Doing a One80 to The Office

This Friday was anniversary date night. Mrs. Monkey and I had been married for four years. Woohoo! Even better was that my mom offered to take all of the little monkeys for the weekend. Double woohoo! As soon as we waved off the kids to Nana's house, we hopped in the car and headed to Westport.

We decided to eat at One80. I had eaten there before at a work luncheon, unfortunately that meant no drinks. This time I planned on celebrating. Mrs. Monkey started of with a Fancy Nancy martini. Sweet and sugary, just like my lady.  She said it was like Kool-Aid.

I stuck to beer and went with a McCoy's Hog Pound Brown Ale.  McCoy's is right across the street from One80, so I was expecting fresh beer.  The first pint wasn't much to look at.  Thin head with no real retention.  However the second pint had a wonderful creamy head that left stair-step lacing down the glass with each sip.  I'm guessing the difference was in who was pouring.  Color was a chocolatey brown with mild clarity around the edges.  It was hard to get a good sense of the smell.  That may be because of the other smells in the restaurant, the smell was not very bold, or a combination of the two.  I did get some toasty bread notes with chocolate malt sweetness. The toasted malts added a little extra kick to the bitterness with the hops for the taste.

For an appetizer we had the Trio of Bruschetta. Tasty treat that made us hungrier. The different cheeses were wonderful. Mrs. Monkey had the KC Strip, because it came with Steak Butter. Can't argue with Steak Butter.

I went with the Pork Scallopini that was on special. The brown ale paired very well with the meal. The sweetness had a nice contrast to the acidity of the tomatoes, but also complimented the sweetness of the pork meat.  The tomatoes tasted super fresh, nice and tart.  The pork was very tender, which I would hope so since it had the crap beaten out of it.  I was not expecting it to be so filling.

I was not so full that I was going to pass up dessert. Mrs. Monkey finished the meal with a Oral Fixation martini, which is rimmed with Pop-Rocks. There were giggles and knowing looks across the table. We also split a piece of B52 Cheesecake. The cheesecake has layers of Kahlua and Bailey's and is drizzled with Grand Marnier. Yes, you can have your cake and drink it.

The original plan was to go over to Manifesto after dinner, but I had failed to realize that it was also First Friday down in the Crossroads. First Fridays can be a ton of fun and is great people watching, however that was not what we were in the mood for. We wanted something chill and relaxing, and art folks tend to have a nervous energy like a Chihuahua on a coffee bender. Plus I had to avoid a Fire Dancer trying to find a parking space. So instead we decided to head back North and hang out at our neighborhood dive, The Office.

The Office was just named Best Neighborhood Bar: North by the Pitch. It's a great divey place, cheap drinks, cheap food, chill vibe, and it's only five blocks from my house. If need to, I could walk home. With it being a Friday, that also meant Bob Reeder was playing.

If you have been to any Irish event in KC, you have probably seen Bob Reeder. He is a traditional Irish folk singer, a balladeer, a minstrel, a dirty old man. He is a Kansas City Irish treasure. No matter how big or small the crowd, Bob makes the room his friend. Even after what he said about your mother. Everyone is laughing, begging for the dirtiest limericks to get dirtier. If you have never seen Bob play, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

To assist with the regular toasts Bob does between songs, I had a few pints of Smithwicks. To get more Irish, I had a basket of chips. Bob asked me if I was indeed Irish, and I had to sadly admit that I was Hillbilly. He assured me, "That's Irish."