i'm tsg20's wife, and i completely agree that it was our best visit so far. the host was really nice and when i explained that we really really wanted to sit at the bar, said she'd keep an eye on things and that we could move over if something opened up. we did manage to order from the menu with a server just before we moved, so we all started with somewhat more "safe" drinks. i started with a rangoon fizz because i was stuffed-- we ate a late lunch at kuma's and followed that with scooters, so i wanted something to perk me up. the ginger syrup did the trick. for my second drink kyle suggested the juliet et romeo mentioned above, and i really enjoyed it-- i've been making versions of the southside at home and so have been increasingly into gin recently. when the boys moved to their fancy old fashioneds, i was finishing that drink. i wanted to try something totally different for me, and ended up with a gin old fashioned made with north shore gin. totally amazing! i was scared to try it at first, but the bitters took the edge off and the gin was a really soft lavender smell. i was very happy with that. we also ordered food around this point-- devil's eggs are a favorite, and the others shared the oysters. still hungry, toby's (my husband, not the alchemist, which actually did end up confusing various people through the night) sister and i shared a sandwich platter and guys got the deep fried PB&B. their eyes lit up when it came out, although i don't know how they had room for that much food. i've been really happy with all the food we've tried, plus it's nice that none of the flavors are so strong that they change your perception of the drink. the only change i would make is to make the fried pickles closer to dill and less bread and butter, for a cleaner flavor, but that's just preference. by the time we got to our last drinks, we were confident enough in kyle to say "just make me something good" and he took it from there. he made me a 131, which he said is more of a spring drink-- but since it was the warmest day in memory, that seemed appropriate. i can't remember all the elements, but there was sparkling wine and mint, and it was a great way to end the evening. toby's sister's boyfriend, who has been to a lot of bars in his day, said that it was the best bar experience he'd ever had. can't wait to go back again! this was a fair amount of alcohol for us, and we still managed to get up to watch the river turn green at 10:30 am!