Happy Birthday Lo!

Today is Loren's birthday!!  Happy Birthday Barn Cat!  I love you!

p.s. there's a barrel of Maker's Mark somewhere with the name Barn Cat on it

p.p.s. no one actually calls Loren "barn cat", but he liked that nickname for a random UFC fighter so I told him I was going to call him that and then named a barrel of Maker's Mark after him when I was randomly offered the chance to name a barrel after I was randomly selected to be a Maker's Mark Ambassador, even though I don't really drink Makers. 

Time for things to break

Memorial Day Weekend is always a majorly busy weekend for us, and this year wasn't any different.  But to start off the fun, our air conditioning went out sometime last week.  It had been cool enough since we moved that we had only turned the air on once (2 Sundays ago).  The cross-breeze was usually enough.  Last Wednesday the temp started rising in preparation for the super-hot temperature predicted for the weekend (high 90's).  Lo turned the air on and it wasn't helping...because it wasn't blowing cold air...just air.  On Thursday he looked up things that may fix it, in case it was just a setting on the thermostat or unit or something.  The unit is about 5 years old, so we didn't expect anything major and put in a service call.  Unfortunately because we were so busy, we weren't going to be home any of the times they were available until Tuesday.  Fortunately, we were going to be busy enough that we didn't have to sit around at home and sweat all weekend -we knew we'd be here very little.  Back to the unfortunates, I had to make pulled pork for an event on Friday and I forgot to put it in the crockpot before I left for work.  So when I got home at 12:30, I had to cook it in the oven for a few hours to ensure it would be done on time.  Nothing like heating up an already hot house.  Since I already had it on, I went ahead and made some Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies and Kentucky Bourbon Bacon Chex Mix that I was taking to other parties over the weekend.









We managed to sleep at home on Friday night, but by the time I returned from my SIL's baby shower on Saturday, it was balls hot in the house.  No, I don't really know what "balls hot" means, I just tend to throw the word "balls" in front of the word hot (and old sometimes) - kind of in the place of "super".  I was staying at my friends' house anyway, since Lo was going to the Indy 500 and we have no idea whether I can manage to stay at home alone in a new house without freaking out.  Those who know me are aware of my "nighttime problems".  I'm not afraid of the dark, but I have crazy dreams and wake up with irrational fears.  They are often so irrational that I won't try to explain them out loud.  We had lots of security devices on the doors in the apartment just so I'd be able to reason with myself that whatever I think happened, wasn't possible.  Now that we have 1st floor windows and multiple doors, we didn't know how I'd be at night.  So far, so good - but no sense risking it while he was gone and the house was balls hot anyway.

We were able to stay at our friends' house on Sunday too - they had a big party and were having brunch the next day, plus we have our own room there anyway.  Now that we live 10 minutes from them, versus 30, we didn't expect to be staying there much anymore, but thankfully they are always welcoming!

Monday night we finally left their house, which I often refer to our vacation home because it feels like we're on vacation when we are there.  It was still pretty hot at home, but was getting cooler at night so we thought it may be ok.  It wasn't.  Instead of heading back to their place, we decided to pack our stuff for work and sleep in the apartment for one last night.  We'd left air mattresses and sleeping bags there just in case, plus it gave us a chance to do a little more cleaning before we had to turn in the keys this week. 

The air conditioning company came on Tuesday after work and fixed us right up.  The coolant was completely empty, but he didn't think there were any leaks, so we should be good now! 

Surprise repair #1 wasn't so bad - I think the total bill was $230 or something, which included a service plan in case it turns out that something else is wrong and they need to come back out. 

And now the air is cool....

We're still here...just relocated...

We've been a little busy.  We bought a house a little over two weeks ago and tonight is the first time I've opened my laptop at home.  The first week was spent cleaning and such, and the movers did the heavy work last Saturday.  We still have a lot in boxes, but I actually am already feeling settled, which is awesome.  We got a house style that we wanted (two story), with the amount of bedrooms we wanted (4), in the condition we wanted (move in ready), in the area that we wanted (Dublin), for less than we expected.  I couldn't be more thrilled.  It was a short sale, which we were told could take months for approval.  It took 3 days, so it moved way more quickly than expected, but also worked out well according to our apartment lease terms.  Shockingly, they are letting us out a month early, so we don't even have to make a double payment. 

