Monday 14th of July 2014 02:08:53 PM

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Long before the craft beer revolution began, I moved away from my San Diego home town.

Recently returned in the September of my years to spend some days, months, years (haven't decided yet!) on the beach, San Diego has become quite the craft beer mecca. Even my little enclave near North Park (Kensington) can lay claim to a few beer bars and breweries.

One that keeps popping up in my research is the Blind Lady.

So on one warm Sunday, wife Persimmon and I pulled on to a south-bound lane of I-5, took a deep breath and began the 30+ mile journey to check out a few.

First, understand that no one who lives in San Diego county travels I-5 north or south unless absolutely necessary! For us, it is NEVER absolutely necessary. So to spend a moment on that god-awful, always-crowded-and-usually-stalled-by-some-minor-accident-or-nothing-at-all freeway is tantamount to voluntary castration.

But what the hell. It was something new to do on a weekend.

Big mistake.

Blind Lady sits on Adams Avenue, a 5-mile long main thoroughfare through several neighborhoods. Consequently, drivers leave the crowded I-805 (after merging with the aforementioned treacherous I-5) only to discover more bumper-to-bumper traffic on Adams. Once the beer bar is located, now it's time to find a parking space somewhere nearby...a Herculean task since San Diego is not the community of separated small neighborhoods where I grew up in the 1950's. It's become so crowded that street parking is at a premium. Once a space can be found (for us, a long block away) Blind Lady needs to be re-found! It's not on the corner as first presumed. No. It's next door to another beer bar.

But we did indeed get to the right place eventually...and spent less than 5 minutes before we came to the realization that we didn't want to spend another minute there!

7 IPA's...3 Double IPA's...2 Rye's...but not a single dark anything! Here we have a perfect example of the West Coast mentality. IPA's sell; therefore, THIS is what you will drink!

Thank you, no.

Blind Lady's web-page touts their use of organic, local food and for that, I give them a lot of credit. But c'mon! Not a single Brown? Or Scotch? Or Stout? Really? And they've been on "the list" of 100 Best Beer Bars in the County every year since 2009! REALLY?

I do not like being told what I can and can not drink. Or rather, what I'm supposed to be liking and drinking. I'm a big boy and I like to make those decisions for myself.

And I decide that Blind Lady is not where I wish to spend a dime, fully understanding I'm probably in the minority...but I've never minding being on that "team."

To paraphrase Bogart in "Casablanca" -- With all the beer in all the beer bars / breweries in all of San Diego, I don't need to walk into this one...ever again.