Intriguing

Continuing my renewed commitment to going out during the week more often (a valiant effort to delay getting old for as long as possible), last night I met up with Ryan at the Front Page for a few drinks during the torrential downpour that smacked DC. Having been to the Front Page many times before, I didn't expect to see much of anything new or different: probably the same old crowd, drinking the same old beer, and listening to the same old jukebox music. I was mistaken, but in good and/or amusing ways all around.First, the beer, or more appropriately, the beer bottle. Usually, it's just Miller Lite bottles for me but last night the bar was featuring Bud Light in their new, blue aluminum pint bottles. Since they were on special, I thought I'd give it a shot even though I'm not much of a Bud Light fan. I don't know whether it was the alluring blue coloring, the absolute icy coldness, or the fact that there's a pint as opposed to the usual 12 ounces, but it tasted significantly better than a normal Bud Light. The aluminum bottle was lightweight, retained its chill much better than a glass bottle, was visually stimulating, and provided a great conversation piece. High marks all around. Second, on a more amusing note, on a walk to the bathroom, which as any Front Pager know involves a long walk through the entire restaurant, both Ryan and I happened to notice, independently of each other, one particular table that was enjoying their dinner. Now, I should say that I have always been confused by people who eat at the Front Page beause in my mind, that place is solely associated with nights out, drinking, and dancing. Is the food any good? Do they willingly choose this place over all of the other restaurants in the Dupont area? What blows my mind even more is when I see tourists perousing the posted menu and then deciding that it looks appealing enough for them to spend their hard-saved money on a dinner there (Oh, honey, remember that dinner we had at that place ... you know the one with the really great nachos ... what was it called? Oh, The Front Page, right. I would love to go back there again.). Anyway, I digress. As if the whole eating at the Front Page thing wasn't weird enough, last night there was a table where three of the diners had ordered lobster for dinner. There they were, sitting at their table with little lobster bibs and nut crackers, enjoying their lobster as if this place was some sort of fine seafood restaurant. Quite amusing. Finally, the music situation was a bit different than what I've come to expect from the ol' FP. Instead of relying on the jukebox or a DJ, they set up a couple of speakers and an amp and had a dude with a guitar strumming and covering popular songs from the 80s, 90s, and today. He wasn't perfect (as Cooney said when she arrived a bit later: "he's kinda flat") but it was a nice change of pace from the sometimes oppressive jukebox/DJ music.Overall, quite the successful evening out in DC.