Brick Bar – Feb 21-22nd

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  • #35888
    Krista K
    Moderator

    1) We just show up at “South Side Works”, and meander around the block until we spot a Brick Bar sign? (Yea sure, it looks like it’s at the former Claddagh, but have they made that clear?)

    I’ve noticed that there are suite numbers on some of the businesses there so I’m thinking that the address is similar to an indoor mall. Fortunately, it’s not that big down there so hopefully it should stick out (somewhere near the Cheesecake Factory) as you’re looking for a place to park.

    3) Any other details we should know going in? How much do drinks cost? Etc? Just funny to me that the Brick Bar Facebook page has been utterly dead, and they’re not hyping it at all or releasing more details this week as the dates approach…

    It’d be nice to know what to expect food/drink wise. I know they mentioned a food truck, but can you bring food in? I’m a little disappointed that they’re not serving the brick sandwiches that were mentioned in all the promos last April. https://www.post-gazette.com/life/drinks/2019/04/01/Lego-pop-up-Brick-Bar-Pittsburgh-table-tennis-tickets/stories/201904010056

    #35890
    Josh
    Keymaster
    #35891
    Matt Redfield
    Keymaster

    Where did you get 510 S 27th, @joshhall? The only address I’ve seen was 424 S 27th, in the ticket e-mail…

    (I’m not actually concerned about finding it. Just flabbergasted at how vague / inconsistent their information seems to be!)

    #35892
    Josh
    Keymaster

    new email that came out today.

    #35893
    Matt Redfield
    Keymaster

    orly? guess I didn’t get it.

    #35894
    Erin D.
    Participant

    Imma pull a BYO LEGO for this event.

    Sounds like a recipe for losing some of YO LEGO…

    I’ll bring something that I’m not emotionally attached to 🙂

    #35895
    Josh
    Keymaster

    Sounds like a paradox.

    #35919
    Greg Schubert
    Participant

    … and?

    #35920
    Skipper Mike
    Participant

    … and?

    And I had a great time at the Hidden Harbor event, lots of good music, hanging out with my like-minded friends, aloha shirts and tiki drinks all around.

    #35921
    Benjamin C Good
    Participant

    Yeah I’m also wondering what happened and why we haven’t heard anything. I figure it’s either a situation like ‘The Hangover’, where nobody remembers anything and they’re using their Lego builds as clues to figure out what happened, or it’s a situation like ‘Hostel’, and if you haven’t seen that movie, just trust me, you don’t want to.

    #35923
    Krista K
    Moderator

    For those interested, it was more flash than substance and would be very easy to replicate. They did an okay job carrying the brick theme throughout, but the use of the space wasn’t the greatest. Seating was limited so there were a number of people just on the floor and it was cold. They used a lot of stuff from Oriental Trading and surprisingly the DJ never played anything from either LEGO Movie. The activities were simple: a 5 minute build tower challenge, 3 trivia questions, and best build. The prizes were drink tickets. The bricks were some sort of knock-off and felt dirty probably from being on the floor, but at least had some decent clutch. The build walls spanned about half of the event, so I understand the need for a lot of cheap bricks. The broken bricks and baseplates detracted from the quality of the event though. We were there early afternoon and there were a number of kids, which was fine, but probably not the vibe they were going for. The second session we attended was the same as the first, but had a much smaller attendance. We were disappointed that the food truck wasn’t there because our drinks were strong and could have used a snack. However, people were excited to there and we got to talk up the LUG a little. So all in all, we had some fun, but probably wouldn’t feel the need to do it again if it came back unless they changed it up or invested in it a little more.

    #35926
    Rich Millich
    Participant

    Sounds like WE could partner with a local bar and do at least as well for a night, eventwise. We do much the same style of challenges at Boy Scout type events. With a little polish, since adults are involved, I think we could easily do better on the LEGO challenge side from the sound of it.

    #35930
    Matt Redfield
    Keymaster

    It was… basically exactly what I expected. My impression was that they did the bare minimum. Lots of dirty / broken bricks. Lots of 1x1s, which is great for mosaics, but not many other bricks for building literally anything else. Only a few high top round tables to stand and drink/build at, only a few rugs and beanbag chairs for sitting on the ground. Ball pit and ping pong were popular, though. Most of the wall panels were installed with upside-down mosaics, presumably from previous cities, but added to my impression of “we can’t be bothered to put forth maximum effort, we know we’ll make money anyway and none of these people can do anything because we’re only in town for one weekend.”

    On Friday night, they turned the lights off mid-session, so I couldn’t even see colors in the bins. Frustrating.

    Funny Krista thought the drinks were strong – I thought quite the opposite Friday night. I wasn’t upset with the free one I won for knowing LEGO HQ is in Denmark, but the one my GF and I paid for was a bit of a letdown for $12… but Saturday I tried an old fashioned that actually felt like it had alcohol in it.

    The Totopo food truck was quite good. The staff and bartenders were friendly. So it wasn’t all that bad, but definitely could’ve been way better…

    In summary: It was fun, but mostly because of the people I was with. If I’d paid the $15-20 cover charge and then paid for the drinks, I would’ve been pretty unhappy with the overall experience due to the shoddy quality of the brick / setup / etc. Does nothing to change my impression that pop-up bars are often more gimmick than worthwhile. And yes, @zaximillian, we could do way better if we had the interest and energy to figure out how to partner with a bar/venue.

    #35931
    David Bacon
    Participant

    @philmatt24 @knb112 Sorry I wasn’t there. Last minute puker can sure change your plans for the weekend.

    If there is serious interest in doing our own bar night, I could get a hold of one of the owners of Cobblehaus Brewery in Coraopolis. They have a great beer selection, and some side rooms that could be used for build challenges.

    #35932
    Matt Redfield
    Keymaster

    Sorry I wasn’t there. Last minute puker can sure change your plans for the weekend.

    Yeah, I know you were looking forward to it, and it would’ve been good to see yinz! I’ll try to post pics later…

    #35933
    Josh
    Keymaster

    Matt’s fun.

    I agree with the sentiments above and also noted the popular genders were both well represented and age range was all over. I wasn’t expecting that.

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    #35940
    Krista K
    Moderator

    Funny Krista thought the drinks were strong – I thought quite the opposite Friday night. I wasn’t upset with the free one I won for knowing LEGO HQ is in Denmark, but the one my GF and I paid for was a bit of a letdown for $12… but Saturday I tried an old fashioned that actually felt like it had alcohol in it.

    Maybe ours wasn’t mixed well or the bartender was new on Saturday afternoon, but the old fashioned tasted like pure alcohol. I was just glad we didn’t pay for them since we had won drink tickets in the previous session.

    If there is serious interest in doing our own bar night, I could get a hold of one of the owners of Cobblehaus Brewery in Coraopolis. They have a great beer selection, and some side rooms that could be used for build challenges.


    @bacon1986
    That would be cool!

    #35942
    Skipper Mike
    Participant

    but the old fashioned tasted like pure alcohol

    Well, an old fashioned is basically just whiskey. It’s whiskey, (bourbon or rye) with bitters and a little sugar. Usually with orange peel as a garnish.

    #35943
    Krista K
    Moderator

    but the old fashioned tasted like pure alcohol

    Well, an old fashioned is basically just whiskey. It’s whiskey, (bourbon or rye) with bitters and a little sugar. Usually with orange peel as a garnish.

    I’m aware of what a good old fashioned tastes like. I’ve had it many times before. Perhaps a better choice of words is that it just wasn’t balanced like it should have been. The same was true of the punch cocktail. Regardless, overall it seems like the drinks were not worth the price.

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