Luckily, we only "needed" to paint two rooms so far, because as we found out, we are pretty terrible at painting.  We will be enlisting help for future painting jobs.  We are also quite "green" at gardening, as in, we have no idea what are plants and what are weeds.  Lo was weeding one day and when his family came up later, his grandma pointed out that he weeded out snapdragons and a baby hosta (which she later went out and replanted).  And I just discovered that I pulled out a huge bunch of cilantro tonight.  It was probably going to bolt after this weekend anyway, but still...

There's lots of furniture and tools that we still need to buy, and I need to make some decorating decisions, but we'll get there eventually! 

*The pic above is from one of our first showings, so it looks a lot nicer now that it's spring and there are lots of plants and such.

Clippers Game - April 29

It was unexpectedly nice on Sunday, so we decided to walk to the Clippers game.  We have limited time left of walking everywhere that we want to, so we wanted to take advantage of it while we can.

I love how you can see downtown from the stadium...

 Right field...

I love the Hot Dog Race during the game....  I always root for mustard because ketchup and relish are gross on hot dogs.... 

Mustard is in second!

See that Lion/Bear mascot ahead (I have no idea what it is)....he's about to cause some major ruckus.

The Bear/Lion plowed down all of the dogs and then dragged Relish across the finish line his (its?) foot. 

Perfect day! 

After the game, we relaxed at home for a bit and then walked to zpizza for dinner to use an Eversave certificate.  We ordered the gluten-free zBQ pizza and it was GOOD!

Save the Earth - it's the only one we have...

One year in middle school, I convinced one of my teachers to let me and a friend leave class everyday to write a song about saving the Earth in an empty classroom.  I swear it was my math teacher, but seems like an odd class to be allowed to skip in order to write a song that isn't about math.

Apparently I wanted to save the Earth before it was a "cool".  I remember part of the song...the chorus went something like this:

Save the Earth, it's the only one we have

Why, yes, I still have my DARE shirt
from 6th grade...

Save the Earth, before it's too late
Save the Earth, we can do it together
Save the Earth, before it's gone

I can't remember the whole song because I start to get the lyrics mixed up with the D.A.R.E. song:  "The world's a difference place where life's become a race, and unlike the world of past our kids grow up too fast.  'Cuz what they see in stores is threats and bombs and war, and that deadly game we're taught our happiness is bought.  So the children of today have no time for children's play.  They feel like they're all along, even strangers in their homes.  To hide their pain and fears, they destroy their youthful years, giving up on love and hugs and escaping into drugs....  DARE to keep a kids of drugs..DARE...

Ok, I have to stop because I'm embarrassed that I know that many lyrics...and also, they don't make sense: "Even strangers in their homes" - who are these strangers...and do all kids have these?

Back to the Earth: things haven't changed yet - I still want to save the Earth...  April was Earth Month, so hopefully everyone read about or heard about some new ways to become more eco-friendly.

Here are some of the things to do our parts...

We recycle:  We don't have pickup, but we drive our recycling to a bin in the park.  We have a nifty divided garbage can for the kitchen where we can put garbage in one side and recycling in the other.  I'm super-excited because Columbus is providing FREE recycling pickup - and we should have it by the fall.

We reuse: We wash, save, and reuse jars and plastic takeout containers.  We use rags when we are cleaning.  I've even been reusing magazines to make decorative bowls lately (post coming soon, but here's another tutorial that I wrote here). 

We buy local when we can:  We love the North Market and farmer's markets.  We're happy to buy local beer, wine, and vodka. 

We combine trips: We run our errands on our way home from other trips.  I grocery shop on the way home from work, volleyball, yoga, or other outings.  We usually buy our gas at GetGo stations and Lo stops when he's near one of the stations for another task. 

We use CFL bulbs:  When we moved into our apartment, we replaces all of the regular bulbs with CFL's.  We saved the regular bulbs and will replace most of them and take the CFL bulbs with us when we move. 

We hang clothes to dry:  We hang a lot of our pants and shirts instead of using the drying so save energy and help our clothes last longer.

We use reusable water bottles:  We rarely buy bottled water and instead try to take reusable bottles when we need them.  We have a few bottles of water that we bought in a case months ago, because it's always smart to have some potable water on hand in the event of emergencies.

We use non-toxic cleaning products as much as possible, almost exclusively.  I use white vinegar to clean regularly, and when we do need cleaners, we often use Magic Erasers and have started buying non-toxic Method cleaners.  Our laundry detergent if Costco's environmentally-friendly detergent and we rarely use dryer sheets.  

We are going to compost:  I'm super excited about having the ability to compost once we move.  We don't have that option now, but I can't wait. Any recommendations on a composter?

We are going to grow some food:  When we have a yard, and are able to compost, we are going to grow what we can.

We are going to install a rain barrel when we move: Residents of Franklin County can take part in the GreenSpot Rain Barrel Program and get a rain barrel for only $50. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting some other green ways....what do you do to help?

Dirty Dancing Cult

Lo knows the entire Dirty Dancing soundtrack.  He grew up hearing the soundtrack between his mom and his sister – BUT HE HAS NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE!  That is just bizarre to me.  When we were driving to visit my family in NE Ohio last week, Hungry Eye came on the radio and he totally knew whose song it was (apparently Eric Carmen).   

And then this conversation cracked me up:

Me:  We absolutely have to watch Dirty Dancing sometime.

Lo:   I don’t want to see it.

Me:  But you have to  - it’s so good.  It’s a cult classic!

Lo:  Well…..then I don’t want to be in your cult! 

I couldn’t even argue with that.

Columbus Food League Bike Tour

 We are majorly in love with 5 restaurants around downtown that are part of a “family” of restaurants called the Columbus Food League.  Last fall we talked about how we needed to do a bike crawl to that group of restaurants on afternoon, at which we’d get a drink and something to eat.  We never got around to it, so we wanted to make sure we were able to get it done as soon as possible. 

The last few years we’ve stayed home for Easter – meaning we didn’t drive 1.15 hours to visit Lo’s family or 3 hours to visit mine.  Traffic is always so sucky on Sunday coming back to Columbus, and it was just nice to have a holiday for which we didn’t have plans.  The first year we went to Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits to eat – because they posted a pic of a martini with a marshmallow Peep floating in it.  The next year we went to Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace, because we’d been wanting to try their brunch and it seemed like a perfect day that probably wouldn’t be as busy as normal. 

This year, my mother-in-law’s birthday happened to fall on Easter, so we decided that we needed to break our tradition and visit his family on Easter.  BUT since Saturday was going to be so beautiful, we decided to do our Columbus Food League Bike Tour that day.

We had brunch at our friends’ house and came home a couple of hours later in need of a short nap before we embarked on our journey.  I woke up, and after a quick scan of Facebook, realized that it was Gallery Hop day.  Our intent was to start our tour at the further point from our place and work our way back – but that was going to put us in the Short North right around the time that Gallery Hop would really be hopping, which could make getting a seat at Betty’s and Surly Girl difficult.  We decided to change our order to Surly Girl, Betty’s, Jury Room, Dirty Franks, and finally Tip Top. 

I got dressed while Lo started to fill up the bike tires.  That was a problem because one of his tires was completely flat AND the pump was suddenly broken (it worked fine last year).  After a quick online search, he found that a lot of people had the same problem with this pump and there was no fixing it.  That was annoying.  Off to Target we had to go to get a pump and a tube (in case it was bad too).  He got everything fixed and off we went.

We got to Surly Girl Saloon around 5 and grabbed a spot at the bar – right before a group traveling on the Cycle Tavern got there.  They were D-Runk.  I had a Surly Temple (Red Pop and Vodka) and we ordered Frito Pie with the veggie chili (because it was GF). 

Our second stop was Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits.  It was clear at this point that Gallery Hop was really picking up.  We got a table, but within minutes, there were people waiting.  I had a Berry Betty, which was Blueberry-Strawberry Infused Finlandia Vodka & Pink Lemonade.  I didn’t realized that the berries had actually been soaking in the vodka until I started eating them and realized how boozy they were. So I ate all of them.  We didn’t get any food this time since we just had Frito Pie at Surly Girl.  We had some good people watching from our window table including a guy wearing a leopard print fur shrug with a very casual outfit (he ended up coming inside briefly, so I snapped a pick), and a guy wearing an American Flag tracksuit (old school with the tightly cuffed elastic bottoms) and a tshirt with an American flag and 3 wolves.  Luckily his tracksuit jacket was tied around his waist so I could see his fantastic shirt (I have no idea what American flags and wolves have in common).  Sorry, no pic – I was too slow.  Traffic was packed through the Short North, but we just rode in the lane beside the parked cars and it was fine.

We went to Jury Room next because we wanted to go to the furthest one left in this direction and then work our way back.  Jury Room is awesome because it’s a little out of the way, so it’s never too busy.  Plus they mark their gluten-free items on the menu, so I know what I order is safe.  We just got the Truffle Fries and I had an Executioner, which is XRated Liqueur, Citrus Vodka, and 7up – though I had him sub club soda for the 7up so it wouldn’t be so sweet.  Very good substitution.  

On to Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace for our 4th stop.  We weren’t surprised to see a line outside, as it’s a tiny place and we were getting there around prime dining time.  We put our names in and stood inside so we’d know if anyone got up from the bar (it’s first come, first serve to sit at the bar).  Within 10 minutes, we had a seat at the bar and I was enjoying a Vodka and ½ red pop ½ club soda.  I ordered a Whoa Nellie in a GF wrap (beef dog topped with pulled pork and BBQ sauce), while Lo had a Doginator (bacon-wrapped dog –seriously- topped with beef brisket, bbq sauce, cheddar, and onion rings.

Our final stop of the Columbus Food League Bike Tour was Tip Top.  It wasn’t crowded at all and they were playing obscure-ish hip-hop, which was pretty great.  I had a “Commit to be Lit” for my final drink (Orange, vanilla and raspberry vodkas mixed with cranberry juice and a splash of 7up, served tall).  We were still hungry since we’d just been snacking all day, so we ordered Ohio Nachos and the Salmon Dinner to split. 












That was a tour!  The ride home was a little chilly, but it was a great evening!  We hung out at each place for awhile, so we were gone for 5+ hours.  I’m already looking forward to having our friends join us for this tour next time! 

St. Patrick's Day Recap and why it'll never be the same for me...

They're all so good!

For the last two years, St. Patrick's Day has been a hard day for me.  Not hard in the way that anything bad happens, but just that I am a little disappointed in the day.

Two years ago I was in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day with my sister and two friends.  You can't really beat that atmosphere.  I am absolutely in love with Ireland and it was just amazing.  We went to the Guinness Factory in the morning, saw a flash mob (before they were everywhere in the US), hung out at a carnival, and went to a bunch of pubs.

Look how happy Guinness makes me...

Bar at the top at Guinness

Guinness Factory

Flash Mob in Guinness Factory

At the original Brazen Head

St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland

Last year, things just didn't work out with plans after work, and I had to work the next day anyway, so I didn't do anything.  Lo made me a green beer when he got home from meeting friends because he thought I should have one.  

This year, I had a good day, but it just wasn't the same now that I can't drink beer.  I really love Guinness.  Vodka just doesn't have the same appeal on a day when everyone is drinking beer.  Luckily, my friends are awesome, so I still had a good time overall.  We went to Tilted Kilt and watched the Buckeye game and after a stop at home (and a quick nap for me due to a bellyache from sweet drinks), we met friends at Woodland's Tavern.  We spent the last few hours on our friends' porch just hanging out. 

Sadly, it's never going to be the same until I can have a Guinness!

Skillet, Rustic.Urban.Food

Last Saturday we went to breakfast with two good friends and I wanted to make sure I mentioned it before this weekend because it was SO good.  We went to Skillet, Rustic.Urban.Food on Whittier in German Village.  I'd read reviews about how small the place is, and how there is often a long wait, so we decided to get there around 10 a.m.  I figured that we'd miss the early-riser diners, but get there before the late-sleeper/brunch crew.  Also, it was the earliest that I would commit to waking up.  Our timing was pretty good - there was only one table on the list in front of us, and several groups of people got there immediately after we signed in.  We did have to wait for about 25 minutes because we had four in our group and there are fewer 4 top tables.  


It was totally worth the wait.  The place IS small and we were a little tight at the booth, but it was fine.  The coffee is from Cafe Brioso downtown and was amazing.  The food is fresh, seasonal, and "farm to fork".  

I'll get on to the food.  Lo ordered Short Ribs and Grits.  I didn't take a picture and the menu isn't available online, but it was basically short ribs and grits in a gravy made with stout and porter.  He said it was amazing, I really wanted to try it but couldn't because of the beer. The other three of us all got the corned beef hash.  I'd never had corned beef hash before, but for some reason it sounded really good (maybe because it's nearing St. Patrick's Day?).  I really, really liked it.  I was craving something salty and it was perfect.  While breakfast is easy enough to order on a gluten-free diet, it can get a little boring to always have just eggs or omelets.  So this was a perfect combination of eggs, meat, and potatoes.  The corned beef has was served with a biscuit which apparently were amazing, but since I couldn't have it, Lo got mine.  His didn't come with a biscuit, which was surprising because it was perfect for sopping up the extra gravy.  He actually ordered another biscuit later because he wanted to eat ALL of the gravy.  I got a side of apple wood smoked bacon (or something like that) and it was probably the best bacon I've ever had.  One of our friends ordered one of the famous cinnamon rolls, which looked and tasted amazing (according to everyone who tried it). 


