The service was perfect. The food was good (mine was, anyway). The decor was funky (in a good way). There were doors. And yet….
Charlie and I were out and about last Thursday, and he wanted to eat somewhere we hadn’t been before. That isn’t because he’s adventurous, it’s because he didn’t like anywhere we’ve been before.
Walkin’ along, la la la. I kind of wanted to go here.
It’s the Floyd County Brewing Company. I’ve now looked up the menu and I really wish we had gone here. It looks great, varied, affordable (for a treat), and with lots of stuff either of us would love. The menu is hella funny, too. Plus, there’s this in front:
But we would have had to cross the street, and Charlie was in an I-don’t-want-to-cross-the-street-to-eat mood. Oh, before I stop looking across the street, here was a thing to chain your bike to:
I’m getting to the doors. Hold your horses, as my grandpa used to say.
So this was right on the corner where we were.
So we decided to check it out.
The Exchange in New Albany. Yes, that says Maple Glazed Salad. Because this restaurant is not just pretentious, this restaurant is like Walt Disney’s PretentionLand. This is where other pretentious restaurants go for training. See, it’s a gastropub. I did a search for “What the fuck is a gastropub” and learned that gastropub means “a bar and restaurant that serves high-end beer and food”.
It’s like self-consciously cool and self-consciously upscale at the same time. As I said, I had no complaints about it whatsoever; the staff were warmly friendly and welcoming. It was just kind of ostentatiously what it was. Does that make any sense?
ANYWAY, doors. Doors and lights. And food.
Here’s another one-liner for you:
The waitress told Charlie he could have fries or he could have frites. He said, “Excuse me, what?” I said,
“She says you can have fries, or you can have fancy-ass fries.”
He chose the fancy-ass fries, and they were the best thing of all the things.
While we were in there, it started pouring down rain. I mean it was bucketing down. So we waited inside until it slacked off, and I snapped my favorite picture of the day.
I love the way it looks like there are lights in the tree, but it’s just the reflection of the chandelier.
Thursday Doors is the brainchild of Norm Frampton, photographer extraordinaire. Visit his site, enjoy his photographs, click on the blue frog link, and enter a world of doors.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: A character makes a decision because of something as random as not feeling like crossing the street.
MA
Leslea Tash
September 13, 2018 at 7:49amFloyd County Brewing has a fun decor. The food is not bad. I can’t say it’s bettee or worse than The Exchange, but you can sure get seated and served faster. You can’t really mess up Fish & Chips!
Marian Allen
September 13, 2018 at 10:42amOh, you sure CAN mess up fish and chips, I’m sad to report. But The Exchange had okay fish and super frites. I’m kinda looking forward to trying FCBC. I’m disappointed that the food is only “not bad”. I was hoping for “superlative.” Ah, well. Not bad is edible, and edible is all it really needs to be. Well, edible and digestible, I suppose.
Tammy L Breitweiser
September 13, 2018 at 7:59amI love your Thursday posts! I also now want fancy ass fries! 🙂
Marian Allen
September 13, 2018 at 10:48amFancy-ass fries are really good. They cost extra, though. There’s a surcharge for the French. There’s always a French surcharge, unless it’s accompanied by the English, as in, “Do you want the Soup Of The Day Du Jour and Au Jus Sauce with your sandwich?”
Dan Antion
September 13, 2018 at 4:01pmOooh, I like the doors, the lights and I think I’d like some fancy-ass fries.
We rented the house next door. When we bought this one, I told people we weren’t allowed to cross the street yet.
Marian Allen
September 14, 2018 at 7:54amLOL! Love it! Yes, if you go into an American restaurant and they offer frites, read the description and drool. In France, pomme frites just means fried pertaters. “Fries or frites” cracked me up.
joey
September 13, 2018 at 7:09pmFABULOUS TITLE IS FABULOUS!
I love this post 🙂 I am always set off by anything I refer to as “too carefully curated” — homes, restaurants, people’s fashions — I like a good vibe, and for that, some authenticity is required.
I was a tad, just a tad disappointed those weren’t twinkly lights.
Great post! Did I say that? Yeah, great post!
Marian Allen
September 14, 2018 at 7:58amGlad you liked the post, Joey, since yours always give me such delight! When I looked at that photo later, I was like, How did I miss the twinkly lights on that tree? And why were they electrified in the pouring rain? Then I realized it was a photographic illusion, and I was charmed. James Thurber, who gradually lost his eyesight, said the world was much more interesting when he didn’t have his glasses on and had to guess what he was seeing.
joey
September 19, 2018 at 8:18pmThat’s neat, I’d never read that.
Norm 2.0
September 14, 2018 at 11:57amSome nice doors here. Too bad about the ‘contrived cool’ vibe though. So were the frites served with mayo instead of ketchup like they do in France? Around here when they’re really trying too hard to be hip they serve it with artisinal/homemade mayo too, ugh 🙁
Marian Allen
September 14, 2018 at 12:06pmThere was some kind of pinky-red sauce. Just looked it up: red pepper aioli, which means fancy-ass mayonnaise.