Shooting the shots at Rosie's

A night (and most of the next day) at Rosie O’Grady’s Pub

I’ll tell you what every neighborhood needs in order to be great: a grocery store, a taco shop, a dry cleaner, a coffeeshop, a bar or two and a tattoo parlor. When you add hookahs and pizza, a ‘hood takes on rock star status . . . and Normal Heights has pulled that off. So much so that it is often hard for me to leave my bubble perched above the 8 and the 805. My original plan was to go check out deejay Mark E. Quark, at Modus.  But the homies weren’t down to get a cab and I couldn’t spring for one on my own.  So the plan changed.

A night of video games was interrupted by my roommates’ girlfriend, who talked me into going to Rosie O’Grady’s. Strangely enough, I had no interest in going there.  College football is over, and to go to Rosies without football is like going to a restaurant where your ex works—you can never figure out what you’re doing there.  But then again, after a few hours at Rosie’s a lot of things occur that can’t be figured.

We passed Zia’s Pizzeria (which has the best sliced pizza in San Diego—worth its own review) and made our way through the Goth crowd of Lestat’s coffee house before arriving at our destination.  Rosie’s is a corner bar with all the charm of a neighborhood bar—down to the Bloody Mary brunches the owner is always happy to serve (I’ve had my share).  In fact, one of those brunches led me (and half the bar) to drink a nearly-full bottle of vodka just so I could take the bottle home.  It was something the owner had proposed when he got it in.

The bottle was shaped like a bong and I mistakenly thought it was close to empty when I started the endeavor. I learned that bongs can really hold their alcohol—we worked on that thing for a few hours before stumbling into the streets (prize in hand).

If Rosie’s has a forte, it’s serving up shots.  Even if you don’t know the person next to you at the bar when you walk in, it’s almost assured you will have taken a shot with them by the time you leave. For me, it was a lot of female neighbors sidling up like they were in line for the lead role in a play (I’m always talking auditions). Truth is, I can’t really say who I took shots with.  I’ve got some pictures on my phone, though.

In all honesty, it was probably the music that made them so happy (though I like to think it was me).  Rhythm Jaxx, a blues combo, was playing.  The set was constantly evolving and morphing as guest musicians joined in. Some of the more notable covers were the Thunderbirds and Muddy Waters.

Jason O’Grady knows how to throw a party, that’s for sure.

Which leads me back to the taco shop and the coffee house.  You’ve got to eat something after a marathon night like the one at Rosie’s, and with Rolberto’s a half a block from the liquor store, all kinds of birds are being killed with one stone.  And of course, the hangover will be better after a cup o’ joe from Lestat’s.  Or I guess you could go back to Rosie’s and stuff yourself on an all-you- can-eat brunch and a Bloody Mary, served up spicy.

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