This one time I went to Urbn

Last night I met my friends at Urbn, a formerly abandoned warehouse that has been transformed into a sophisticated, hip bar that opened in November. I was impressed before I even walked in.  It is as if you are suddenly elevated to the top of the social ladder by just being there, by knowing of Urbn’s existence.  The minimalist design with brick walls, granite countertops and a giant fan that looked like it was once an airplane propeller reinforces this fact. 

Aesthetics aside, the true test of a bar is their alcohol selection and had I been a beer drinker I’m sure I’d be impressed.  A chalkboard toted their draught beers with a colorful representation from several local breweries.  Being a hard alcohol drinker, however, I was more interested in their cocktails.  I scanned the draft and classic cocktail menu by drink name and envisioned the characters from the 1960’s period television show Mad Men ordering a Tom Collins, Old Fashioned and Rob Roy.  Even though my tastes are on the contemporary side, I batted my eyelashes and smiled sweetly for the bartender to surprise me with a vodka-based creation instead.  I chuckled to myself at the thoughtful person who took the time to slice jars full of cucumbers, lemons, and limes while he carefully poured Chambord, Cointreau, Citrus vodka and splashes of whatever juice they had available.  He even twirled lemon peel around his finger to garnish my chilled martini glass.  I was impressed before I even took a sip.  The martini was just what I wanted without knowing I even wanted it.

There are moments in my life that I feel like I’m the main character in a movie or at the very least a cool commercial.  I felt as though I was in an alcohol commercial as I sat on an ottoman so large it could have been a bed, chatting with friends, sipping my tasty cocktail, and listening to my favorite music such as Metric and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  It was that perfect. 

Before I left, I asked the bartender behind the spelling of the name Urbn.  “It’s because we are too cool for vowels,” he said. And even though he’s technically wrong, he’s also very right.