Uisce: Tuesday Trivia and the Water of Life

It is a Tuesday and, as I have learned from Roger and Shannon, that means only one thing: Trivia Night. It is like going to church around here. The sermon is on knowledge. The eucharist is beer and pretzels. To not go is to commit the sins of slothfullness and ignorance. And the place of trivial worship is called Uisce. Pronounced ish-kaa.

Being trivially minded, I looked up the word, uisce. It is Irish for whiskey. The word whiskey is actually derived from a mispronunciation of uisce. According to Wikipedia, uisce beathe is "simply an Irish translation of the Latin aqua vitae ('water of life')." As far as difficult to pronounce names for bars go, Uisce has to be the best.

We used to have a Trivia Night on at the bar I managed in Austin, Drungo Ice House. It was usually our busiest night. The same applies to Uisce. I've been going on and off since I arrived in town and the place is always packed.

It's in a long rectangular space with high ceilings. Elegant lighting. Plenty of nice seating. Comfortable chairs, even some church pews with slots on the back for bibles and hymnals. Hardwood floors. Beautiful long bar. An atmospheric faux-fireplace in the middle. Accommodates the crowd nicely.  (Side note: you might want to double check the sign on the door before you go to the bathroom... or learn Gaelic.)

It costs $5 for an Imperial Pint (20 oz) of Harp - my usual - which isn't a bad deal. Haven't tried the whiskey yet, but it seems a given now. We get a complimentary basket of pretzels with hot mustard for the table - one of the seven great foods to eat while drinking beer (pizza, peanuts, popcorn, chips, cheeseburgers and chili being the others).

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The evening is hosted and officiated by James Gillies, the sine qua non of trivia in Bellingham. Starts at 8 p.m. - but get there by 7:30 at the latest to get a table. No more than six to a group. Dollar entry for each person. 50 questions delivered in two sessions. The questions are recondite, entertaining, erudite, witty, challenging and topical. James does of great job in his pacing of questions and officiating of disputes, (i.e. gnocchi or gnocci).

Regardless of whether you win or lose, it's always a good time. But... to Men of Extraordinary Wealth and Beauty: you are going down this week.

Daniel O'Connell - Irish Liberator, Creator of Guinness and Inventor of Electricity

On your way out, be sure stop at the portrait to the left of the door and say a prayer for the soul Daniel O'Connell, the great Irish Liberator, who once wrote: "The altar of liberty totters when it is cemented only with blood." He was an influence on Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

When I went by to take the photographs above (after the review was written), I told the bartender and another patron what I had found out about Daniel O'Connell. The bartender laughed and said that a guy had been in the other day who told him that it was "the creator of Guinness." The guy next to me at the bar added that he was sitting with a group and when a girl asked who it was, the guy next to him replied, with complete authority, that it was "the inventor of electricity" and proceeded into a 5 minute discourse. Only in an Irish bar, right?

An appropriately final note: on the wall opposite the door as you go out are two letters in a glass frame. They appear to be farewell letters composed during the Irish Civil War of 1922-1923.

The one on the left is from J. Burk to his cousin, Kathleen. From what I can tell, he was executed on Jan. 20, 1923 - or the letter "was executed"... don't know. The last sentences read: "Remember me as the wild boy of the family / Good by all / From your dying cousin."

The letter on the right is from a brother, Stephen, to his sister, Julia - also written on Jan. 20, 1923. He begins: "Just a few lines bidding you the last farewell." Then, that he and his friends "will meet our death at the hands of Irishmen." Also adding towards the end, "I would not like to hear ye crying when I am among the dead."

Take a look when you go. They are fascinating and poignant fragments of historical authenticity.

Cheers.

Google: Directions, Hours, Reviews
Yelp: Reviews, etc.
Facebook: Uisce Trivia Night

Grand Avenue Alehouse: Four Words: Ice Cold Olympia Beer

Located directly across the street from Henderson's Books and just down the street from the Black Drop and Michael's Books, it pretty much a given that I would wander into the Grand Avenue Alehouse. A handprinted sign in the window said they had $2 pitchers of PBR. I had heard that the place could get kind of rowdy and loud. I guess that depending on your mood, that could be good or bad.

