Murphy's Is The Meeting Place
My explorartion of the area continued with a long Saturday night on 2nd Street. The night started innocently. Teresa and I flip-flopped from riding bikes to Seal Beach to walking down 2nd Street. We found ourselves playing Foosball at the Acapulco Inn around 2am.
Since I have the attention span of a Goldfish, when heading out for the night, I didn’t even make it past the top of my street. There is a Buffalo Exchange right there, and I needed a Halloween costume. They have some decent outfits. I tired on a bright orange M&M, but it was too small. I settled on a Referee Jersey complete with whistle. I can tell you now, Teresa will be offsides the entire night. She grabbed a cat costume; she loves cats.
After walking back home to drop off the costumes, we walked back to 2nd Street. I suggested we get drinks before dinner and figured Murphy’s Pub At The Belmont was the best idea. I’ve wanted to visit since I moved to the Belmont Shore, but this was my first time. I was pleasantly surprised! They have an extensive beer menu, a few TVs, sweet pub tables and a balcony with an awesome view of 2nd.
I quickly made a few friends at the bar. They made fun of my “hippie” beer decisions: Hemp Ale and “Red Stripe:”http://redstripebeer.com. I guess they had a point. I found Teresa out on the balcony making friends. She was talking to Steve; he moved to the Belmont Shore from New York within the last year. He was talking up living in the LBC. He thinks he’ll stay for the long term. He also spoke highly of Venice Beach. This week, I might join him for a show in Venice. We also meet Tina. Teresa overheard her talking about Middle School teaching, so they chatted up the rigors of the education world. It turned out she was a Lost fan. We raved about our favorite show and made plans to watch the upcoming 5th season. Tina introduced us to a few others around the bar, including the bar tenders. I found out Murphy’s has a beer club. You have to drink 70 beers, and your name is etched on a placard. I immediately started. She also introduced us to Eric; who I’d meet once before at Quinns. I hungout with him and his buddies for part of the evening. One of his friends lives in Boise, ID. He use to live near Portland but raved about Idaho. Apparently, it has all the outdoor beauty (true, I’ve seen it) of Oregon, but it doesn’t have the horrible weather. Intriguing, but still cold.
It was starting to get late, and I hadn’t eaten. Teresa suggested we drop by Open Sesame for a quick dinner. Their meals are filling but not overbearing. You gotta love Mediterranean food. I had Chicken Tawook, and I was ready for more drinking. As a side note, I should name a dog Tawook (ta-wooo-ka).
I enjoyed Murphy’s so much, I went straight back to the bar. They have Cerveza Quilmes which I’ve seen advertised on FSC, so I had to try it. It has decent flavor but doesn’t standout in my mind. As I enjoyed the Argentine beer, I met Shaun and his girlfriend. The suggested I try a beer from Wisconsin. I can’t remember its name, but it tastes just like Fruity Pebbles. No Joke. Its called Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat. Its interesting the first time, but I don’t think I could stomach it twice.
Pretty soon, it was last call. No one wanted the night to end. Tina suggested the Acapulco Inn. It has maybe one window and is just down the street. Perfect. I’ve wanted to go there for as long as I’ve wanted to visit Murphy’s. As we walked down 2nd, Tina stopped into Rite Aid. She came out with a Pink Moomoo for Teresa. It was the perfect outfit for the rest of the night.
I’ll have to say, I was pleasantly surprised for the second time this night. We walked into lively scene at the Acapulco Inn. I imagined an old mans hangout overrun by a younger crowd. The younger crowd was present, but so where tons of games and a bunch of taps. You could play Pool, Arcade Basketball, Shuffle Board and Foosball. I grabbed a Fat Tire, and we tried to play basketball. It was way crowded, so we moved onto Foosball. This was the better decision. I played a ton of games and wasn’t so bad. Teresa even played! I tried to channel my nights at the ‘Wich where I was under Jeff’s tutelage. I played well, but I still need some work. Shaun had a better touch than I.
We closed down “AI” and said our goodbyes. The walk home passed Archibald’s. Its always packed, and this time was no exception. Teresa and I finally visited for our first time. Its expensive, but we ordered chicken fingers and fries for a late night snack.
It was a fun Saturday night. I was tired on Sunday, but it was totally worth the effort. I had a chance to meet a bunch of cool people, and I hope we hangout soon. I’ve added to more locations to my 2nd Street favorites: Murphy’s and Acapulco Inn.
