Run the Gauntlet

I'm not sure where it went, but it appears that Melbourne has gone from winter straight into summer. Since when is it mid to late 30's in October? Anyway, Saturday night I ventured out to drinks for a mate's birthday in the city. The folks that catch the train usually keep you amused for the ride in for the most part, however I always take some music to listen on the trip in. You usually get a mix of people ranging from those that find the fluorescent lights of the train overbearing and requiring sunglasses, to those guys whom for some reason have pants half way up and their jocks hanging out. This is finally mixed with those getting an early start with the 'Jim Beam and cola' cans, and the polo shirt with the 'collar up' crowd. Ironically a guy whom I went to high school with, wrote an article 'To pop or not' on this very subject, however I'm of the opinion that there is no place for 'popped' collars other than for Elvis impersonations or legitimately to block the sun. (Also see Seinfeld for the 'Pretty boy Tony' line for a funny impression.)

In the city at around 7 and there's surprisingly a scant amount of people about. We decided to venture through Hardware lane for some food and that's where the fun begins. Much like Lygon st (little Italy for those not from Melbourne) each restaurant has their over-friendly staff attempting to woo you in. The only difference is that this is a narrow lane no wider than a few metres so you'll get hammered by dueling restaurants on either side. The trick is to gather some momentum and if you're going to stop to read menus, do so behind a couple that's already getting the 'array of fancy cheeses' speech. Our first run through, we were unfortunately without a battle plan, walked through, acknowledged the 'Evening gentlemen' but pretended to be passing through to get to the other end of the lane... Then comes the slightly embarrassing part; The double back. A slightly slower pass and we urked of uncertainty as many started to taste blood, starting to give the 'Each meal comes with a complimentary beer!' to win our business. But, when in doubt head back to a place you know best, so we ventured off to a place we'd been before. Some satisfying mains and desserts later it was time to head off.

We were off to Bambu which is a small bar on Flinders Lane. As my mate mentioned as we walked in, its like a scene from 'Fight Club' a couple of flights of stairs down into the unknown, opens up to a long array of couches on the right with a path leading up to a bar at the end of the room. We were in early, so there were only a handful of people around, but this at least enabled us to reserve a couch. The drinks flowed and I was satisfied with mates and actually able to hear conversations. I tried a new 'low carb' dutch beer which tasted nice enough, but I don't really have to worry about the extra carbs I'm getting from my beer... As the night ventured on, I was surprised at how quiet the place was. At its maximum there were probably only around 20 people in the whole place with a capacity of around 100 or so. I find this ridiculous. Not only was this a Saturday night, but it's a classy bar, with cool surrounds and a great setup. We were understandably ushered out around 1am to seek an alternative source of poison. It must've been one of those nights, as the city streets were also quite empty. We started back through the city, walking past Icon bar where the obligatory bar dancing was taking place (is there so little room in there or is it just something that happens?) and ended up at Misty Place on Hosier lane. Some of these places you feel like you need to push a secret brick where a trap door opens for you to wander in. Its a neat little bar with the great idea of a free jug of water to help balance out a big night of drinking. Hint: this is a great place to have some pre-drinks if your off to a gig at the Forum. A few last drinks there and it was time to call it a night.

Hailing a cab is always an interesting proposition. Half the lights are on, off or not working. Therefore I run the principle of hailing any cab that approaches. We encountered a gold digger cab driver. With ipod headphones in tow, he queried where we were going to. We mentioned our destination and he drove off; Obviously he thought he could better the eventual >$50 fare. Perhaps if we mentioned we needed to get to Alice Springs he would have picked us up... We hailed one down eventually and after some maniac driving in the middle of the road and a stop for a can of V (A sobering thought for us if the driver needs to be kept awake) we all made it back in one piece. The downer for the night was after I was dropped off he threw his can out of the window. Man I hate people that litter... Apart from that it was a great night...