Hey guys!
So I went bar-hopping for the first time today! What is bar-hopping? It is synonymous with pub crawling, and basically means exactly what its name entails: visiting different bars for drinks. You will have to put up with my grainy photos with terrible lighting. To be fair, I did the best I could given I was using an iPhone camera and pubs are not usually known for having the brightest lighting.
The Storm Crow Tavern
The Doctor Who table!!
We decided to hit up the Commercial Drive area first, since one of my friends worked near there. The first place we went to was the Storm Crow Tavern. This was not our first time there– actually, it was our third visit this month I think. The Storm Crow is this great little pub with cheap food (all their food items are $6 from what I remember), and a great atmosphere. There are board games that anyone can just grab and play when you are enjoying your drink, and the whole pub has a nerdy/geeky-esque decor. They play Star Trek on their TV, as well as other awesome geeky favourites. Their wall decorations are also awesome! There are signed photos from several of the Doctors, Game of Throne actors/actresses, and other fancy memorabilia! The washrooms also have World of Warcraft figurines to indicate which one is for males, and which one is for females. If it is not obvious, I love this place.
I had a Screwdriver here, which I enjoy. Screwdrivers are great because the orange masks the taste of the vodka so well. I like alcohol, but I hate the taste of alcohol if that makes any sense.
Food at St. Augustine’s
Our drinks at St. Augustine’s. I had the one with the cherry garnish– the Tequila Sunrise.
After Storm Crow, we went to St. Augustine’s, which was just down several blocks. We also ordered food here. I knew we were probably going to go to another pub, so I went for a salad and stole a slice of my friend’s pizza. 😛 I tried the Tequila Sunrise. It was pretty, but I thought that it did not mask the taste of the tequila very well, but I still ended up downing it. St. Augustine’s had good food, but of course, was pricier than Storm Crow. However, they have a huge selection of beers here. In all, the food was good, but soon enough we were off again.
Food at the Cove
Drinks at the Cove!
We picked up the car, since our driver only had one drink so far, and he had time to let it wear off. We then headed to the Cove, which also had board games. I opted for some greasy food here and had their pulled pork poutine. For drinks, I first had their Dark and Stormy– only to realize I hate ginger beer. I have never had ginger beer before, but I thought I would like it since it was basically pop. I was wrong. I gave half of it to my friend to finish, and then ordered a Bloody Caesar. That was good. I have never had a Boody Mary before, but to me, a Caesars tasted like cold soup with hot sauce. Not in a bad way.
Overall, bar-hopping was fun, but exhausting. You get pretty buzzed from the drinks, and you know how a bit of alcohol makes you feel warm, nice, and sleepy? I really felt tired of it after switching over from our first pub, but we decided to keep going. We finished off with three pubs, which is not a lot, but for a first time, I thought it was decent. It was fun to settle down in various pubs, and sip on different drinks in a new atmosphere again and again. But like I said, it does get physically tiring.
It is now New Year’s Eve! I better hurry and make some resolutions (that I will ultimately fail, but they are fun to make regardless)! Feel free to recommend some bars/pubs around the Vancouver area that you particularly liked! I LOVE places with board games, because alcohol and board games mean only one thing: hilarity! So drop down some pub names below!
Cheers!
-Karen
Karen K. Lee 
You have some pretty sweet bars in your area. Board games make drinking so much better I bet.
And the first one seemed super extra cool.
Haha! The Storm Crow is the best! But they’re kinda small and crowded 😦 Where do you reside? How is the bar scene there??
I’m in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There’s mostly like party bars around me. Not may places to just chill and relax. A cool place with some board games would be amazing.
Dang, that poutine and pulled pork looks so good! But I also like the dr who theme, decisions decisions 🙂
Haha! Poutine was definitely good! But yeah, Storm Crow is really fun too!!!
I guess i’ll be visiting both sometime 😀
This post reminded me of my university days. Actually it’s more a surprise that I CAN remember my university days! No temporary road-sign or traffic cone was safe back in those days… it must have been really bad for the cleaners at the end of term having to remove all the road furniture that had accumulated in the college bedrooms.
People used to play Monopoly too, Down in London. One drink in a pub on each street on the board. Extra points for getting a set, just like in the real game. Always best to figure out the strategy BEFORE you start. Funny how the planning deteriorates after that…
You should try Caipirinhas: very drinkable, and no sign of the hidden alcohol! Here’s a snap of one in Brazil: http://quieterelephant.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/caipirinha/
Oh – and Happy New Year!
AHH! If only I could bar hop in London 😦 Or you know, just go to London. Haha! The monopoly-izing of the bar hopping sounds fun! Wonder what other games you can play based on the different bars/pubs one would visit….
Its always fun and exhausting, but you get to see and experience many different atmospheres in one night! Glad you had fun!
Exactly what I learned! Can’t wait to do it again! 😀
no one likes the taste of alcohol 🙂
Haha! So true! Cept maybe Josh and his wine..
BY THE HAMMER OF THOR!!!!! Storm Crow looks like a total haven of geekdom!!!! And I mean that in the best way! I’m SO going there!!!!! Thanks for posting!!!!!
haha! It’s really nice there!!! PLUS board games. You can’t go wrong with free board games there.