The first time I went there, there were just a handful of people sitting at the bar. Nice high ceilings. Good selection of beer. Full bar. Some pool tables in back. I asked if there were any specials and the bartender told me they had cans of Olympia for $3. I said sure. She gave me an ice cold 16 oz. can.

Back in Austin, everyone that knows better drinks Lone Star. I love Lone Star. It's a great lager beer. Kind of beer you can drink all day. I'd never had Olympia. And I'll be damned - and there are people in Austin that will damn me for this - if it wasn't as good, maybe even better, than my beloved Lone Star. Beautiful. It was so good that I drank it down in about five minutes and was up at the bar for another that I could take some time with and savor.

The next time I stopped in, it was more crowded. Early Friday evening.  Took me a little longer to get my can of Olympia. Tougher to find a seat. A group of guys at the table next to me were drinking pitchers and getting loud about "banging tail". I tried to tune them out. A lot of people were ordering food and that took up  a lot of the bartender's time - or so it seemed to me. There was another girl who was serving food, but she was moving slow. I didn't mind the wait so much. But the crowd was getting more obnoxious. What can you do? Friday night.

I've been back a few times, making it a point to go in the afternoon when there are not a lot of people. Walking back down Grand Avenue after a good day at the library,  it's a nice dark place to have a couple of cheap cans of Olympia before heading home.

 Google: Hours, Direction, Reviews, Etc.

The Horseshoe Cafe: Soul of the City

I often wonder what the soul of a city is? What makes a place unique, defines its character, gives it its essence? For the moment, exclude the all of the natural aspects.

I walk a lot around downtown Bellingham and see buildings, businesses and people. I am trying to "get to know" this place, understand it's character. Being a new arrival, I find it necessary to get my bearings. As far as buildings go, the beautiful Mt. Baker theater helps me orient beyond my Grand Avenue haunts, the Old City Hall guides me down to the Bay, and the Herald Building - with its red sign of impending announcement - steers me across town. At the center, for me, is the Horseshoe Cafe.

Amongst the many places that I have been told to go to, the Horseshoe was one of the more consistently mentioned. Always added to this was that it has been here for over 100 years. In fact, since 1886 - over 120 years - which is, indeed, impressive. Must be doing something right. Before I even stepped inside, I could tell that I was going to like the place. The beautiful old-school neon sign out front. The cowboys in the sunset mural behind that. Through the window, classic diner look: formica tables, booths, high ceilings, an collection of signs and such on the walls, straight out of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks at the Diner. Open 24 hours. Beautiful.

First time I was there, I had a cheeseburger with hashbrowns, cup of coffee. Classic diner fare. Straight up solid food. Cheap, hot and good. The way it should be. Coffee was fresh ground, fresh brewed and strong. It passed the cream test: when poured in, the cream swirled around, separating into in a myriad of white milky strands, a galaxy in a coffee mug. I liked it that they emphasized that they were serious about coffee on the menu. Heart and soul of any real diner. Cheeseburger was solid. Hashbrowns were the stand-out, "from real potatoes, cut fresh every day." I could've eaten just a plate of those.

In a separate area to the right of the door is the Ranch Room, my favorite bar in town. Behind the bar is a great cowboy mural by Fred Oldfield. Various other western related ephemera hang on the dark walls. I like the elbow pad railing along the bar and the barstools that curve around your back. I'm usually in there for a few cheap cans of Ranier after working out at the Y. Place feels like home to me because it reminds me of the Hole in the Wall in Austin: unpretentious, authentic, not trying at all to be anything other than a warm place for people to get together, drink, talk, watch the game and have a good time.

Horseshoe Website: http://www.horseshoecafe.com/
Google: Reviews, Directions and Links
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/horseshoe-cafe-bellingham 

Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third is routine. After that you take the girl's clothes off.

- Raymond Chandler

Here's to a long life and a merry one
A quick death and an easy one
A pretty girl and an honest one
A cold beer and another one!

           - Irish Saying