Thistle Hill Tavern - Fat Mike

vidro3 wrote: i reiterate my position of this being the single most wussiest name of an establishment in park slope.

and that's saying something.

Fat Mike is going to piss in your drink (see video). I think 'snice is wussier.

you're just going to have to taste test all of my drinks then

They opened last night> I stopped by on the way home from work today and was the only person at the bar for a bit, but the tables were packed. I had a signature cocktail which is essentially a scotch manhattan for $10. Deeeelicious. The menu of wines and beers and food looks amazing- I want to try everything. I also had a delicious dry rose served in a huge glass, generous pour for $7. The owner/bartender, John, was friendly, answered all my questions, was awesome. Cool tats too. His partner seemed to be front of house manager. I love this place. They refinished the wood floors, took the plaster down to original brick and added awesome ceiling. Although the bar area is quite small, the entire place is gorgeous if overcrowded. I expect to be there tomorrow and the day after and the day after............... see you there!

Thanks for the review Scarlett. I've been waiting for this place to open... should be a good place tonight to celebrate finishing grad school... assuming not too many moms out and about.

let's hope this stays packed and lively. nice to have a new addition to the hood, and i wish them well. between fondas, beer table, and them, it feels like a solid anchor for the south slope--or whatever it's called:)

Tried to go for dinner last night around 8. The bar was over capacity, every table was full and they told us it would be 45 minutes wait. Grrr. Steinoff's trout special was underwhelming.

the three reviews so far on yelp are raves. can't wait to try this place out.

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2010/05/streetlevel_new_89.php

Went last night with The Spouse. We were there early, before 5:30, and only a couple of tables were occupied. By the time we left at 7:30, the place was packed and there were people lined up outside. It gets loud as it fills up - wish they had the space to do a few booths, instead of the long bench tables which encourage larger and louder parties.

Good prices on draft and bottled beer. Spouse had the daily special, which was Mediterranean trout with greens. I had the grilled octopus with polenta, artichokes, olives and lemon. Both were excellent - not huge portions but enough. The salt-and-pepper fries were a nice starter.

The waitstaff was very friendly, if a little uneducated about the beers.

A good addition to the neighborhood, with upscale food and a nice alcohol menu. We'll be back.

Flexichick wrote: Hopefully Fat Mike won't serve you shots of his piss. Check this out :-)

http://www.tmz.com/2010/03/26/nofx-singer-tequila-fat-mike-cokie-the-clown-urine-shots-video/#comments

Really, this disgusting pig is part owner?

The singer of NOFX is reportedly under investigation after secretly spiking fans' drinks with urine at a SXSW concert. Fat Mike ended his set of dark songs by revealing the subterfuge in a video.

The Pinpoint music blog reports that Fat Mike, real name Michael John Burkett, swaggered into the Emo's Annex venue wearing the face paint of his character Cokie the Clown. Holding a bottle of Patrón Añejo tequila, he poured 40 shots for himself and others in the crowd before taking the mic and bringing the Austin festival to a new, GG Allinesque low.

Although the 43-year-old played acoustic versions of several of the punk band's tunes, the heart of the show was a string of sordid "true" stories – touching on rape, suicide and the alleged smothering death of his mother. "By the time he started talking about his relationship with his father, all of Mike's friends who were standing near me had noticeably changed their demeanour," the blogger reports. Fat Mike also played a new song, thick with foreshadowing: Drinking Pee.

"As Mike finished his last song, he announced that he had a video that he had prepared especially for this evening," the blogger recalls. "The mood in the building was completely fucked at this point. Upon instruction, his videographer hooked up the same camera he had been recording on the entire time to a 20-something inch TV that was positioned stage left. His camera man rewound through the entire footage to reveal a scene that occurred kitty-corner to the artist entrance of this venue."

The video showed Fat Mike urinating into the same Patrón bottle he seemed to have brought into the club – and poured from for dozens of fans. "I confirmed that urine was not classified as a biohazard waste and not subject to the risks of legal ramifications of blood, semen, or feces," Fat Mike told TMZ in an interview.

The Austin health department is now reportedly looking into the incident.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/mar/29/fat-mike-nofx-spiked-fans-drink-urine

He didn't really piss in the Tequila. Check out the link below. You've been punked!

http://www.punknews.org/article/38407

John Bush told me himself that Fat Mike is NOT allowed anywhere behind the bar or in the kitchen. He is a silent partner only. But if it means there will be fewer people there whenever I try to stop in for dinner or a drink, by all means, keep on posting ridiculous history.

Sloperson wrote: He didn't really piss in the Tequila. Check out the link below. You've been punked!

http://www.punknews.org/article/38407

He's still an a**hole and I wouldn't give a dime to anything he's associated with.

scarlett wrote: John Bush told me himself that Fat Mike is NOT allowed anywhere behind the bar or in the kitchen. He is a silent partner only. But if it means there will be fewer people there whenever I try to stop in for dinner or a drink, by all means, keep on posting ridiculous history.

