PubNight #7 (11/17/05) - 7:00pm at DuClaw Brewing Co/Dave&Busters

One of the traditions of New York's PubNight is that regulars are allowed to pick the location for the week when it's their birthday. Along with that, the birthday boy or girl is given a little more leeway than normal in their selection. The most famous example of that was when the most senior NY regular dragged us back to the same bar we'd just been at the previous week, because that was his favorite goddamn bar and if you didn't like it you could stay the hell home. It's a great bar, so it was, as the kids say, all good. [cue MC Hammer music here]

Having cleverly started this city's schedule such that my birthday comes first, I'm going to abuse our normal guidelines for location and take us way south of our normal stomping ground. Last year, I made my first and only visit to Arundel Mills Mall during this same week. The agenda was an air hockey match at Jillian's against a date who had been bragging about her skillz. Worst. Date. Ever.

It's unclear whether the low point was when I threatened the guy hogging the table by saying I would break his arm if he tried to put more quarters in the machine, when I fell onto the table in the middle of the game when my blood sugar finished crashing, or if it was when I walked full speed into one of the transparent plastic walls in the front of the place while trying to leave. We didn't go out again (duh), and after a full year I'm just getting over that trip; also, I think the security guards at Jillian's have finally taken down my picture.

I've already authorized John to take me out with an anesthetic dart should I run amok again. I swear, baby, I've changed! And so has Jillian's; they are now a Dave & Busters, which is even mo better.

The idea here is that we hit DuClaw's early for dinner, where they have excellent beers and loads of good food. Then, around 8:30 or so, we head over to Dave & Busters for some arcade time. For latecomers, you can get decent food and drinks of all sorts at Dave & Busters as well. DuClaw and D&B are fairly close to one another within the gigantic mall, so we me have some cross traffic between the two as the night goes on. Also, it's expected that should Pat join us, he won't abandon DuClaw to go anywhere else with inferior beer, so he may hold the fort there all night.

Hoping they still have the cool massage chairs in front of the arcade,
--Greg, his insatiable lust for air hockey, and the rest of the party like it's your birthday crew

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