Crimson and Gold

 I went to Crimson and Gold Sunday at about 6 o’clock.  This is a pub style restaurant with a bar and then a couple tables to dine at.  We went there during the happy hour, even though I am not 21, I was still able to get fifty-cent wings and a discounted slider.  My friends and I were one of four groups of people eating at this time.  It was pretty dead.  The other customers consisted of three older people, having a meeting for what appeared to be business related.  There were two men grabbing a beer along with some burgers, and two young lads with a female friend at the bar sipping on a couple beers. 

As we walked in a server at the bar told us that we could sit wherever we saw fit.  Right from the start, we could feel the laidback, relaxed atmosphere of Crimson and Gold, also known as C&G.  We choose a booth in the back of the restaurant, as to not interrupt anyone else’s meal.  My friends and I were there for the food, but the other customers seemed to be more into their drinks, and the hockey games on the T.V.  There were at least 5 televisions all playing sports.  If I had to guess, the other customers were, on average, in their late 20’s or early 30’s.  The two men grabbing beers and a burger each sat at a booth, talking, eating, drinking, and watching the hockey game.   The three people who seemed to be having a business-like meeting consisted of a older black woman, a younger white male, and a woman whose age was probably in between her two companions.  They were all dressed in business attire, nice clothes and shoes.  It seemed like maybe they had just come from work, to get some drinks.  The three people at the bar were definitely the youngest aged people in the tavern.  They were not eating unlike the others, only drinking while watching the television above the bar and conversing. 

  Our waitress came up, introduced herself, and asked if we wanted anything to drink.  I got a coke, Conor and Jameson, who was my prospective student, stuck with water, and Ryan got a old fashioned.  After, we ordered our food, we played two games of shuffleboard.  Along with shuffleboard we could have played a game of arcade-style basketball, but nobody was really feeling it.  Our waitress was very personable, and made us feel comfortable.  Ryan, Conor’s older brother, made a few jokes with her, and she seemed at home talking to us while discretely working for a better tip.

The food was pretty good.  My buffalo wings were delicious, kind of spicy, but that’s how I like them.  The barbecue ones were okay, but the buffalo were undoubtedly better.  Like all wings, they came with carrots and celery with ranch.  To finish off my meal I ate through the slider, savoring every bite.  For three dollars and fifty cents, it kicked White Castle’s butt, price set aside.  My friend, Conor, and Ryan, split the C&G platter.  It consisted of a ton of fried food, some of which was “mediocre,” and some not so good.  Ryan said that the poppers were pretty unconventional, and did not compare to the ones from Arizona.  Jameson got a five-dollar happy hour burger, and then a slider after seeing mine.  The total of my meal was about $12, I figured this was an alright price.

It seems to me that at this time, late afternoon on a Sunday, a couple people come into the pub to socialize.  There is no heavy drinking, and the food is mediocre tavern food.  It is all pretty greasy, but I wasn’t expecting anything more.  Happy hour saved us all a couple dollars, as a regular entre was just over ten dollars.  My article that I previously linked to was also about a tavern.  To quote it “Another popular choice is the grilled pork chop, seasoned and charcoal-grilled for $10.95.“  This seems right on par with the price level of Crimson and Gold, but the tavern in that article was more well known for its history and food.  It wasn’t a college bar, located less than a block away from campus.  The main focus at C&G is probably to gain revenue through alcohol sales, not by selling cheeseburgers.  The relaxed atmosphere makes for an okay spot for a business meeting or more likely, a casual drink.  I can safely conclude that at this time, mid-evening on a Sunday, the only people who are interested in coming to a tavern, or more specifically C&G, are those whom are middle-aged and probably just got off work.  It is also my realization that people go to this place to drink, not to eat.  That would probably explain the mediocre quality of our food.  Sure some parts of our meal were good, but I would have rather eaten somewhere else.