BlackNotBlack.com

The Ultimate Bar Crawl, Part 2

This will be a short one. Wandered into this joint just outside the old quarter on the Boulevard called Dickens. Without putting too fine a point on it, it should have been called Dicken' You, because the midget-sized, shit-vintage airplane wines were twelve euros and the Heineken bottles were six. To put it in perspective, you can get a beer for two euros almost anywhere in town. But the idea with Dicken' You wasn't that the customer would receive value for his/her euro, but that the riff-raff would be kept out so that wealth could mix with wealth.

I've been to so many of these places, from St. Barth to St. Petersburg, and I can spot them immediately. And they can spot me, too, because never once have I been treated respectfully in such places. But even for those designated as worthy, the service really isn't that special, and the drinks aren't any better than in other bars. The value in these places derives from the fact that anyone who resides for more than a couple of obscenely overpriced rounds has money—and that means they can feel safe with each other. At least in theory.

Sounds strange, perhaps, but there's an entire worldwide bar/club culture based upon helping rich meet rich without risking their entire fortunes. It's what country clubs, for instance, are about. How do I know this? That's another story. But I can tell you from my personal observations that for the rich there's no love deep enough, no lust powerful enough, to override their fear of losing their money. Dicken' You is one of the places where they don't have to worry about it so much. But in any case, you should give the joint a pass, because it's the least interesting bar in San Sebastián anyway.

Labels: bars, Donostia-San Sebastian

posted by Egan Ehlers @ 10:53 AM