Skillet is a little expensive for breakfast, but that's because you're getting such high quality and fresh food.  I think our choices were each around $12 and the coffees and sides were reasonable (about $3).  There was plenty of food, and again, the quality was outstanding.  We definitely plan to go back again sometime.  

Check out their Facebook page.  Sometimes they stop taking new customers because the wait list exceeds the closing time, so I definitely recommend going earlier. 

Have you ever been to Skillet?  What did you think?

Vitamin Fail.

I am a failure at taking vitamins.  Lo got me a vitamin organizer and fills it each week for me, which helps, but I still regularly forget to take them.  He fills the container each Wednesday and just informed me that I took 9 out of 42 vitamins from the container in one week. 

My intent is to take some of them in the morning and some of them right before I go to bed (because the one upsets my stomach if I'm awake).  I often fail at taking them over the weekend, but this was probably the worst week ever.  I know that I eat well and get plenty of nutrition from lots of fruits and veggies, but some of these are still important for me to take, considering my gluten intolerance and the fact that I am of child-bearing age. 

I don't know why I am so bad at taking them.  The act of swallowing vitamins isn't a problem for me like it is for some people, but for some reason, I cannot get into this habit!  I can literally have the vitamins sitting on my desk where I am for 8 hours a day and will still "forget" to take them.

Anyone else have this problem?  Solutions?

Weekend Fun and Good Food

We had a really busy weekend with lots of friends, food, and fun.

On Friday, we had another edition of Hell’s Kitchen.  It’s a thing we do every few months with a group of friends where we gather at someone’s house, the girls drink, and the guys drink and cook.  When we all arrive, the guys plan their dishes and then head to the grocery store to shop for ingredients.  The girls just hang at the house and drink.  Once the guys return, they start cooking – there is no specific order or structure – they just pass out small plates as their meals are finished.  The food is always SO good! 

Lo made Huli Huli Chicken and Pineapple in an endive cup.  We also enjoyed sausage stuffed mushrooms, skirt steak sliders w/ frites, (this is where I started to get a little drunk) some other type of steak served open-faced with crispy onions (it was really good and I wish I remembered what it was!), homemade ravioli (which I didn’t try b/c of gluten), and stuffed dates for dessert.  We also had pineapple martinis, lots of wine, and even some champagne, which all account for the fuzzy details (as well as the slight hangover in the morning).

On Saturday, I was going to get a pedicure a friend at Elli Nail Spa in Grandview.  I don’t get pedicures very often because I have a hard time justifying the expense – but I really enjoy it every now and then and was looking forward to spending some time with her.  I got the “Care to Indulge” Pedicure for $42, which included a sugar scrub and leg and foot massage, so it was definitely nice.  Plus we got 10% off because it was our first visit.  They have really nice massage chairs to sit in and they let us sit there as long as we wanted afterwards to let our toes dry.  It was really nice to catch up with her and all of her wedding planning excitement!  We (or I) also felt like we HAD to stop at Orange Leaf (self serve frozen yogurt) afterwards, since it was right next door - tasty yogurt (w/gluten-free labels), but bad customer service on this occasion - the guy was kind of just miserable.  And since Objects for the Home was right next door to Orange Leaf, we also went in there, as it is one of my friend’s favorite stores.  It was a pretty awesome store with lots of vintage-y furniture, decorations, and such. 

Once I got home, I changed quickly and we headed to another friends’ house for dinner.  Filet mignon goes on sale at Anderson’s every few months for $2.69, and our friends like to have people over for dinner when they get some.  We had yummy appetizers and wine before dinner, which included filets, salad, asparagus, and crispy potatoes.   Everything was so good.  She always jokes that they like to get people drunk before dinner so no one can tell if the food is good, but considering we’ve never had a bad meal at their house, it seems like an unnecessary (but still fun) step. 

