By Jan Shannon
Do you love Coffee Talk but wish you had more time to discuss the issues? Do you have to miss Coffee Talk but would like a forum to debate the current question? Well then, Pub Talk is for you!
Join us Thursday (May 7), at 6:30 p.m. for Pub Talk, a casual conversation about the latest Coffee Talk topic, “Religious Freedom Laws.” We will meet at The Saranac Public House, whose great food and great drinks will feed our bodies as we feed our minds. Hope to see you there!
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Jan, the recent attempt at a pub talk was a disaster, for several reasons. First, the venue was not conducive to any group discussion. Sports bars should be the last places to consider having a group discussion because they are designed for shouting about some virtual, vicarious experience and seduction, not for intelligent or intimate discussion. I and everyone else I was able to talk with said they couldn’t hear more than the person shouting next to them. Consequently, everyone broke up into couples and carried on their own social, not intellectual, conversation, which stayed on their individual topics maybe for two or so exchanges. Everyone, to overcome the noise, had to shout, which automatically started the tension producing counter shouting, neither conducive to thoughtful and calm thinking and responding. The seating was prohibitive because no one could hear anyone further than two seats away. I generalize the hearing difficulties because I talked with five people that evening and everyone said they had problems hearing others. Most of the attendees consequently paired off and had social conversations, not on the topic and not sharing with all the other attendees. I made a comment on the topic, but the one person who cold hear could not come back with a calmly thought out reply, due to the noise.
Why would anyone think otherwise coming from a Sports bar, which is definitely not a pub, which is a quiet drinking establishment with snacks and tables set up for small, intimate and thoughtful conversations. Why not consider restaurants, like maybe Luigiessssss, which would be more likely to have quiet sections or rooms. La Luna has a perfect setup, but they charge $600 for a reserved room. I found one bar that had an area removed from the central noise: Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar, at about 45th and Regel, just south of Group Health and the ESD building, and the West side of Regal. I checked out everything on 29th and south to 45th, and that is the only one with a quieter space.
Try some restaurants downtown. The Steam Plant was good, with qa separate room.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Tom, we all know it was loud and have already apologized. Last month The Saranac had us in a different section of the restaurant it worked out just fine. This month THEY messed up our reservation. There wasn’t much we could do about. We already agreed to move to a different location. Thank you for your suggestions.
Jan and all: I’m not asking for an apology and don’t think one is needed. Noise made it impossible, but there are other considerations also. Maybe a different approach is needed, one that understand the difference between a sports bar and a pub. That is an interesting cultural distinction, and fits some churches. Sports bars are purposely set up to sell what they sell, much like the way casinos are architecturally designed to keep people gambling, with their attention led away from exits and toward noises that suggest winning and entertainment. Sports bars are designed for relief from tension, seduction, and reduction of anxiety through addictive, often chemically induced means.
A pub is a quiet drinking and eating establishment for truer intimacy and deeper conversation, what we are looking for. They are hard to find. Twigs, which I suggested as a possible location, has a section that might fit that purpose. Today I was at Sacred heart and dropped by the Park Inn, across Grand. A traditional Pub with an attached restaurant. Centrally located, easy to get to. They would love our business and the restaurant has a quiet room seating 10 to 20 we could reserve. Snacks, meals, beer, wine or full bar. Talk to the restaurant manager a couple of weeks in advance. It looks good.
Yep, we already said we’d change venues and will look into your suggestions.