Bar News: Are you drunk, or is your beer shrinking?, two new Philly eateries to open and Lahaska spot closes
Submitted by jstudent on Tue, 2008-06-10 14:35.
[ ] According to a story in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, the beer and wine you receive at your favorite bar may not be as potent as it was last year. Turns out some bars (mostly chains) are short-pouring and even ordering smaller glasses. (WSJ via Consumerist)
From the story:
…Some restaurants have replaced 16-ounce pint glasses with 14 ouncers -- a type of glassware one bartender called a "falsie."
And customers are complaining that bartenders are increasingly putting less than 16 ounces of beer in a pint glass, filling up the extra space with foam.
Two of the world's biggest glassware makers, Libbey and Cardinal International, say orders of smaller beer glasses have risen over the past year. Restaurateurs "want more of a perceived value," says Mike Schuster, Libbey's marketing manager for glassware in the U.S. Glasses with a thicker bottom or a thicker shaft help create the perception. "You can increase the thickness of the bottom part but still retain the overall profile," he says.
Dedicated beer drinkers are fighting back, with extra vigilance about exactly how much beer they get for their buck. They are protesting "cheater pints" and "profit pours" by outing alleged offenders on Web discussion boards and plugging bars that maintain 16-ounce pints, in hopes peer pressure will prevail. And they are spreading the word about how to spot the smaller glass (the bottom is thicker).
Jason Alstrom, who founded the magazine BeerAdvocate last year, calls it the "Less for More" phenomenon. "It's happening everywhere," he says. He is urging readers and users of his Web site, www.beeradvocate.com , to "raise a fist and refuse to pay" when served a skimpy pint….
[ ] Two of Philadelphia’s best know restaurateurs - Jose Garces (Amada and Tinto) and Stephen Starr (too many places) - each announced new eateries last week.
- In July, Garces will unveil Distrito (3945 Chestnut Street, West Philly) which his release states will be “a high-energy restaurant inspired by the spirited culture and cuisine of Mexico City….fresh interpretations of classic Mexican fare. A striking decor will include a hot pink and bright green color scheme, a wall constructed from over 600 colorful, campy masks of lucha libre, or “free fight” professional wrestlers, and a booth crafted from a Volkswagen Beetle, a typical Mexico City taxi cab.”
- Starr, meanwhile, will retool his own Striped Bass (1500 Walnut Street) into Butcher and Singer Steak and Seafood. (Phoodie.info)
[ ] This is the last week for The Spotted Hog (inside Peddler’s Village Rts 202 and 263, Lahaska). The Bucks County eatery is closing Thursday (June 12). It will reopen as Sweet Lorraine’s Café & Bar in the fall. (Courier Times blog)
