Friday night was one of my best friend's 31st birthday, so BarTopDancer and I headed up to Santa Barbara to celebrate with him.
First stop was
Pasqual's, a legendary old time SB restaurant. Pasqual's is yet another place famous for their strong drinks, and I've been there dozens of times, but every time, when I watch them make the drinks, I'm shocked. First some ice, then fill the glass almost all the way full with vodka, then literally, a splash of tonic. I swear, they don't even pour the tonic for a full second. My friends always joke that the tonic (or whatever mixer) is so expensive that they have to conserve it. The food at Pasqual's is always good, although on Friday I forgot to eat (must have had something to do with the strong drinks), except for a piece of cake that some girl actually tossed to me like a frisbee (again, must have had something to do with the drinks.)
Next we all piled into cars and headed over to
The Brewhouse across town to see my friend's band
Burning Edamame perform. The band was excellent, as always. Even if I didn't know they were great, I would have known after a creepy stranger told me how great they are three or four times. Yeah dude, I know. I'm the president & only member of their fan club
OK, not really.
After the band played, & The Brewhouse had their last call at midnight, we headed back to State Street & headed for my favorite SB Irish pub,
Dargan's. Dargan's was totally dead (which would have suited me just fine, but a) the guys wanted to be where the action is, and b) we were out of smokes and Dargan's doesn't sell them.
So we headed across the street to
The Press Room which was absolutely packed. The Press Room is the place to go in Santa Barbara if you want to watch your favorite rugby team on satellite. Or if you want to meet hot guys with sexy accents. We closed the place down, then alas, I had a washer, dryer & refrigerator to be delivered the next morning, so we headed back to my place. It was definitely a great evening. When I hit the ripe old age of 31, I hope I can have as swanky a celebration!
