I had a happy hour with my former Nortel coworkers at the McKinney Avenue Tavern. Although no one from Nortel showed up. I\’ll have a discussion with Satre later on whether it\’s really a Nortel happy hour if no one from Nortel is there.

The MAT, as it calls itself, is your typical generic Dallas bar/pub — big screen TVs, lot\’s of the usual suspects on tap, generic bar food. They did have Sierra Nevada on tap, so there was something to drink. But the food is what was the real standout. They managed to be both generic and terrible. The jalapeno poppers had no heat whatsoever. And the artichoke dip had a Love Canal like after taste. And for you kids reading this, that\’s not a euphemism for vagina.

There\’s pretty much nothing to recommend this place. The patio was good for people watching the parade of characters marching up and down McKinney, though. And does every fucking bar and restaurant have to have 24 valet these days?? We got there around 6pm. The place was mostly empty. All the parking was being taken by valet. What is the fucking point of this? Shouldn\’t the closest spots be reserved for customers? The point of valet is that there are no more close spots left and you don\’t want to walk. I don\’t want to pay to have my car parked 10 feet.

D — would have been C, but lost a letter for valet.

2822 McKinney Avenue Dallas, Texas 75057