⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Miller’s Ale House — Crash Edition
In Crash, a bunch of people in Los Angeles spend two hours colliding with strangers and discovering that every interaction is more complicated than it first appears.
Which is basically what happened when I looked at the Miller’s menu.
I thought I wanted a side soup and a side salad.
I was wrong.
Fortunately, John behind the bar intervened before I became another victim of my own decision-making.
Turns out there’s an actual soup-and-salad combo hiding on the BACK of the menu.
John could’ve just rung up what I ordered. Instead, he stopped me, explained the better option, and saved me from paying separately for two things Miller’s had already intelligently combined.
That’s the Crash lesson right there:
Sometimes the guy you think is just pouring your drink is actually the guy who saves you from yourself.
Meanwhile, Nick was having his own complicated character arc.
Margarita #1:
Salt.
Margarita #2:
Sugar.
Same man. Same drink. Completely different worldview.
Don Cheadle would’ve needed another 45 minutes to unpack it.
John didn’t judge. Didn’t question the sudden philosophical reversal. He just adapted and sent the next margarita into the world with its newly requested rim.
Meanwhile my Space Dust beers kept flowing with the kind of continuity Crash could’ve used between a few of its storylines.
Empty beer?
John noticed.
Next Space Dust.
No dramatic confrontation. No misunderstandings. No Matt Dillon appearing from the other end of the bar to complicate matters.
Just competent effin bartending.
And that’s ultimately why John gets the five stars.
Crash spends an entire movie showing how badly things can go when people stop paying attention to the people right in front of them.
John paid attention.
He knew the hidden menu deal.
He remembered Nick’s ever-evolving margarita specifications.
He kept the Space Dust situation under control.
And he made a busy afternoon at Miller’s feel effortless.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maybe people don’t always know who they are until they crash into somebody.
Apparently I didn’t know who I was until I crashed into a discounted soup-and-salad combo and several Space Dusts.
Thanks for the assist, John.
Fork around and find out. 🍺🍹🥗