original post: July 18, 2005 ("Hot Child in the City")

Well, my good friend Debbie and I sure had an interesting time Friday night. Let me start by saying that it was about 700 degrees out last night...well, it was more like 90 degrees but it felt awful! I do not like being hot, unless I'm on vacation, then it's okay. But when I'm at home? No thanks!
 

Anyhoo...Deb and I began our night by getting on the light rail and going down to Manny's Tortas on Lake Street. We got off on Lake Street from the LRT and walked 4 blocks to the restaurant. Mistake number 1. Walking 4 blocks in the heat did not make us very happy. I don't think I've ever sweated so much without actually playing a sport. I realized just how sweaty I was when we walked into Manny's. They didn't have air conditioning, so the sweat just poured outta me. Misery! Thankfully, the walk was well worth it, because the food at Manny's was delicious! I ordered the Torta de pollo (chicken sandwich) and a Dos XX beer. You can read more about the food on Deb's blog. 

So, when we walked back to the LRT station, at least there was a slight breeze and it cooled down to about 87, so while it was still disgustingly hot, it wasn't as bad as before. God bless the LRT, because when we got on, the AC was on FULL BLOW and it was so cold in there! Yes! Deb and I entertained ourselves on the LRT by listening to me do my impersonation of one of my client's secretary. Only downside of the LRT experience was that there were no garbage cans. I later found out that they were supposedly removed due to the raised terror alert... 

On the train, we decided that it was too hot and we were skipping the block party and going to drink indoors instead. I told her that Rosen's has a good happy hour, so we decided to go there. Mistake number 2. We walked in and the waitress asked us if we needed a table, then walked away! We had to hunt her down and get her to seat us. Then we ordered a beer each and ordered an order of fries and chips and salsa. This was at 7:10p. We waited 40 minutes for our measly order (see Deb's blog for more negative reviews on Rosen's). The fries came with this nasty, watery, thousand island dressing type substance.
And a moth flew at us! Deb gave Rosen's a big thumbs-down. 

 
 

Next, we went over to Champps. Walking in, the first thing I noticed is that it smelled like dog piss. The bartender was friendly, though, and we each got our drinks within 5 minutes of ordering, so already it was shaping up to be better than Rosen's! Deb ordered some ice cream sundae thing called "Cookie Espress," and then requested more ice cream...which she was charged for! So that did not sit well with her. I think it's because she was being picky and asked them to make it with hot fudge instead of regular chocolate sauce--sorry Deb!
 

One of the bartenders brought these two skanky chicks sitting next to us an order of funkadelic quesadillas, or, as Deb said, "funkadelhic." The bartender thought Deb said "fu**adelic" and he was going on about that for a couple minutes. One of the skanky chicks was flirting with the "funkadelhic" bartender, and it was one of the most annoyingly gross conversations I think there has ever been here on earth. Then another guy came in and ordered a gin and tonic and the bartender told him they didn't carry the gin he was requesting, which was a lie, since the bottle was clear as day sitting in the holder thing! IBTF--I beg to differ!! That dude got pissed at him and they had words. All in all, a very entertaining sight.
 

Some of the other fun quotes/thoughts from Champps:
1. Erica: "the world is a stage and we are merely players"--stated after the annoying conversation from above
2. Deb: "Who is Lew Ford??"--while watching the Twins game
3. I made a comment that Champps has countertops like an old fashioned drug store, like a Woolworth's, with a soda fountain, so Deb wrote in the notes we were taking, "Malt shoppe countertop."
4. Much brainstorming was done in preparation for the upcoming Gopher football season--lots of fun surprises are coming, Gopher fans!
 

Lastly, we ended up at Lyon's Pub, which is where we ended up at after the lame-ass concert the other night. We sat in the little bar off the main room and had a good time over there. Well, I had a good time. Deb was too full from eating dinner and dessert. It must have been bad because she said, "I'm never eating again," and, "I'm fasting tomorrow." At one point she left to go and throw up! But thankfully she didn't. Although she did scare some chick in the bathroom. Deb and I called So-so Def, aka Sonja, aka Short Stuff, from the bar at the same time. That chick is crazay!! Teasing! Kirsten then called me while we were sitting at the bar and told me that she was at the softball fields in Bloomington with the Hansons! Everyone was coming out of the woodwork that night! 

Well, Deb and I started making plans for me to host a Scottish-themed party at some point, and then while we were taking notes, that Tom Petty song that played in "Silence of the Lambs" came on. It goes something like, "She was an American girl!" or whatever. Anyways, the reason this is funny is because she said it was that song playing in the last kidnapped girl's car the night of when she was kidnapped by Buffalo Bill. Then, my being aided by about, oh, 5 beers, and the hot hot heat, I started saying, in the same voice as the actress, "Mister! I've got your dog! She's really hurt!" That was comic gold. Many laughs were had. So that's all I said, pretty much, for the rest of the night and on the LRT ride home. Deb's new friend Zach was supposed to join us, but was a no-show. WTF? 

Tuesday night is the big PINGO drawing for the silver Amber Bock cooler at Park Tavern! I'll let you know if I win. Until then, keep it real!