OH Day 4 - Lions and Tigers and Brunch, Oh My!
Today started with going out to brunch with my friend's mom who has been nice enough to host me this week. Today was her morning off work, and I think she misses having her son around the house so she wanted to spoil me with a a big meal. I certainly wasn't complaining.
We went to First Watch, a local chain known for having one of the best brunches around. After today, I am inclined to agree. I ordered a Baconado omelette, which was loaded with bacon, avocado and cheese, and my friend's mom ordered a chili chorizo omelette, which she insisted that I eat half of to keep my strength up on the road. Both omelettes were incredible. I was slightly more partial to my own, as I am a sucker for avocado, but I thought their chorizo packed a lot of flavor without being overly spicy. And it almost goes without saying at this point, but the prices were crazy reasonable for how big the portions are. For someone who has spent most of his life in the Northeast it is really blowing my mind how much good food you can get without breaking the bank.
It was really great talking to my friend's mom as well. Her life is really interesting, because she and her husband emigrated from China in the 80s. She was saying that she has pretty mixed feelings about Mao, which I wouldn't have expected, but her point was interesting. She said the lack of freedom of speech and information is very bad, but you don't really notice it when you're growing up in it until you see what it's like outside. She also said that because Mao tried to banish more traditional Chinese beliefs such as feet binding for young women, he actually made life a lot easier for women in China which she was appreciative of. I felt like I learned a lot, and I think we were actually at brunch for close to two hours just chatting and drinking coffee (also quite good) but it didn't feel like a long time.
After brunch, I went to the Columbus Zoo. I had been recommended by multiple people to see this zoo, because it had been curated by famous zookeeper and animal rights activist, Jack Hanna. I was a little skeptical at first because I haven't been to a zoo in a long while, but I quickly realized that I love the zoo. I liked that there was huge array of animals, and that they had big enclosure habitats instead of tiny cages. I also like that they weren't doing tricks or anything, theres something just cool about watching animals behave normally. I saw some monkeys fight which was more funny than violent because they would just jump over one another and tap the other monkey on the head. It was very mischievous.
There was big Australian habitat which I was excited for because those animals are so odd. The kiwis were sleeping which bummed me out since I don't think I've ever seen one before, but this super stoned looking koala made up for it though.
Other Highlights: The baby brown bears were super cute. its too bad they grow up to be so deadly when they start out so dopey and cuddly. The giraffes just came right up to people. Orangutans are my favorite but they were kinda sleepy by the time I got to them. I did watch one make a blanket for herself out of straw which was kinda impressive. But the big highlight of the whole excursion was that I somehow perfectly captured this moment of a moose looking like a big lovable idiot.
After the zoo, it was already time for dinner. i spent a while watching the monkeys, don't judge. I went to my friend's favorite little irish pub called the Old Bag of Nails. They claimed that their fish and chips were their specialty so that's what I got. It was really really good. The fish was only just lightly fried so that it still had a crunch but retained the fluffiness and flavor of the fish rather than the grease. And it was bottomless which I didn't realize until my waitress asked me if i wanted any more. I looked confused so she sort of leaned in and said conspiratorially, "It's free you know" so that sealed the deal. I broke a little with trying local beers, because the whole vibe of the place really made me crave a guinness.
I had some time to kill before the open mic so I went to the 16 Bit Bar + Arcade. Barcades are pretty trendy right now, but this was the first one I've been too that had all the arcade games free if you bought a drink. It was really fun. I played some Indian Jones pinball, and PaperBoy and tried a hard cider from Rhine Geist the brewery in Cincinnati.
From there it was time for an open mic at the Tree Bar. I loved this place. It's a very unassuming seeming little music club with a great beer selection a little stage by the restaurant/bar, and a backstage for musicians with a big stump (the titular) in the middle of the stage. After the open mic would be a concert of local bands, and I ended up chatting to some of those guys while we both waiting and they got excited to stick around and watch the comedy.
Because there was a decent crowd of musicians, comics, and bar goers, this was easily one of the most fun open mics I'd been to. I think the audience energy was contagious, because just about every comic delivered uniformly excellent sets. They all said that this mic is usually good, but that something was in the air tonight and that this was a particularly great night.
My favorite was a comic named Georgia Barnes. She had a real knack for absurdist one-liners and observations. My personal favorite was: "People say if at first you don't succeed, try try try again. Mayb they should say try try try again and the try collecting stamps, because no one has ever tried to have stamps and not been able to have stamps."
A guy named Ty Moore was another big highlight for me, and he did a really good set all around topic which I thought was pretty impressively written. The topic itself was funny too even if he hadn't put good jokes in there, and it was about whether or not it's ethical to let babies have an appendix. "It's just a useless ticking time bomb"
My own set went over really well. The host Johnny Phillips was a really nice guy (and his own opening set was very funny as well) and he gave me a little extra time as an out of towner, so I felt really loose and like I could do all the bits I wanted to. It was a great feeling.
I hung around to watch some of the bands play. The first band Useless Fox, was a solid indie punk band,with some definite touches of jazz in the guitar work. I saw a little bit of the next band, Big Lonesome, too. They were actually from Boston and I was even more shocked to learn that two of the guys used to live in my hometown. what a weird small world it is.
I unfortunately missed the last band Shelby Love Club because at this point it was pretty late, but they seemed like a really great bluegrass and rock band. It was a great night.
Favorite Line of the Night: Dan Loper- "I saw a headline on the news that said, 'Teacher brutally murdered, find out what her students remember her for at 11' I think I have a guess"
Favorite Random Sightings: "If you worked here, you would already be sweating."; Drunch; Mama's Pasta and Brew
Regional Observation: Parking meters are also so much cheaper in Ohio!
Albums Listened To: Greatest Hits- Al Green; Greatest Hits- Elton John (Just Rocket Man); Greatest Hits- The Guess Who; Greatest Hits- Harry Belafonte (Just Jump in the Line); Greatest Hits- The Lovin' Spoonful; Greatest Hits- Red Hot Chili Peppers; Greatest Hits- Sam Cooke (just Bring it on Home to Me); Greatest Hits- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (just an American Girl and Free Fallin'); Greatest Hits- Wilson Pickett (just Land of 1000 Dances)
People's Favorite Jokes:
No one told me one today so here's one from the internet:
A policeman stops a lady and asks for her license. He says, "Lady, it says here that you should be wearing glasses." The woman answered, "Well, I have contacts." The policeman replied, "I don't care who you know! You're getting a ticket!"
Song of the Day:
