Pete asked about my stock of blog titles. Sadly, there’s only so many plays on “Pompey”, “Fratton” and “Alan Biley” I can think of, so this post about a burger craft bar is called “Burgered“. Look forward to “Beer”, “Flower pot” and “Gnome” in future issues.
Having ticked the ticks by six (hey, great title) I just admired Southsea for a bit.
I’d live in Southsea. If they moved it to Manchester. Mrs RM could have this place as a renovation project;
I knew I ought to have a final pint of the night, followed by an inadvisable Chinese takeaway and an inadvisable Plum Porter next door.
I could have walked to Old Portsmouth itself for Bass in the Pembroke, but the Bass hasn’t been made yet and it wasn’t much cop in the Pembroke last time, great pub though it is.
Doom Bar in the Jolly Sailor ?
It’s got a gun outside. A great sign, just like Hi-Vis and mobility scooters.
No, I fell into the Meat & Barrel. DESPITE the half price burgers being the day before (or August, if you like).
And there I was, name taken, hands washed, pursuing the instructions.
It was 7pm, the place was doing decent 18-30 business, I stood out like a chubby sore plum, I went for the house burger and house beer (Twisted Oak). Someone else had the lone cask, a young chap. They took his temperature to see if he was OK.
This was actually a recent new tick. I’d forgotten I’d wrote;
“Corporate craft with dull ale“.
In 2018 I also wrote;
“the young staff in these modern places are spectacularly friendly, and I have to fight off their attempts to offer me tasters“
Offering tasters in a Covid world will get you arrested, of course. That’s the best thing about Covid apart from the dolphins returning.
The beer was NBSS 3+ (I was almost disappointed that the golden era of cask was ending), the staff were great, the burger was magnificent, the mayo in sachets rather than a pot #EndOfTimes.
When I inevitably go back to Portsmouth for GBG21, don’t be surprised if I come back here and drink Tiny Rebel Pravha.
And so to bed, in my campervan by the beach, just hoping I didn’t have to get out of bed for a wee at 2am in the morning and bump into a jogger.
Don’t ask.
retiredmartin 
Let’s be honest: rather than any of those titles, you’d almost certainly go with “From Beer to Eternity”, “There’s No Place Like Gnome,” and “Some LIke It (Flower) Pot.” 😉
Has the pandemic really resulted in an end to pubs offering tasters? The only way I can see the logic of this is if the practice of offering tasters had involved re-using the glasses for the next customer without washing them. (Now I’m getting worried about those times that I did accept tasters.)
I did chuckle at your idea of having a “final pint of the night” and then having a Plum Porter later on. We’ve all done something along those lines, I’m sure!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Say, Mark, is that your application for the (honorary) position of cheesy blog titles?
Yes, tasters and buffets seemingly banned. You can’t take your glass back to the bar, which I suspect for us tickers is part of the appeal of pubgoing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Have the jam jars disappeared as well?
How far do you have to distance from the Dolphins?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jam Jars are ok if they’ve quarantined in a dark place for 300 years.
🐬 can form part of your bubble but MUST wear a mask.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Golden age of cask lasted longer than we all hoped for. We’ll talk about that five day window for years to come
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see that the dear old BBC has just given a bit of free publicity to this https://neverspoons.app
I couldn’t possibly comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Citra said a Harvester came up on his!
LikeLike
It’s certainly dear in the sense that we’re stung for something we don’t want.
LikeLike
Great place for camping and whippy ice cream and hot donuts will be perfect for breakfast 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
was there ever a golden age of cask?
LikeLike
Yes there was Cookie.
It started in Spoons on the 4th July and ended on the 7th.
LikeLiked by 1 person