Volume 4, Issue 15
July 24 - August 7, 2002
by Rob Williams
Work, work, work, all I ever do is work. I work hard. I work long. My nose is to the grindstone and my candle is burning at both ends and someone took a blowtorch to the middle. I'm one more editorial-last-minute-ad-change away from duct taping a twinkie to my forehead and running down the 16th Street Mall with a chainsaw. (Actually, that sounds kinda fun if Buskerfest is in town.) You get the idea. My job might not be blue collar but that doesn't mean I don't know about working for the man.
Now I'm not saying work is a bad thing, after all--it pays the bills and in my case leads to some great literary misadventures. You know what the BEST thing about work is? When its over . The whistle blows and the crew shouts out "Miller Time!" or "Beer Thirty," or "Four Twenty!" or "I'm going to Disneyland!" More often than not, Disneyland is a local watering hole with a jukebox replete with Johnny Paycheck and Hank Williams (Jr. and Sr.) and if you are lucky, Jerry Reed. Or maybe it's a punky little hole, wall-papered in flyers from past shows of Black Lamb, Guitar Wolf and Zeke! nothing wrong with either setting. But sometimes you just want to relax in a cozy place that offers more than chipped formica and dollar longnecks or a side of earshattering punk rock. If you work late like me, you want a place that welcomes you like an old friend, a place that soothes the soul, the mind and the liver. I'm talking about a Lounge. The kind of place where an Old Fashioned doesn't make the bartender skew her head at you like a German Shepherd that doesn't understand. The kind of place with carpet on the floor. The kind of place with Sinatra on the jukebox. The kind of place with a couches and privacy for that after work tryst. Fellow workers, I have found such a place! Janleone has been a longtime fixture on E. Colfax for its stint as a piano bar, but has recently undergone a swanky transformation: Lounge. I'm not talking about that tacky faux leopard skin kinda lounge, I'm talking silky smooth like Portishead covering Al Green. Martin Denny reinterpreted by Morcheeba. Yma Sumac--scratch that, no one can cover Yma. It's Lounge, yes, but a friendlier one. None of that hepcat-scenester attitude. Sure you can dress up, but you don't have to. They don't mind if you dress down a little either. The place is an oasis of quiet style in this day and age of prefabricated "hip." (Let's face it, it takes more than tomato-orange walls and a catchy fruit name to make a place have the right vibe, though I'm secretly thinking of opening a club called Mango.) This Victorian (and allegedly haunted) building mixes 19th and 21st century chic with its decor. When you walk into Lounge you are met by a plush front room with sofas and cushions, a well-stocked bar with friendly (and often attractive) tenders with lead pouring arms and quick service. Rust-colored walls are offset by an abundance of red lamp light and actual candles burning everywhere. Upstairs are two more rooms featur-ing couches and loungers that allow you and yours to sort of hide away. The art on the walls upstairs looks like it belongs in Rod Serling's Night Gallery , and for me, that's a plus. If you prefer to enjoy your drinks outside, there is a gorgeous hidden patio well insulated from street noise. For traditionalists, they still have a pool table. The drinks are a little pricey for this stretch of Colfax, but it's nowhere near the toll you'd hand over at a LoDo martini bar, and it keeps the riff-raff out. Now, you Lizards listen up. (Yes, you, Ringo.) This is a "date place" as well as a watering hole. Nothing soothes out a rough first night like showing off your knowledge of swanky out-of-the-way places with soft music and exotic things to nibble--and I'm not talking about your date's ear lobes. Your average bar may offer snacks like pretzels and nachos, but this is where Janleone differs from anywhere you've been. The bar menu features escargot (sans shells for the squeamish), mussels, gourmet salads and other delights. The food might seem expensive at first, but wait until you try it. (For the record, finger feeding your date a diminutive gorgonzola and onion cheeseburger on the back patio is almost as romantic as the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp . Trust me--this works) The menu's flavors are rich, creamy and there is just enough to share. Perfect for enjoying with a cocktail or two. If the $10 plate of escargot has your wallet reeling, fear not. Happy hour is from 8-10, Tuesday-Saturday and you can get a dozen mussels for a dollar! Get a plate for you and your date, plus a couple of $ 4 martinis and you, my friend, have just primed yourselves for an evening of romance. Your dates may change over time, but if you are like me, you keep your "date places" a secret. Well, I'm sharing this one. You can thank me later. On the down side the jukebox needs re-stocking with trip-hop and acid jazz alongside the standards of Dean and Frank, but owner Mara assured me that will be remedied. So, you Lizards, get a nightlife. See you at Lounge.
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