Hose in the House, Mac's Speed Shop, Aborted Pub Crawl, Bocca: It Was Just Another Weekend in Greenville

My life has returned to semi normal.

My buddy Jose took off mid afternoon on Sunday for his IBM class in Atlanta. I'm glad I wasn't facing that 2-hour drive. Actually, we took it pretty easy this weekend. Jose and I behaved ourselves…well, Jose behaved himself. Thanks to a virus of some variety the previous week, he was still a little woozy.

Friday was a killer night at Nose Dive and Soby's. Bob and Meg, my Florida/pseudo South Caroliina friends, joined us.

A few of the Peddler Wednesday Night Irregulars put in a cameo at Soby's. It wasn't a late night, but we concentrated a lot into it.

We had every intention of hitting some joints downtown on Saturday, but didn't get much further than lunch and a beer at Blue Ridge Brewery. We did walk to the other end of Main Street to a new place called Mac's Speed Shop. It's a biker/tap room/BBQ joint. I was less than impressed. It's only been open a couple of weeks, I guess. I just noticed it last week.

Evidently it's a small chain out of Charlotte. All we did there was have a beer. Here's the thing: They put this place right across Main Street from Liberty Tap Room -- a much bigger and nicer tap room. And the location is about three blocks from Smoke on the Water, the best BBQ in downtown Greenville. No clue what the owners were thinking, but I see a real struggle ahead of them. Not the finest looking wait staff I've ever seen either. It looks as though the Waffle House sends its turn-a-ways to Mac's. These guys didn't get anything right. If this joint succeeds, it will be in spite of itself.

Saturday night was dinner at my newest favoritest Italian restaurant in Greenville, Bocca. Food and wine were excellent. The owner came out and regaled us with a story or two. What a character! We stopped for an after-dinner glass of wine at Peddler.

Lunch Sunday before Jose shipped out was at Smoke on the Water. I had visions of going to Blue Ridge Brewery and sitting outside for a beer or two later in the afternoon, but bagged it for a quiet dinner at home. I was a bit weary.

The cat is still under my bed, traumatized by all of the strangers in the house over the past couple of weeks. I suspect she'll be out in a day or two.