Beer Glasses

I crossed the boulevard a number of times over the weekend, but I'll try not to dwell on that. There is a new bar on 44th st, between 8th and 9th avenues, in the city proper. I don't recall the name. My friend and I went in to check it out Sunday. She had a Guinness and I a Stella. A man there sitting next to us had just taken a transatlantic cruise, and tested me on what they call Stella in England. I said I knew, because I did, they call it wifebeater. He said it was called that because most beers in England are 3% alcohol, and Stella is 5%. So, men there are not used to that level of alcohol, and get more drunk than they expect. I did not know that. I'm not sure if I believe it, but he seemed pretty competent.

The Stella and Guinness were both in the miniature glasses they have now. Especially around New Year's they hiked the average price of a beer around here from $6 to $7, and started serving it in smaller glasses. I'd guess these glasses are about 13 oz. They actually even keep the shape of the glass the same in some cases (e.g.-Guinness) to make it harder to tell. This really makes a person feel like they're being ripped off. If you're gonna increase the price of a beer, than don't shrink the glass too. I actually feel embarrassed when visitors come to New York and are met by this underhanded maneuver. I wouldn't think it would trick anybody, but unfortunately, it must work to some degree or else they wouldn't do it. I have seen some bars revert back to the nominal size, so there must be some repercussions. The guy at the bar maintained that it looked like a proper pint. I can't imagine why, although perhaps it was the disorientation from the cruise. Either way, I remain a bit puzzled.

We were considering some chicken wings. They had 6 chicken wings for $11. Which is also ridiculous. It's hard to imagine how good these chicken wings would have to be to warrant that, but there was no particular reason to think that they would be that good. So, we passed, and went elsewhere. We wound up at one of the few reasonably priced restaurants remaining in the area. It was Indian, we found it up on 53rd, I think. Not bad.

Previous to that I had driven to Westchester with her, her dog and bird. Her dog barked a lot at the bird, who kept on saying "Hi Cutie". Reportedly, the bird kept on saying this because he was stressed out. I don't blame him with the dog and all.