green fairies

We had our first friend visitor. The Villain came to see us. Now he didn't come to Houston solely to visit us, but we like to think of it that way. He came down here for his job and we were lucky enough that he had some spare time to go to dinner with us.

Since we have moved here, we have made a 'Restaurants to try' list. It's a long list and we add to it all the time. So we decided to send Villain a list of some restaurants--some that we've been to and some we haven't tried yet. We picked one that we hadn't tried. Let us tell you, are we ever glad we got this one out of the way and we're super glad Villain got to share in the experience. Not to say it was a bad experience, it was just...really weird.

We went to a restaurant called Absinthe. It got pretty decent ratings and looked awesome online, so we were surprised at how it really was {not to say it was bad. just. weird.} It was cool, hip, dark and mysterious, just like every latin TV actor, and weirdly not crowded busy at all. We sat down and nervously looked at each other and told our selves we had about 20 seconds of free-non-awkward-get-up-and-get-outta-here time to leave. But we stayed.

Back tracking a little bit here to actually getting to Absinthe: for some reason, restaurants here {Houston} don't think they need a sign outside. So we drove to where it was on maps, and still couldn't find it. Finally after driving in a circle 3 times we see a sign saying "Parking only for Absinthe and Bowl 5 " so we knew we were here we just didn't see a sign {we were also worried that the internet lied to us and it was a bowling alley}. Kyle so happened to pick the lucky door to walk in.

So, now back to being inside. We were already confused by the no sign outside and then we walk into this dark, low-lit, mysterious, but oddly nice bar to see 5 people. Including the guy behind the bar. So we looked at the menu and the guys decided to try a drink with Absinthe in it, natch. Rob and Kyle had picked out the Sazerac. Absinthe, rye and bitters. Layne was going to try the Gin Gin mule. Gin, lime, mint and ginger ale. Now Layne had never even heard of absinthe until we walked in there. And she didn't care to try it even after she found out what is 'does'. So Kyle and Rob go up to the bar to order the drinks and the bartender doesn't understand. He asks us it we have ever had absinthe. No, we hadn't. I mean, do we look like Picasso, Degas, or Van Gogh? Of course we haven't tried it. Well he thought we should try it first the correct way. And so the pressure began. He sees Layne still sitting at the table alone and calls her over. Asks if she's too scared to try it. And also asks if she likes black licorice. Tough Layne said no she's not scared and yeah, sure she likes black licorice {she is actually scared to try it and she loathes black licorice, but too afraid and compliant to say otherwise. Layne has this habit of going along with anything someone says if she's a) meeting them for the first time; or b) nervous. this was both} So he starts his absinthe story telling/sales pitch and we have no clue what he's talking about, so we just nod along and say yes. Key points we took from that convo:

-Drink 4 oz. of absinthe every day for 4 weeks and you will hallucinate

-Van Gogh cut off his ear because he drank this shnoz

-We will be fine

-Absinthe is the barkeep's favorite drink

So to take it the right way, he starts by putting three glasses down, puts this LOTR fellowship pin leaf looking thing on them {has holes in it} and a sugar cube on the LOTR leaf. Next the Lucid {his fave brand}. He pours the green goo on the sugar, lets it steep, lights it on fire, pours water on it, and then stirs it. He hands it to us and chuckles all to deviously. We asked him if it was a shooter or a sipper, since it was in a small 3 oz. glass. He said you can do either--if you like black licorice, sip it. Otherwise, shoot 'em up. We asked what he prefers and he answered with this: "I love that stuff so much that I need it in my body as fast as I can...so I shoot it."

We immediately regret not leaving in those first 20 seconds.

So we take our bounty to our table and proceed to sip away, which took all of our strength bc it was pretty dang horrible. One of the worst drinks/liqueurs that we've ever tasted. Shortly thereafter, Rob's tongue went numb, he tried to cut his ear off, and four green fairies were sitting at the table next to us. Just kidding. Well actually, our tongues did go numb. Other than that, just a normal alcohol-y tasting crappy drink. Oh yeah, overpriced too. $15 per shot. Per shot. Kyle wouldn't even pay that for a single malt. All in all, a tepid experience since the pizza was actually alright, though we will probably never go back. But if we do, it's safe to say I will not try some more absinthe prepped the tradish way.

The night was pretty low-key after that, involving a trip to the pad to show off Charmander and then off to the Richmond Arms, our good 'ol neighborhood English pub. Much better experience there during games on the weekends though, but it was still fun. Good beer and even better convo.

Update: we just opened up a 12 pack of cans of Canada Dry ginger ale {bc we've been wanting to try a gin gin mule ever since Tuesday}. We open it up and what do we find...

No joke. I mean, multiple things here. First, now we don't trust the 7up so we're def not drinking it. Second, what kind of person does this as a practical joke. It's so random. Lastly, this was from the good Walmart down here. Now we can't trust any of the wally worlds.