Going to the Counsellor on a weekend night without a prior reservation is like going to the corner store and placing a bet on a horse called Polio. You have no business betting if you visit the corner store especially on a horse called Polio. It is a manifestation of the stars never aligning. But then again, in some unknown galaxy far far away, no matter how the stars have maneuvered, there must be stars that did align.
So yes, with a little bit of patience and a friendly chat with the floor manager, we did find ourselves at a table in the outdoor dining. The pub was so much more than advertised. The vibe was lively and colorful. It reminded me of Korean street photography with all the bright neon lights and geometric shapes.
What was supposed to be an enjoyable and long-awaited date night for this weekend was about to take a sharp turn.
With winter slowly settling in, it is becoming growingly difficult to plan ahead for the weekends. When snowfall starts my schedules will be even tighter, not to mention there won't be too many places to visit. I will miss going out. That is why the girlfriend and I decided to visit the Counsellor pub well before the weather turned unfriendly.
It's not a very long drive from home. It took us around 25 minutes to get down here with all the weekend traffic heading out of the city. I have started hating having my off days on the weekend for this very reason. There is just so much happening and way too many people trying to make things happen for my comfort. I'd rather have my offs on a weekday where I can get to be myself and around the people I like. Selfish of me, but I bet I am not the only one who thinks this way.
I was really looking forward to receiving all the good things I have heard about this place first-hand. I spent the first day of my weekend prepping what I would wear. First of all, it is a date. Second of all, I get to show off. I pulled out my white llama fur-collared bomber jacket for the occasion. Got a fresh new cut and a crisp lineup. Better believe it, I thought of myself as the man.
I would have been just short of what I thought of myself if it wouldn't have been for the lady accompanying me. In typical date fashion, she stole the limelight and I couldn't be happier.
We made it to the pub at a very good time. The place was packed just as expected for a weekend at the Counsellor. We took a short walk around the pub and appreciated its futuristic look. It really popped out significantly since the pub is in a far-off location where most of the architecture is still very soviet.
What is a good story without a few hiccups, right? Almost poetically as soon as our food hit the table the sky broke down in tears. At first, it was just a drop or two. Within minutes, it got heavier. I had a fork in my hand and the sky in my eyes.
Was this the end to a date night that we had been eagerly waiting for? How anticlimactic.
Could we postpone the date and simply take the food home? Unlikely.
Was the weekend about to go down the drain, literally and figuratively? Looks like it.
There was little chance that I'd get another set of off-days on a weekend when the weather is friendly. Neither of us wanted to give up. So what did we do? We stood under the canopy and watched the rain do its thing, looking sexy with the beautiful neon lights adding a bokeh effect to it all.
Mother nature empathized with us. The rain stopped not too long after. There were a few upsides to this, too. Amidst a very controlled and hectic lifestyle, a little unpredictable rain did bring us closer and added a few extra laughs that otherwise wouldn't have been there. That and the fact that many tables were now without patrons and the place was much much quieter.
I haven't come to the highlight reel of the weekend, yet. Hang on. I am about to get there.
As the night grew older, it got colder and drier. The place was getting packed again. But all this time there was something else going on that almost turned everything upside down...and it wasn't the unexpected rain.
Unlike in the States, tipping isn't a mandatory "custom" in Ukraine. There is no history of waiters and restaurant staff being underpaid to the point that they have had to rely on tips. In fact, waiting tables is one of the best and high paid entry-level jobs in the city.
Yes, tips are highly appreciated. Yes, people have the habit of tipping. But it isn't mandatory and no one cares if you do not tip and how ironically it makes your head look like a bellend.
Why is the tipping culture of Ukraine relevant to my weekend date night journal? 'Coz it was one of our discussions through the night.
My favorite way of blowing off steam is literally by blowing off steam. Pair it with a giant screen streaming a football match and we have a BINGO!
While I was doing that, my girlfriend pointed out something that had been going on throughout our date that I hadn't noticed. Maybe I was out of the "game" for so long that I don't seem to notice the signs. Or maybe it was just speculation.
I recalled this waitress who had come by our table even though she wasn't our server. Every time she had come to our table she found her to start a small talk. And she only walked around to my side and carried her small talk only with me. That along with the smiles and silent moments of stares.
I argued it was for the tips. The counter-argument was that the waitress wasn't our server, and the pub has an added "service charge" which would throw tips out of the equation.
If anything, the entire incident was a good reason to laugh more and joke more. It can also be passed off as a token of trust between us. Somehow. If you try hard enough, I guess.
That is a weekend done right. Out for a date night in a hyped-up place that lived up to expectations. A little rain that hurt nobody and added some romantic notes. And a nice little hiccup that could have gone wrong with the wrong people.
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