Bottoms Up!
I’m not a big baseball fan but I do love going to the ballpark and enjoying a cold beer and a hot dog on a warm summer evening. Now Huntington Park has a new way of pouring beer—from the bottom up.
Who would believe there was a need to invent a new way of pouring beer? And who would ever think of filling a glass from a hole in the bottom? Apparently Josh Springer of Indianapolis did. A plastic cup sits over a spout and fills from the bottom up and seals itself when it is taken off the spout with a magnet that slips into place over the hole. This new device called Bottoms Up is touted as saving the servers time by freeing them up to do other things while waiting for the cup to fill. It can fill a gallon container in 30 seconds as opposed to 90 seconds compared to the old fashioned way.
Bottoms Up drawbacks
Bottoms Up has a couple of drawbacks as I see it. First, it does not produce a foamy head which I like. Beer aficionados say a perfect glass of beer should have very little foam but I like burying my mouth and nose into a cold foaming glass of beer.
The second drawback is one that only I would see. I am somewhat of a germophobe in public places and as I watched the demo video I noticed that the server must place the cup over the spout and push the cup down by placing her hand over the top of the glass—right where my lips will be placed. To remove the cup from the appliance she must once again take hold of the top of the cup and pull it off the spout. No clean place for my lips to sip the golden brew of the gods.
Where have those hands been?
Do you know where those hands have been? How many other hands have they touched in serving the cups? How long has it been since they were washed? What else have they touched? Have they handled money? I don’t even want to think where that money has been! Were those hands used to pick a nose (or other things) when no one was looking? Did they wipe off a drop of sweat or run their hands through their hair?
Sorry if I have ruined your day but I come by this thinking honestly. My mother instilled in us at a very early age to wash our hands often. Long before sanitizing gel was popular she would pack a damp and soapy wash cloth wrapped in a plastic bag in her purse or car when we left the house. We never ate or touched food without first washing our hands.
This philosophy must have worked because other than the usual childhood diseases of mumps, measles, chickenpox, etc. we were seldom sick. We didn’t have the frequent colds and flues that others often had.
I want my beer on tap
The next time I go to see the Clippers play at Huntington Park I will have my beer the old fashioned way from a tap rather than this new-fangled device. Some things you just can’t improve on. Anyone want some Purell?
NOTE–to view the video of the Bottoms Up beer machine please click on the link below.
Don’t say there’s nothing to do
Last weekend we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and affordable entertainment and traveled to German Village to see the Actor’s Theatre presentation of Robin Hood at Schiller Park.
We packed a cooler and headed downtown. Knowing that the Freeway is under construction (when isn’t it?), we decided to take the Neil Ave. exit off of I-670. As soon as we had committed ourselves to that exit we knew we had made a mistake. We forgot that the hugely popular Com Fest was in full swing. Once we fought our way through that mess we found ourselves in another traffic jam. It seems the Clippers were playing that night. We patiently worked our way through the sports enthusiasts when we found ourselves, once again, in another line of cars snaking its way to the Picnic with the Pops.
We finally reached our destination at Schiller Park only to find another huge crowd gathering on the knoll of the amphitheatre. Fortunately, there is always room for one more at an outdoor event with lawn seating.
Mayor Coleman should be proud. He has worked for years to bring more activities and people to downtown Columbus. He has suffered some criticism for spending money on various buildings, parks, and improvements; but all the work has not been in vain. The beautiful new Columbus Commons, now the permanent home of Picnic with the Pops, looked to be almost to capacity with approximately 8,000 attending that night.
Huntington Park, the new home of the Columbus Clippers, farm team for the Cleveland Indians, has won several awards. I’m not sure if it was a sell-out last Saturday night but my observation was that the event was well attended.
We weren’t able to drive past the new Scioto Riverfront Park but I’m sure there must have been many people strolling past the park and enjoying the beautiful gardens, fountains, swings and benches.
No matter your taste or background there was something for everyone that night. For the hippies, original hippies, and wanna’be hippies there was the Com Fest with all the rock music, tie dye T-shirts and miscellaneous stuff associated with that era you could absorb. Sports fans had the Clippers and for more sophisticated tastes there was Picnic with the Pops and Actor’s Theatre. A concert was happening at Promo West, CAPA’s summer movie series at the Ohio Theatre was presenting Hello Dolly, and many other people were enjoying a leisurely dinner at the various restaurants and on their patios.
This coming weekend there will be more of the same. Many venues will be finding various ways to celebrate the Fourth of July beginning with the traditional Red, White, and Boom celebration along the riverfront on July 3. The rejuvenated Ohio Village is planning an old-fashioned Independence Day celebration, CAPA’s summer movie series will have James Cagney’s Yankee Doodle Dandy and Picnic with the Pops will feature patriotic tunes including The Stars and Stripes Forever and The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
In addition to the downtown activities each local community usually has its own parade and fireworks so check local papers for the times. If you are looking for something out of the ordinary, there is the Doo Dah Parade in the Short North the afternoon of the fourth.
Columbus is a happening place, whether downtown or in your own community. There is entertainment for every taste and budget whether it is running through the fountains at Easton or the splash park at the Scioto Mile, downing brats and beer at a ball park, or dinner and theatre at many of our excellent restaurants and venues. If you live in the Columbus area never say, “There’s nothing to do.”
NOTE—for a detailed schedule of events see Upcoming Events at www.homekeynotes.com.
English: Man riding a monowheel in the 2011 Doo Dah Parade, Columbus, Ohio. Parade route viewed on W. 2nd Ave. in The Short North. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
http://capa.com/presentations/current-season-presentations/capa-summer-movie-series-2012
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