A week in the life: Thirstday

Well, I truthfully only drink on days that end in “y”, so you might say every day is thirst day. I have my favorite hangouts, but I’ll also occasionally mix things up, just to keep it interesting. I do find that I have gravitated to bars with outdoor seating lately. I just find watching the world pass by more interesting than most things happening inside a drinking establishment.

Here’s a typical evening out for me:

It’s been over a year since my last visit to Blue Butterfly.

The bar was previously known as Toucan, but a new owner wanted to change things up I guess. I actually met the new owner on Monday–he was a virgin Hasher. We got to talking some and I told him that when the city closed down outdoor seating as a COVID prevention measure (how stupid is that?) I started going elsewhere. He told me those rules were no longer in force and he was in the process of installing tables and chairs. I told him I’d pay a visit next time I was out that way.

On the way home from the vape shop I saw that the patio was indeed back in operation, so I went in, plopped myself down, and ordered up a beer from one of the cute waitresses.

So, there I was, drinking alone again. Luckily, I’m okay with that.

Had another brief chat with the owner, David. Turns out Blue Butterfly will be our On-Home destination at next week’s Hash for the first time. Sounds good to me.

Before I’d finished my second beer, I was joined by Troy and Kate. You can see a covey of cute Filipinas in the background too. That’s the wait staff, waiting on customers I suppose.

Finished up my beer and moved on down the highway a couple of blocks to visit another venue. Don’t ask me where, because:

Does anything?

I had a bit of a mission here though. Delivering some vape juice to my favorite waitress, Roan. Although truthfully, I’d have dropped in regardless as I enjoy the ambiance and it’s a regular stop in my rotation.

That’s Bob and Cliff (sitting on the wall side) at the owner’s table entertaining guests Don and Irene. There’s definitely a “Cheers” vibe going here–an expat hangout where almost everyone knows each other’s name.

I had a nice chat with Paul, an English bloke who used to live in Alta Vista. He gave me some tips on things I can do to facilitate the passport renewal process. His had to be done in the UK, but I can still do mine via the US embassy. The issue is getting the entry stamps from the old passport transferred to the new one, without creating an overstay situation. I can normally only do 60-day extensions, but Paul suggests trying to get immigration to grant two 60 day extensions simultaneously. They’d charge me double of course, but it would give me more time to complete the renewal process. I’m going to give it a try anyway.

I also rewarded Roan’s good service with a couple of lady drinks. Saw her eating a bag of chips and told her to order some real food.

Filipinas love the pancit!

And I, of course, love Filipinas.

Ain’t she sweet?

I guess it’s a little pervy taking a picture like that without consent. But still, I did buy the pancit. So…

It was a little after 7:00 and I still had one stop to make so I said my goodbyes and headed on out. Where next? Well, it was Wingsday so that meant:

The Pub! Note the big ass smoker and grill.
The owner, John Kim, was there to greet me and the waitress placed my order and brought my San Miguel Zero without me speaking a word. It’s good to be a regular!
The Pub features several dining tables and one pool table. I was the only customer at the moment, but John had a fully staffed kitchen busily working on the ingredients for some upcoming menu specials.
Right about the time I finished my beer, my wing ordered arrived. Paid my bill, headed outside to a waiting trike (they know my schedule too, apparently), and headed on home.
Thirst quenched, hunger satiated. Does it get any better than that?

Now, I realize I’m doing “a week in the life” series, and the events outlined above occurred on Wednesday as opposed to Thursday. Unfortunately, I am not able to do a bar crawl post after having done a bar crawl. Rest assured it will be more of the same tonight. Promise!

I’ve already decided to start things off a bit later at Beach Please…
Looking at the water through those fence-like doors isn’t my favorite thing, but I’ve got my reasons for having a couple there to start the night.

More on that another time. Stay tuned!

2 thoughts on “A week in the life: Thirstday

  1. Well, I truthfully only drink on days that end in “y”…

    So, the Y Diet, then.

    Good to finally see a pic of pitmaster and all-around chef John Kim, sweaty pits and all. Has he told you what kind of training he’s had as a chef? He really seems to know his stuff.

  2. I’ve never really asked him how about his professional training, but I will. He does enjoy talking about food and often regales with stories of his adventures in finding quality ingredients. I know he drives to the fish market in Bataan, an hour or more away, after midnight so he can get the first crack at the catch of the day when the fishermen return.

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