In life, I have suffered (infrequently) of FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out. It occasionally causes me to overextend myself during my waking hours. Such a thing happened two Sundays ago after a bike ride, then a pickup baseball game, followed by a few beers on a patio, followed by a Tekken 5 tournament on a PS2 with a broken controller (I still won) followed by more beers and an open mic night at the Underdown. I had honestly just planned on a 30min casual bike ride and I ended up at a strangers house with a sunburn. (Great day? I think so!)
The Overview:
- This is in a basement at the corner of Gerrard and Berkley. You can catch/take the 506 streetcar from Gerrard and Parliament. (This is more of a note to myself so I remember how I plan to get home next time).
- There aren't a lot of beers on draught but there was Orange Peel (which I *love*) so I was happy. The Great Lakes rep was in the house and we chatted about the seasonal brews from the last year. I am a fan of their Pumpkin Ale.
- Awesome crowd of people on a Sunday night - some people from a local supper club, some guys who were into more fingerstyle guitar, some people I recognized from Kim's old jam at Slack's, the occasional appearance by Bryan Goman. And a girl named Angel who is a dental assistant (I remember you!).
The good:
- The open mic jam on Sundays is awesome and everyone was really, really good. Usually at open mics there are 2 or 3 really awesome people and then everyone else is terrible. I'm not usually one of the worst people but here I am, and I love playing with people who are better than me.
- Really welcoming environment for all; around 50% LGBTQ when I was there. GREAT mix of people. I pretty much want to be friends with everyone. I felt like everyone liked me and "got" me, and they were excited to meet me and Bryan Goman and it was a really open and fun place to be for everyone. (I feel like I should note that this is not a gay bar; just an awesome place to be for everyone).
- No Diggity by Andrew Austin. I LOST MY MIND. I want to marry Andrew Austin's covers (not to be confused with marrying Andrew Austin himself).
The bad:
- The food is not amazing. It's not expensive but it's not really that inexpensive. Specific feedback on the sliders... improve the buns. The mixed veggie fries... cut them a bit thicker. I'll get something else next time.
- Not exactly on TTC but it's not a far walk from Parliament.
- Keeping me out too late drinking on a Sunday... I should probably thank you for this; great night!
Overall, I will come here again, on Sundays for the open mic jam. Porter is a great host and I had a great time here.