B -Double E- Double R- A-N-T...Beer Rant!!

So my wife and I are in nearby Murfreesboro the other night to pick our car up from the service shop at the Honda dealership there, and we decide to have dinner while in town. I suggest Old Chicago Pasta and Pizza, a new chain-style restaurant that's been getting good reviews from some of my co-workers. I also hear they have "over 100 beers on tap." This, of course, intrigues me greatly and as we pull into the parking lot their large sign out front proudly claims "110 Brews." Now I am really intrigued!

Well, that didn't last long.

They only have about 20 beers on tap and most of those are very common and most mass-produced swill. Even the microbrews they do have on tap and in bottles are run of the mill. I search and search the beer menu for something new. I finally settle on a Brazilian black ale called Xingu. It's in a bottle even though our ditzy waitress asked if I want a glass, a pint or a 22 oz. big gulp. Did I mention it was in a bottle like it says on the menu? Anyway, I am kind of over waitresses who don't have a clue about the beer they are serving - that's a fairly common occurrence. I am even over places claiming they have a "great variety" of beer selection and then finding out they basically have 10 different kinds of Budweiser and four different kinds of Miller. Or, if they do have something interesting on the menu, they are out of it when I order it. That's not what this rant is all about. This rant is about the bone-head who came up with their beer menu. Here's a few of the "WTF?" excerpts from it:

1. The "micro of the month" was Michelob Ultra? Dude, really??

2. The "new brews" were two common Leinenkugel's products. By the way, they are the 7th oldest brewery in America.

3. The "local flavor" was the Boulder Single Track - a decent copper ale that is produced in...Colorado....yeah, not so local.

4. Their "No. 2 World Specialty Bottle" was Sweetwater Blue...you know....from the country of ATLANTA!!

Good grief! What a joke! I hit up their website with my thoughts on their stupid menu and have yet to hear back from them. I will update this blog if I do.

The Xingu was a mass-produced soapy bore. The pizza was OK. I am not a big fan of deep-dish Chicago-style pizza anyway. Let's just say I won't be back...unless I get some freebies for my rant on their moronic menu.

PLEASE BRING A YARD HOUSE TO MIDDLE TENNESSEE!! Great food and one hundred beers actually on tap with great variety. Man, I miss Vegas!

EPILOGUE: 8/8/10 - Got a great response from them. Here it is verbatim:

Dear Mr. Fulfer,

Thanks for taking the time to make us aware of our opportunities with our beer menu. We will take a look at those beers and get them correctly identified with the correct terminology or replace them with beers that fit. I will make this a subject at a General Managers meeting on August 17th to ensure we have beers correctly identified and make beer lovers proud. I would love to send you a GC as a token of my appreciation. I just need your address. Thanks!!

Harold Wallace

Old Chicago (OCI Enterprises, Inc.)

VP of Operations

I was sent a $25 gift certificate a few days later. Thanks OCI! Now get to work on fixing that menu!!