Grand Central

After stopping in Minato last night, I walked across the street to the Grand Central - yes, the place where nobody talks to you. Originally, I wanted to eat at the restaurant they have upstairs, the Tijuana Cantina. But I saw absolutely no one seated, and at around a quarter to 9, an empty restaurant can't be a good one. The businesses they have had in that top story have never been that good. Before this there was a lounge, which seems to be doing okay. Before that, it was a gay leather bar, but a pretty weak one. So I just avoid that top floor now.

Back to the Grand Central. I was looking for friends, and I didn't find them. But I found a college friend I hadn't seen for a good while, and a few other folks from college I hadn't expected to run into. I didn't stay long, but I did - true to my own fashion - order a Guinness. All they had was the Guinness carbonated can, which the bartender gave me with a large glass. It cost $6 (about the same as a pint in London - £3 - during happy hour). It was the most expensive Guinness I have had in the states.

I did get some cheaper Guinness with another friend at the Baltimore Eagle, though - $4 for a bottle. Okay, it's more per mL in the bottle, but I don't drink much, and when you're driving, that's a good thing. Some notes about the Eagle: another leather place, though certainly most of the clientele aren't all trussed out in anything more than a leather coat if that (some guys aren't wearing much above the waist at all). Like most of Bawlmer's gay bars, you will see straight people, but fewer than, say, the Grand Central. And unlike the Central, people you have never met will, more likely than not, chat with you. Don't go if you're uncomfortable with the occasional couple getting a wee bit "frisky" in the dark. Yikes! And whereas the Grand Central shows hyper techno music videos on its TV screens, the Eagle shows, well - Yikes!!!