Rattled, notes from the Target.

A Nor'easter's limited choices...lefties with a slap of salt. 67th to 65th, Holidays and points south. 6/8/2017

   It was a dark and stormy night. Well not entirely. It looked it. Kind of let you know this was not going to be an easy evening of sun, surf, and fun. And Karma did not disappoint. Started with the wind. Sand blowing. Beach chair rattling. Here...have a snack of sand to eat. And, why did we come again? Ah yes, the Ocean and all of her joyous ways. But, we are not faint of heart. We had come prepared. Jeans. Hoodies. Long sleeve shirts. Hats. Large billowing beach towels used to block the wind. I think DWatt, regardless of the rattling he took, had more fun even if he was being wind blown, rolled, and dragged a few blocks for every attempted ride. For with the wind came an angry surf and nothing but left hand breaks. This evening's battle, three rounds in an hour were enough for the Watt. The two good rides would have to fill his need for another week.

   So tonight we headed to the 9th Street Taphouse on the Boards. Really 'bout a half a block off the boards. Nested into he back corner of the Paradise Plaza Inn. Not the up-scale kind of tap house you read about in magazines by any means. A bit rundown. Definitely an OC dive. A view of the hotel's parking lot slightly obscured by the A/C units. Amazing that this place stays in business year after year. On the boards technically, but definitely no destination bar from its view. Flat screens and one projection TV set up. Our first review of the place. Joined by the Watt's Son and new girl friend, gave opportunity to sample several types of beer. Yeah, about a dozen or so crafts on draft. Some room temp. Some cold. None iced. I enjoyed a cold Belgium White. Wattman, a room temp IPA...a fatal flaw for any beverage. Lisa, a cold Apricot Wheat. His Son, the coffee creme lager. After everyone got settled in with their respective brewskies we put in our orders: Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Wings, Ahi Tuna Tacos, and Blackened Mahi Tacos. Sweet Baby Rays rarely disappoints as the wings were meaty and well cooked. The tacos had enough fish. Unfortunately for the fish, they were drowned in pico and crema. While several of the group enjoyed both tacos, my examination revealed the hard truth. Just warm, over veggied, over sauced. Did not score a gold star from this Crew member. Hard Target for a reason. On further review I have adjusted the scores downward. We cannot be overly nice, even if we have been gone twenty months. Only the hard truth will be told here. This will be a challenging season!

THE RATINGS - 

BBQ Wings: B

Tuna Tacos: C+

Blackened Mahi Tacos: C

Beer: B-

Atmosphere: C

Value: C

Overall Score = 2.33