That’s my thinking. But for it to be a destination? It needs to be really good.

I really respect the balls it takes to just open up a spot like that out there. I hope they succeed. But I wasn’t blown away by the menu.

The truth is: There isn't an excellent cocktail-first bar in Richmond. There are two major bars that focus primarily on cocktails, but both have problems. Then there are a ton of restaurants that usually have a few nice cocktails on the menu and a couple of bartenders who know what they're doing.

(This is partly due to Prohibition-era regulations requiring that a certain percentage of an establishment's sales come from food, rather than liquor.)

Grandstaff & Stein is the first cocktail-focused bar. It's okay, not great. The menu is too big. Most of the drinks on the menu are (1) straightforward, you-could-easily-make-this-at-home-and-have-had-it-a-thousand-times cocktails, (2) weird, unbalanced Prohibition-era drinks nobody likes, and (3) mediocre signature cocktails that never change.

The Jasper is the second cocktail-focused bar. It's pretty good, almost great. They do excellent renditions of the classics. Getting a Daiquiri for $6 at happy hour is awesome. The staff definitely know what they are doing. The menu is always interesting and inventive, and I have occasionally had some really excellent drinks. There are too many misses for me to say it's a great cocktail bar, though. I think they should pare down the menu and refine their recipes more. In my experience, it is not at all uncommon for 3 of a group of 4 people to not really enjoy their drink. That's not great! That said, while the Jasper would be a middle-of-the-road cocktail bar in a major city like DC or NY, it's probably the best in Richmond. Oh, and it is always packed.

I'll also throw in the Verdant Lady here. It's in the middle of nowhere and the one time I went, I did not think much of it. Oh, also, the Jungle Room, but I've never been. And the folks behind the Jasper are supposed to be opening up a Tiki-focused place in Church Hill. I'm looking forward to that.

Then we have the restaurants. The best bar program is probably at the Roosevelt. I have also enjoyed drinks at Stella's, Heritage, Restaurant Adarra, Laura Lee's, and Helen's.

In summary: In my opinion, the best cocktail bar in the city is the Jasper. The Roosevelt is not really a cocktail bar, but it has a good bar program.

Why would I be posting this from jail?

Well, what I'm trying to say is that this incident is an outlier distorting the data.

Twenty-three total weapons confiscated is definitely an alarming number, but if you dig a little deeper, you'll see one data point is skewing the facts: I (/u/Wojiz) had seventeen weapons confiscated on a trip last April (nineteen if you count the weapons removed from my person, rather than my luggage, following a lengthy standoff with police on the tarmac).

It's a very "America in 2022" thing to be shocked at the success and viability of public works and infrastructural tools invented over one hundred years ago.

"Imagine this: An automobile with over ten times the capacity of your average sedan. It travels along major thoroughfares in your city, stopping intermittently. Best of all: It's free.

No, this isn't a fantasy. It's called a bus, and it's been a stunning success here in Richmond."

A few years ago, I was visiting one of the Smithsonian art museums in D.C. Big, gorgeous building, carved out of stone and marble. My friend said, "Do you think we're still capable of making something like this today?"

The answer is OF COURSE WE ARE. Of course we're still capable of making highways and libraries and train stations and post offices and town squares and bus lines and subways. It isn't like the secret techniques of early-20th century urban planners have been lost to the sands of history. We just need to re-realize that there's such a thing as a Public Good and devote our politically will to spending money on it.