So why is he NOT allowed anywhere behind the bar or in the kitchen then?

Subject: Good neighborhood

Hooray Thistle Hill!!!

Welcome, HOG!

Question:

Any update to this, pictures or anything like that?

(tattoos for Gorilla Coffee ex-staff)
http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=681531#681531

Just curious.

Haha, not that I know of. I think they were supposed to come back in for a picture, but that has yet to happen.
That's funny though : )

Had dinner there last night. Arrived at 6:30 and was very empty. Left around 9 and was packed. Martinis, cocktails and wine were all delicious. The server was friendly and accommodated a special request. The special artichoke soup was silky and delicious. We got the fried fennel and I had asked the server if it was pan fried and he said it was flash fried. It was thickly battered and deep fried and while normally I love deep fried stuff, I love fennel and I just couldn't really taste it. My date had the duck confit and while he normally doesn't eat much, he polished off the entire dish and the bread basket, which came with butter and oil. I had a scallop special over pea puree. It was supposed to come with speck and I requested it come without. When the plate arrived covered in the stuff I asked them to remove it. The waiter asked me if I was allergic and while I said no, it didn't seem like they just scraped off the speck, it seemed a new dish came out. The scallops were baby fist sized perfectly seared rounds of deliciousness. Yum! We were considering getting a brandy or coffee but the waiter never returned with dessert menus and was prettty busy, so we got the check and left. I will be back.

^ Still wondering why Fat Mike is not allowed behind bar or in kitchen.

(and I still want to eat there, but haven't made it yet)

Der because of his naughty history and raunchy acts.

scarlett wrote: Der because of his naughty history and raunchy acts.

But I thought it was "ridiculous history"?

scarlett wrote: Had dinner there last night. Arrived at 6:30 and was very empty. Left around 9 and was packed. Martinis, cocktails and wine were all delicious. The server was friendly and accommodated a special request. The special artichoke soup was silky and delicious. We got the fried fennel and I had asked the server if it was pan fried and he said it was flash fried. It was thickly battered and deep fried and while normally I love deep fried stuff, I love fennel and I just couldn't really taste it. My date had the duck confit and while he normally doesn't eat much, he polished off the entire dish and the bread basket, which came with butter and oil. I had a scallop special over pea puree. It was supposed to come with speck and I requested it come without. When the plate arrived covered in the stuff I asked them to remove it. The waiter asked me if I was allergic and while I said no, it didn't seem like they just scraped off the speck, it seemed a new dish came out. The scallops were baby fist sized perfectly seared rounds of deliciousness. Yum! We were considering getting a brandy or coffee but the waiter never returned with dessert menus and was prettty busy, so we got the check and left. I will be back.

mummm baby scallops....

2.5 hours didn't include dessert?

We started very slowly with cocktails.

eggcream wrote: [quote=scarlett]Der because of his naughty history and raunchy acts.

But I thought it was "ridiculous history"?

exactly. That's why I asked....der

eggcream wrote: [quote=scarlett]John Bush told me himself that Fat Mike is NOT allowed anywhere behind the bar or in the kitchen. He is a silent partner only. But if it means there will be fewer people there whenever I try to stop in for dinner or a drink, by all means, keep on posting ridiculous history.

So why is he NOT allowed anywhere behind the bar or in the kitchen then?

it could be that he doesn't have the sanitation certifications that the business requires since he doesn't cook. It doesn't necessarily mean he's not "ALLOWED" because of some sort of behavior issue, it could just be that there's no reason for him to be back there if he doesn't cook or bartend (MANY businesses have silent partners who wouldn't ever be seen actively engaged in the operations of the business. The salon I work at has a silent partner who would not be "allowed" to take part in anything related to our service as he is not licensed and we could be fined if he was even holding a comb when we get inspected.)

Ate there tonight and really liked it, even though I only had a salad and a cheese plate and some wine. Salad (arugula and parmesan with a lemon dressing) was really good and not over-dressed. Cheese selection was great and wine was really good. Service was friendly and one of the owners (John) introduced himself as I was leaving and asked how everything was. I will definitely go back and try some more things. I saw a lot of the other dishes at the tables surrounding me....I want to try the burger for sure.

Had dinner there last night and it is delicious. We ordered a lot of things and really enjoyed them all. Service is lovely and the owner was really nice as well. It's a great addition to the 'hood...I just wish it was bigger!

it's the ROTD on Brownstoner today:

http://www.brownstoner.com/restaurants/2010/06/thistle_hill_tavern.php#comments

I want to go back soon (and have more cheese - and that burger)