A thought on pubs
Nothing wrong with pubs, let me just say that ahead of time... but I think while sitting at the bar at The Whalesbone, eagerly anticipating oysters, Dave and I have decided to stop going to our regular pub. All the reasons, the price, the kitsch, etc. that we started going there for just aren't there anymore. The price is no better than most upscale places, especially with the Ontario tax hikes on alcohol, and we just haven't been having the same sort of fun we used to there.
Take our day otherwise today, both having nothing much to do, we had a delicious lunch at the Manx, sat around at my place playing video games and having a much more enjoyable time with some beers I had kicking about the fridge, and then capped it off with a lot of oysters at The Whalesbone, which along with a small amount of alcohol (a glass of Oban, an oyster-laden Caesar, and a glass of wine) and a couple bowls of chowder (though we both miss the Lobster bisque, which is probably the best lobster bisque either of us have ever had)... cost us about $50 a person, not including the tip (the dinner, not the whole day, but we got wayyy more than we paid for in awesome).
Which, I mean, when you think about it... the euphoria of just being totally satisfied from a great day and amazing food trumps any night at a pub. And even if we want to go out to drink instead of kicking about inside, whether for lack of booze at home or having a large party of people, it's become just as pricey at $18 a pitcher in the pub to do martinis at Oz Kafe. And it's a much nicer time.