new stuff

Finally. Finally we've done some new stuff to talk about.  Friday night was, of course, Date Night and we went to a new bar/grill not too far from our house, The Foxhole.  Housed in space formerly occupied by a Mexican restaurant, it's got a sports bar vibe, with lots of seating, lots of televisions and team banners but not much in the way of charm.  There's a small bar, which is where we sat, with both local micros and big lagers on tap, as well as a full bar.  "Full bar" is only relative, however, as patrons ordered numerous drinks that the bar was unable to make simply because they didn't have the ingredients on hand.  They've only been open for 2-3 weeks and I imagine they'll get their act together soon ... I wouldn't expect orders for Old Fashioneds in a sports bar either.  The food was mediore but not bad and as this place is within summertime-evening walking distance, I imagine we'll go back again at some point.  They've got a second location (or a first one) out in West Jordan too.

Saturday we'd heard there was a free music/climate change awareness festival up at Liberty Park so we gave that a try.  They sold beer (Uinta and Budweiser products) and wine (Fish Eye boxes) and there were a number of local festival food stalls:  the Chow Truck, a Texas BBQ joint, Greek food, Indian food, etc.  The music was pretty good - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was the headliner, playing from 2-3 p.m. and then again from 6-7 p.m., and we caught the end of their first set; and we also stayed for Insatiable, a local ska band who seemed solid.  The skies cleared so that it was nearly sunny and the people-watching was excellent: I think all the old hippies, post-modern hippies, hipster doofuses and New Agers in the greater SLC area were in attendance.

After leaving the festival, we were on a quest to find Lumpy's Downtown, sister bar to the Lumpy's near 3300 South, because the U's football game against Iowa State was being shown on a t.v. channel that we don't get at home.  We finally found the bar, tucked into a tiny street right downtown (hence the name - clever), did two circuits trying to find a place to sit, and left.  It's a big place but the seating arrangement is kind of stupid, with a lot of space taken up with tiny booths and comfy lounge chairs - they could get a lot more people seated if they put in long communal tables and benches, a la Three Dollar Dewey's and Gritty's in Portland (ME). 

We ended up at Squatters, just a block away, snarfing down our food while we watched the LSU v. Florida game.  Squatters doesn't get that channel the U was on either.  (The U crushed 'em: 68-27.)