| rev:text
| - So excited that being a fan of country is now an accepted, nay, celebrated thing in the city. Came here the Friday after opening weekend with a likeminded country-fan pal for dinner, then to line dance into the wee hours. Arrived around 7:45-8pm. At this time, coat check is free and we had no problem getting a table for dinner. However I think the staff are still learning - the bar was packed and well-staffed, however there was no one to seat us at a booth, and after 15 minutes of waiting with clearly no one noticing we were there (even though the booth next to us was being served), we had to go to the bar to ask for a server. However, once she arrived she apologied profusely and gave us great service the rest of the night, so full stars and an ample tip returned on that one.
The food was decent and they make a mean margarita (traditional and fruity flavours available, blended or shaken). At $14.75 a pop, the margs are big and have a good booze/lime/ice balance. I opted for the Bulldog (a marg with an upside-down Corona) because it was the same price as a regular marg. Always go big when you got the option, right?
At about 10pm, the server will come to wrap up your tab whether you're ready or not. Apparently they like to settle up before it gets busy, which is totally understandable. What'smore, at this point you shouldn't still be sitting. It's time to line dance and get on that Toro. The 'official' line dancing lessons took place in the early hours around 9pm when the dancefloor was empty, however there are unofficial lessons with the cute sheriff/security guy in the boots and hat, who gets on the dancefloor and line dances to 3 or 4 songs every hour or so. Keep your eye out for him and try to get as close as possible to learn the steps before everyone on the dancefloor catches on and joins in. Too many boots and your view will be blocked. That, and you will be crashing into a lot of innocent bystanders not in on the fun.
The bull is FREE the whole month of December. Not sure what they will charge in the new year, but consider you will only last 20-30 seconds, price that out accordingly. The line gets longer the later you wait in the night, and at all times there will be a crowd watching you, so don't think you can find that sweet spot when it's just you and the bull. There seem to be 2 settings - the girl version (slower, but more full stops, which I personally think is more difficult) and the guy version, which is faster and more fluid. It was a complete blast and everyone cheers you on, friends and stranger alike. Being 5'4", I did need a boost from the operator, which was probably the most embarassing part of the whole experience.
Lastly, I will say the crowd is very young. A lot of college kids, girls puking in the bathroom at 12am, slooty dancing everywhere. It gets very unapologetically pushy, a lot of overly drunk people who spat curses at us when we said "you don't have to push" like the uppity adults we've become. It would have been a different scene if it were an older crowd, I would have liked to see this bar on Ossington. That said, if you squint your eyes and have another bourbon, you just about start to feel like you're in a real country joint, south of the Mason-Dixon.
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