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| - I really wish 3.5 was an option. Red Owl doesn't quite deserve the esteem of 4 stars, yet it is definitely not as mediocre as 3 stars.
The first time I went here I definitely enjoyed the crowd and the vibe. Punk rockers, head bangers, and the like all hanging out and having a great time together.
When I bragged to a friend of mine about how awesome this place was, she replied that she would never go there because of the lobster claw machine. I had no idea what she was talking about, but the second time I went to the Red Owl, I saw it. And all the horror stories that she told me (that I brushed off) came rushing back... "dead lobsters"... "floating"... "dirty water"...
Ugh.
This contraption is like the game where you use a joystick or buttons to move a claw around with the purpose of winning a stuffed animal. Only this machine's purpose is to win a live (hopefully) lobster in a huge tank of murky water. It's disgusting and cruel and they really should get rid of it.
However, I am a fan of the bar, the music and the clientele. I stopped by for a quick visit during Metalfest and it brought back all of my childhood memories of hanging out at the SkyRoom in South Buffalo. Death Metal, Hardcore... I felt so at home it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes.
"As if that blind rage had washed me clean, rid me of hope; for the first time, in that night alive with signs and stars, I opened myself to the gentle indifference of the world. Finding it so much like myself -- so like a brother, really -- I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again." Albert Camus
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