vultures

had very much been looking forward to a girls' night out with Q2. with the new job & the living situation, outings with my girlfriends have become a rarity.

we met up at variety, which has gotten a lot of buzz in the media. . .huge wine lovers, Q2 and i were pretty excited about checking out the venue. . .what we expected to be a laid back, casual spot to grab a glass of wine ended up being a bit aloof, stuffy, and pretentious. while the owner was friendly and eager to please, the food was underwhelming and overprices, the waiters were stingy with bread, and they commited the V pet peeve- overpushing bottled water. . please, water from the sink is fine by me and don't try to trick me by offering "still or fizzy?" and ommitting the tap water option!!!!

that being said, variety seems like a great place to grab a flight or glass of wine. . much more my speed was our second stop, in vino. a cozy wine bar in the east village that is remiscent of a cavernous restaurant in florence. our server was knowledgable, laid back, and friendly. in vino espouses my philosophy towards wine, it is a beverage that should be enjoyed on a daily basis, as determined by one's individual taste buds, without fanfare and fuss. we had an excellent bottle of docletto, bread, and meatballs.

by the last glass, kb joined us. we headed to china1, a spot i hadn't frequented in some time. the crowd was a bit stuffy and we only stayed for a brief while as Q2 started feeling ill. after kb made sure Q2 got home and in bed ok, we headed to our tried and true favorite, verlaine. i don't know what was in the air, but the vultures were definatley hunting. first there was the indian bloke that couldn't stop staring and making awkward conversations that were more silences than actual words. then, there was random scott who pretended to be best friends with one of my bartender-friends just to have a chance to interrupt our conversation. next was some guy who invited us to join their table. . and in the last maneuver, a group of guys invited us to have a shot on the house with them while we were obviously exiting the bar. . .is this really what the singles scene is like???