Another eventful weekend in Londontown. From a 1920 Speakeasy to an American sport bar, my adventures certainly ran the gamut. Let’s stick to the fun stuff, the secret password bar. So we went to this place, The Breakfast Club, which looked like a diner. A diner with a DJ. We’ll call it the staging area. Reading online reviews we were instructed to approach the list keeper/bouncer, which we interpreted to mean the biggest guy in the bar, and say the magic words. Finding the Big Man we say, under our breath of course, this is a secret club – we’re no amateurs;
“We’re here to see the Mayor”
Ushered to a table in the midst of the dance-party-DJ-diner, Big Man told us to order some drinks and the mayor would be along shortly. Only a few carafes of sangria later he was ready for us. Rising to gather our things, Big Man directed us to the door, the refrigerator door that is, and down the stairs to see the “Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town.” On the other side of the fridge the atmosphere was completely different and they certainly achieved their step back in time vibe. It was one of those moments where I really wanted to take pictures but at the same time felt like I really shouldn’t take pictures. Here’s an idea of what the door to the bar looked like, but I’ll stop here. You have to see for yourself what the downstairs was like, that’s a secret I’m not willing to give up. The quick and dirty, it was all wood, dimly lit, and had amazing bartenders who were incredibly attentive and into their mixology.
Once we got our fill of the secret dungeon, we decided to exit, this time through the back entrance of a bathroom so it looked like we were just using the loo that whole time. Instructions on some of the menus downstairs told us to get creative with this exit, maybe even leave some toilet paper remains on a shoe as we left. Playing it cool we rejoined the party-before-the-party area where the DJ was still spinning jams. Danced a little more and we were off.
Strange turn of events...we actually ended the night at the Queen of Hoxton (see earlier post). Apparently not that sketchy when you go in with a group of people! I was just, er, scouting it out the first time I went. I knew we'd be back.
English word of the day: When you are asked if you want your coffee "white" they are asking if you want milk in it. AND in the office if one of my coworkers takes orders to run downstairs and get us coffee, they ask "red, green, or blue?" Uhhhhh…..see blank stare. They then realize, ah American, ok whole milk (red), 1% (green), or skim (blue)? Got it. No clue ordering coffee could be so colorful! How’s that to brighten your day!
