The Bar Towel

Haven't been there in over a year. What's new and exciting here?

Been there last week. The place looks really good after the renovation. They have Mill Street Pale Ale and some other loacal brews on tap, nothing special. You would expect to see at least one belgian style ale on tap (Maudite, La Chouffe or such) but not here. I asked for Sgt. Major, they said they don't carry it anymore cause people don't order it (in his words: "it's too extreme"). So I crossed it off my list of most frequented pubs.

I love C'est What, and I've been a regular there for years, but there are some things about the place that drive me nuts, and they're getting worse.

My biggest gripe is with the printed beer menus. Each of the two rooms now has a different printed menu, reflecting the beers on tap in that bar. When they just had the one bar, they often used to have a beer list on the chalkboard, but now there's no master list of beers anywhere. So, while they do have 35 beers on tap, the table menus only list a dozen or so.

I'm told that this is intentional. In the evenings when it's busy, it's difficult for servers to fetch beers from the other bar, so they don't list them on the menu, making it less likely that people will order them. This might make some sense from the owner's point of view, but I think it's plain daft.

I was also horrified about the deletion of Sargeant Major from their menu. I got the story that they didn't sell enough to guarantee its quality. This beer used to be on tap in the older bar, which only opens in the evenings. So it never appeared on the printed menu in the new bar, which might go some way to explaining why they never sold much. You had to be psychic to know that it was available.

Anyway, I was there yesterday, playing Scrabble (I lost), and drinking the Black Oak Nutcracker, which was delicious.

antirealist wrote: I'm told that this is intentional. In the evenings when it's busy, it's difficult for servers to fetch beers from the other bar, so they don't list them on the menu, making it less likely that people will order them. This might make some sense from the owner's point of view, but I think it's plain daft.

I have on occassion gotten up and just gone to get a pint from the other bar.

JerCraigs wrote:

antirealist wrote: I'm told that this is intentional. In the evenings when it's busy, it's difficult for servers to fetch beers from the other bar, so they don't list them on the menu, making it less likely that people will order them. This might make some sense from the owner's point of view, but I think it's plain daft.

I have on occassion gotten up and just gone to get a pint from the other bar.

If the place isn't too busy I will walk over to the other side and grab a menu and bring it to my table so that I have both menus to order from.

Blankboy wrote:If the place isn't too busy I will walk over to the other side and grab a menu and bring it to my table so that I have both menus to order from.

Isn't this just daft though?

The truth is, I think C'est What's customer base has shifted. A lot of the evening crowd now are twenty-somethings who aren't that interested in beer, but are attracted to the bar because it's a pleasant place to relax and socialize. Since they form the bulk of the customers, it's only natural that the bar will cater to their tastes - hence the TVs and pool tables, and the removal of "too extreme" beers, like the Sarge, from their menu.

I think this is pretty sad, but quite understandable. Fortunately, we have great places like BeerBistro and Cafe Volo who continue to provide an outstanding range of beers.

By the way, the Mill Street dinner at BeerBistro last Saturday was a lot of fun. Brian's Pork and Beans went down a treat with the Helles Bock, and the Barley Wine was awesome.

antirealist wrote: The truth is, I think C'est What's customer base has shifted. A lot of the evening crowd now are twenty-somethings who aren't that interested in beer, but are attracted to the bar because it's a pleasant place to relax and socialize.

I've been going to C'est What since not long after they opened, and I'd say that the crowd you describe has always been a large percentage of their crowd. Hell, I was probably one of those folks myself when I was twenty-something and not yet a serious beer geek. I haven't noticed a perceptable shift in clientele one way or the other over the years.

GregClow wrote:Hell, I was probably one of those folks myself when I was twenty-something and not yet a serious beer geek. I haven't noticed a perceptable shift in clientele one way or the other over the years.

Exactly! The crowd used to be your age, but now they're much younger .

Seriously though, even if you don't think the customer base has shifted, don't you think C'est What's focus has? A glance at the menus shows what I mean - was Mike's Hard Lemonade there 5 years ago? I don't think so.

C'est What have long been concerned about anti-smoking legislation, and I suspect the changes they've made are intended to offset the ban's negative effect on trade.

antirealist wrote:
Exactly! The crowd used to be your age, but now they're much younger .

antirealist wrote:
Seriously though, even if you don't think the customer base has shifted, don't you think C'est What's focus has? A glance at the menus shows what I mean - was Mike's Hard Lemonade there 5 years ago? I don't think so.

C'est What have long been concerned about anti-smoking legislation, and I suspect the changes they've made are intended to offset the ban's negative effect on trade.

I don't recall when exactly Mike's Hard specifically was added, but they have had at least one alcopop on the drink menu for quite a few years now, certainly well before the smoking ban became a big issue. (Although it's possible that they added it during the first attempt at a smoking ban back in the mid-90s...?)

Anyway - girlie drinks aside, I honestly don't feel that their focus has changed that much recently or at any time in the past. They have yet to add a single MolBatt product to their line-up, and they still have one of the best selections of Ontario & Quebec micros in the city (even with the lack of Sgt. Major - and if freshness of the keg version was the main issue, maybe they'll consider adding it to the bottled selection where volume won't be an issue?).

so their website is up to date as the most comprehensive list?

northyorksammy wrote:so their website is up to date as the most comprehensive list?

...which brings me to Petty Gripe Number Two. "No" is the short answer.

GregClow wrote:

antirealist wrote:
was Mike's Hard Lemonade there 5 years ago? I don't think so.

I don't recall when exactly Mike's Hard specifically was added, but they have had at least one alcopop on the drink menu for quite a few years

I can date this one actually...My chums and I were at the Festival of Microbrews in 1998 or 1999 when one of our female chums brought along a new boyfriend for us to check out. And the first thing this fellow (with a drip at his nose and the pallour of overdone pasta) does is to order a Mike's Hard Lemonade. The sacrilege! Honestly!! At the Festival of Microbrews!!!

That fellow did not last with our friend past the end of the evening.

GregClow wrote:Anyway - girlie drinks aside.....

Any of you liberated fellows want to take issue with this? Do we have any liberated women?

-Uncle Bobby

I'm a big C'est What fan and have been for years, but I agree with antirealist. The "two menus" thing drives me nuts and is the opposite of customer-friendly. It makes no sense and actively bugs me every time I go.

anyone heading there in next week or so?

Uncle Bobby wrote:

GregClow wrote:Anyway - girlie drinks aside.....

Any of you liberated fellows want to take issue with this? Do we have any liberated women?

Bah! My wife is as liberated as they come, and she calls those fruity concoctions "girlie drinks" as well.

Of course, she also loves stouts & porters, and prefers hanging out with the guys on nights out at the pub...