The Green Room - Take Two (2280 NW Thurman St)

So I went to the Green Room about a year ago to listen to music and just recently returned this past weekend. A couple of improvements: it wasn't nearly as smoky and the patio was open. The service is still excellent (I'm pretty sure we had the same waitress this time as last year) and friendly. The food is still good - I had a grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat, with provolone cheese and tomatoes, which was just crusty enough and melty enough to satisfy my hunger. The tater tots were so crispy, just like I like them, and I would venture to say that they give McMenamin's a run for their money where tater tots are concerned.

The people watching is as good as it can get. A few young women were dressed up in prom-like dresses, writing on each others' chests with the ketchup and mustard bottles. A couple of other women were standing next to us on the patio divulging their secret crushes on the woman who was singing. "God, I'm in love with her. She really knows what she wants." A man offered to fight me for the next spot in line for the bathroom and then after we bonded in the bathroom line, got the waitress's attention for me at the bar so I could buy a drink a few minutes later. Seriously, good strange people interaction. I love that.

The music - I liked it okay. My sis hated it. It was Women Who Rock Night. Two women who looked like they were straight from the 80s, both in age and dress, sang their hearts out. Really, when it's that late at night (11:00), I don't care so much about the quality as I do the loudness and the beat of the music. That girl was right - the singer did know what she wanted and she sang about it loudly and with all her heart. She certainly fulfilled the titular role of the evening.

We really came to hear the third woman singer - a rockabilly (still have yet to hear that kind of music) singer, but it got too late and we were too tired to stick it out. So for the second time at the Green Room I've missed the people I came to hear. And for the second time I didn't try their barbeque. What is WRONG with me??!!! (That is a rhetorical question, please don't post a comment with an answer. Because I already know. And you are right.)