be in for.  Let's just say that it wasn't the most exciting ride.  Then again, I had been up all night, between packing, doing staff payroll and just the sheer nervousness of oversleeping and missing my ride- I pretty much dozed in and out throughout the ride.

I did, however, wake up just in time to see that we were about to hit the US/Canada border and I was excited like a kid in a candy store.

We pull up to the border and I was expecting to see all kinds of security with guard dogs and such but alas, all we got was a kind lady sitting at the gate.  She asked for our passports and the purpose of our visit and we were on our way within minutes.  Pretty anti-climatic.

In any case, once we left the border gate, we were in Montreal in less than an hour.  It was overcast and  foggy but I didn't care.  All I knew was that I was back and excited to get my "vacation" started.

After reaching our destination, I bid adieu to CHELSEA LATELY and her crew and made my way to my hotel.  Once I checked in and got settled, I took to the streets and immediately began to take in the sights of the old neighborhood haunts of St. Catherine Street.  Now while am making it a point to do more exploring of the city this time around, I had to start somewhere and I figured that I may as well stick close to the Bell Centre, where I had a date with the Montreal Canadiens later that night, thanks to one of our great regulars, Vic Shaio.

I hit a spot called BRUTOPIA, which came recommended to me by one of our Canadian regulars and this place did not disappoint.  A tri-level brewpub that brews its own beers on the premises, it's located on the famous Crescent Street strip.  I got there just as they opened so I had the place pretty much to myself, which was fine with me.  I was able to chat with the lovely barmaid about the place, the various beers they had to offer, etc.

While this was taking place, I was anxiously awaiting a text from Vic about tickets for the Habs game that night.  Everyone knows that I LOVE the Montreal Canadiens and every time I come here, it's imperative that I go to at least one game at the Bell Centre.  That being said, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to get tickets to a game, unless you're willing to shell out a couple hundred bucks for a regular season game.  I love the Habs, but not enough to blow my budget and eat Ritz crackers the rest of the trip.  I don't ball like that.  So I put out feelers to see what I could come up with and sure enough, Vic came through.  And when I say he came through.. HE. CAME. THROUGH.  He informs me that he put a call in to our mutual friend, SCOTT GOMEZ who plays for the Habs, who in turn, left me a ticket. . . IN HIS SUITE!  I shit you not.

As it turns out, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta (both teammates here in Montreal and former teammates together in New Jersey) have a suite at the Bell Centre that they use for sick and underprivileged kids, in conjunction with the Montreal Canadiens Children Foundation.  It's called "The Scott and Brian Suite" and the suite is child friendly, complete with tabletop hockey games, snacks and they get a visit from the Habs mascot, YOUPPI (who almost caused me to have another meltdown, for those of you who know of my disdain of mascots).

So while I was excited to not only get a chance to go to the game, but to be able to enjoy the game in a suite was a bonus! However, the thing I really enjoyed the most was seeing the faces of the kids who if not for the generosity of two Habs players, would probably never get a chance to experience a game at the Bell Centre.  These kids were treated like kings by the Canadiens staff and it was really cool to see.  And the Habs played what might have been their best game of the season, winning 4-0, which was an extra bonus for everyone, myself included.

After the game, I hit the SPORTS STATION for a nightcap (or three) before going back to the hotel.  Very busy, loud boisterous sports bar.  Food-eh but it's a sports bar so you're not looking for "Joe Beef" quality here.  Beer prices were pretty decent though and they had Alexander Keith's Red, which was very good!  Going without sleep for almost 24 hours finally took its toll and I had a full day ahead of me so that was it for the night.

Got a lot to do and see today and looking forward to catching Habs vs Isles at McLean's Pub tonight!


Cheers!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

QUEL LONG VOYAGE ÉTRANGE C'A ÉTÉ (WHAT A LONG STRANGE TRIP THIS HAS BEEN)... (long post)

Day Two of my trip to Quebec was befitting of the aforementioned title of the post. Monday night I stayed local, hitting one of the local jazz clubs and ended up meeting some pretty nice people. A couple of McGill University students among others and I have to say, it was pretty nice to be able to just kick back and talk to people without worries about what's happening in the bar. One thing I noticed right away is how aware everyone is when it comes to politics. Whether it be on the local level or the international scene, the folks here are on top of their game when it comes to world affairs. And folks here in Canada are keenly aware of what's happening in our Presidential Race and voice their opinions quite freely on what they would like to see happen. It was refreshing to gain an insight on how others view us and our government and how it impacts upon them.