On Sunday morning, Lo made Chili Hash with Eggs for breakfast (recipe coming soon) – and it was pretty good.  We were using up a can of turkey chili that I’d pulled out of the pantry because the sell-by date was approaching.  Actually, I think it was two weeks past, because I intended for us to have it in January, but we never got around to it.  I assume that the sell-by date allows for some storage time once the item is bought, so I don’t really worry about that too much, depending on what the item is.  I was starting to feel a cold come on that I must have caught from Lo, so I pretty much dozed off and on in the early afternoon.  We couldn’t really decide what to have for dinner, so we decided to walk up to Betty’s Fine Food and Spirits because it was a beautiful day out (probably 50+ degrees).  We split the potato pancakes and plantains.  I had 2 Betty Grables (grape vodka and ginger ale) and he had 2 beers of some sort.  For the first time in a long time, I didn’t care about the Superbowl because I couldn’t stand the fact that Eli Manning had a good chance of winning again (and thus being the MVP).  I dozed a little in the first half (the cold was making me very drowsy!) and we snacked on popcorn and some leftovers later on.  Obviously, I hated how the game ended, but whatever.  He'll get his. 

Mother Trucker

"Frequent Stops" - except at stop signs, I guess

A City of Columbus utility pulled out in front of me this morning and pissed me off.  He was turning left out of the CVS parking lot and didn’t even slow down for the stop sign.  I saw him look left at me and then gun it to get out of the parking lot so he didn’t have to wait for me to pass.  I had to hit my brakes hard or would have hit him on the passenger side.  I took a picture of his license plate when we were at the stop sign at Neil and emailed it with a complaint to two address at the city (one was for the utilities dept. and the other was a general email at the Mayor’s Office).  I know nothing will happen to him, but hopefully someone will at least tell him he was reported for unsafe driving.  This definitely isn’t the first time I’ve been cut off by city trucks in the morning (not to mention buses!) – and it makes me so mad that they drive like they are above the law (which they probably are in the city). 

Another issue I have with him blowing through that stop sign is that directly across the street is a retirement community/nursing home and there are often elderly people crossing the street to get to CVS or Giant Eagle.  It’s not like he saved himself any time by pulling out in front of me.  By the time we got to the Goodale light, I was in front of him because he had to wait for other cars in his lane anyway.  

Update: I did hear back from one utility department and that person said that the complaint was forwarded to the Utilities Service Coordinator, so at least the right person will see it (whether or not they ignore it).

In other news, Lo is sick (cough/congestion junk).  He's taking a class online this week for work (from home), so it sucks that he can't call off and just lay around, but I guess it's better than sitting at work or in an actual class.  I'm fairly convinced that I'll get sick too.  I haven't actually been sick since I've known Lo (that either of us can remember), so I'm definitely due.  He seems to get sick once or twice a year and I never caught it from him yet, but I assume this year the jig will be up.  I hope I don't, because that will probably run into the weekend if so, but whatever.  

Tip for Busser?

Last night we walked to BBR for dinner and a couple of drinks because we had a Faveroo to use and they have pretty good food for a bar.  It was only about 20 degrees, but it's less than a mile away, so it seems stupid to drive and pay to park - especially since our time walking places is limited.  Once we move to the suburbs, it's over.  We watched San Fran beat the Saints in a great ending (would have rather the Saints won, but oh well) and watched the first quarter or so of Pats versus God Tebow Broncos.  We decided to head to R Bar before the Jackets game was over (before it got crazy there).  When we got our bill at BBR, there was a line for server tip and then another line for busser tip!  Seriously? We've never seen such a thing before!  We certainly didn't leave a tip on that line for the guy who walked our food 3 feet to the bar and then removed the plates and walked them 3 feet back to the kitchen.  I used to be a server - if you HAD bussers, you tipped them out at the end of the night!  Pretty sure they are probably making more than servers wage and aren't dependent on the tips.  Plus, that place has a million servers/bartenders standing around, so there is no reason they can't handle the bussing duties themselves.  Servers get tips because they make a shit salary, have to deal with customers, and are often crazy-busy.  The bussers didn't even speak to us except to say something when he brought our food out - we both swear he said "Columbus Crew?" when he walked up behind us with our food, which makes no sense since we ordered grilled honey chipotle wings and a Caribbean burger.  BBR is already more expensive for drinks than other places in the area, so the bill is higher - which means the tip is higher....do they really need to try to squeak another couple of bucks from their customers?  Have you ever seen such a thing?

Our walk home through Goodale Park

We got to R Bar just in time to still get a seat at the bar before the game let out, had a couple of drinks there, and then decided to stop at Char Bar on the way home for one more.  And there we realized that we've aged out of Char Bar.  It wasn't like that when we were there last year sometime, but the only people older than us was a server/bartender who has worked there forever and the owner who is possibly 200 years old!  There are so few places in that area where we can go after 11 pm without hating everyone around us and I guess now there is one less....