The Bar West

We’re winding down. Only two spots left this season. But I know a place. A bar I went to once during a Packer game on the other side of the stadium. With much effort I convinced everyone to go. It was me, Nick, Sarah and Karen.

But we get there and not only does the place smell of bowling alley shoes but they don’t serve lunch! Good thing too because the burgers would surely be tainted by the swift scent of fungal bacteria. In a haste we had to find another locale to whet our appetite for burgerlicious desire. The Bar West was close and we knew they served burgers so we drove on over.

Some may say the Bar is a chain so it does not count in burger testing but after much debate we decided to let it slide. And we slid into our seats. At this point in the season we have tasted great and not so great burgers. We were winding down and ready to wrap this journey up. But before we did, the Bar served up their best.

No they weren’t the greatest but it’s a nice place and perhaps they were the benefactors of our easy scoring mood at the time. The waitress was just above average and the condiment availability was top notch.
Flavor averaged out to an 8 out of 10. Like I said, they were the benefactors of our favorable end of the season scoring (wait until you see Sidekicks!). The bun had rave reviews considering the place’s reputation as a hip hang out joint.

Overall we enjoyed the experience and rated them favorably, about a 7.75 overall out of 10. Sometimes it’s easy to give favorable treatment to something you are comfortable with. Even if their burgers were terrible we would have probably given decent scores. And there is something to be said about that.

Where the unknown will take us we could never guess. And so we sidestep things that are not swept along with the eb and flow of the people around us. When someone or something does things that don’t quite equal their square peg fitting into the world’s triangle hole we avoid it for good or bad. It might have been the best or worst of things but at least we remain comfortable in our lives and routines. And so it is with a place like the Bar.

We are comfortable that we know this place and our lives will continue on without interruption no matter what happens. It’s those places under bridges and far away on hilltops, with people playing cribbage and with young kids with crooked hats reading a book of all things that scare us away. Contradiction does not sit well and how could we ever test places where people will not feel comfortable. Most all the world seeks comfort above all else, and they risk little to achieve that comfort. Unfortunately, some of the the most comfortable treasures are found and lost in those places and people we choose to avoid.