After checking out on Tuesday, I had a full day to kill while waiting for the Habs/Canes hockey game at the Bell Centre. I figured that this would be a good time to do some sight seeing and more importantly, find a battery charger or battery for my camera. As luck would have it, as soon as I checked out, it began to rain. So this made my sight-seeing difficult because, quite frankly, who wants to walk around in the rain, looking like a friggin tourist?

So after some fruitless driving around trying to navigate the streets of Montreal (this French thing has become a pain in my ass; more on that later), I finally found the Eaton Centre, one of the larger shopping centers in Montreal. I parked my car and began the search for the camera battery. Two hours and five different camera stores later, I'd still hadn't found my battery and I was becoming nervous because without a battery, I'd have nothing to take pics with.

At this point, I decided to make my way towards the Bell Centre. I had to pick up the tickets for the game that my NHL contact had set aside for me in Will-Call. I figure that I may as well get some lunch while I was there and try to salvage what was left of the afternoon before the game.

After picking up the tickets (sweet seats, by the way: ten rows from the glass, behind the MTL goal end), I went to the sports bar LA CAGE aux SPORTS, located in the Bell Centre. Now the food there isn't anything to go crazy over. Typical continental pub food, but with decent looking chicks serving you drinks and lots of sports on TV's everywhere. Apparently it does a very brisk business before and after games. When I finished I realized that I still had at least an hour or so to kill and by now, the rain was falling at a steady clip. I didn't want to sit in the bar and drink all afternoon because I still had a long drive ahead of me to Quebec City after the game. So I walked over to TIM HORTON'S (my new best friend, by the way) and ordered a coffee and sat in my car, listening to Sirius satellite radio. (on a serious note- why we don't have Tim Horton's in NYC is a travesty to me). This is where the fun really begins.

About an hour after sitting in the car, I get out to put more money in the meter. I figured that I'd ride out the meter as opposed to paying an arm and a leg for event parking next door. After getting back into the car, I turn the ignition and the car won't start. I keep turning the key and again, nothing. It seems that yours truly ran the battery of his Ford Fusion into the ground. So now, not only do I have no place to go until game time, I have no car! Oh mon Dieu???

Lucky for me, I see a Hertz car rental place right across the street from where I was, and seeing that I had a Hertz car rental..... Let's give it a shot?

I go to the place, meet with the desk attendant and explained my situation to her. She tells me (in her sexy French voice) that she would be able to get me a replacement car and that everything would be fine. So what do I get? I lose my Ford Fusion (which I was slowly falling in love with), complete with leather seats, cruise control and Satellite Radio, and I get in return: A piece of shit Chevy Cobalt, something I'd never heard of before, with dingy cloth seating, AM-FM radio and no Satellite Radio (which would come back to bite me later).

By now, the rain is at torrential levels and folks were beginning to stream into the Bell Centre, so I decided to join them. The next two plus hours were pure bliss as I experienced one of the most unique moments in my sporting life. Watching a pro hockey game in Montreal is like nothing else I'd ever experienced in my life. From the touching/inspiring pregame ceremonies to the game itself, it's pretty obvious that this is a REAL hockey town. By the time the game ended, I felt like a converted Canadians' fan (no offense to Ottawa).

Now that the game was over, reality kicked in. I now had to drive up to Quebec City, 232 miles northeast from Montreal. A good three-hour drive if I was lucky. To make matters worse, I had no Satellite Radio, which meant that I had to endure Celene Dion and five hundred Celene Dion-wannabes the whole time. Simply painful. If I liked French before (and it is a soothing language to listen, mind you), by the time I reached Quebec City, I thoroughly hated it. And to make things worse, the rain had turned into a driving snow and with limited lights on the road and constant signs of deer crossing warnings, I couldn't help but to wonder if I would end up like those professional wrestlers who often meet an untimely death after driving off the road while swerving around a deer or moose.

I finally arrived at the HOTEL DOMINION 1912 at around 2am. The city was pretty deserted at that point and I felt like I was pulling into Mayberry, North Carolina. Lucky for me, the night manager was still around, as if he was actually waiting for me. He checked me in and when I got to my room, I was again blown away by the digs. This place (a former bank) was just as nice as my first place in Montreal, if not better (if that's possible). Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to back it up because of my dead camera. After checking out the digs and unpacking, I took a nice hot shower and hit the sack.


More to come....



Nuff Said