The Best Dives

We hooked up with some friends for dinner and a movie last night. We headed to a restaurant recommended by another friend, hoping for a quick bite. But the restaurant was too fancy for our liking. It was not a quick bite kind of place. You really ought to be dressed and spend the whole evening over dinner to get your money's worth.

So we opted to run across the street to a divy looking place called the Regal Beagle pub. I wasn't keen for it. It didn't look regal and I was worried it really might be more suited for beagles. But my friend said, "It's a pub. They'll have beer and pub food. And we can eat and run without feeling guilty." Sure, that's a good reason to go to a restaurant.

The first giveaway that this may not have been a good choice was there was no one inside the restaurant on a Saturday night, and the waitress barely spoke English. One of our friends ordered a vegetarian burger. They didn't have that as their new supplies hadn't come in. He opted for a grilled cheese and fries. When the sandwich arrived, his face fell. The thing really was a Kraft slice melted between white bread.

Two of us had burgers, The Man had a club house. The fare was plain but mostly edible. I guess this really was a university hang out and the important thing was cheap beer.

As we neared the end of our quick meal, a loud rhythmic pulse resounded throughout the restaurant. I didn't recognize it as a fire alarm. We looked around and asked each other what that sound was. A man sitting at the bar and writing in a ledger turned to us and said, "It's okay."

The waitress came later and conveyed that the alarm went off all the time but she wasn't able to convey why or when the sound would stop. But we thought it was time to go anyway so we got the cheque, used the washrooms and put on our coats. As I walked through the front door, I was met by five firemen, carrying hoses and axes, sauntering in slowly. Outside, there were two fire trucks and a police car flashing their lights.

I said to my friend, "Well, they sure weren't in a hurry. But that doesn't look like 'It's okay' ". The Man looked up at the building from the sidewalk. He said, "Hey, up there is the old Rochdale College", as if that explains why the fire alarm going off and no one caring, is a normal thing. Rochdale College - Toronto's student drug haven in the 60's and 70's.

I'm just going to stick to my gut instincts about restaurants and be more selective about the dives I go to.