My Life as a Party Host

The Beer Menu

My friends Adam Moravanszky and Dennis Gustafsson were in town this past weekend and I took it upon myself to be their personal Saint Louis tour guide. This is the first time Adam has visited in two years and I wanted to make sure that he had a memorable visit. On my last trip to Zurich, this past Fall, Adam took me to Mount Pilatus and Lucern and my friend Simon threw me a big party. I felt obligated to do my best to return their hospitality.

I have a bit of an inferiority complex about St. Louis. I’m afraid people think it is a backwards and culturally dead city with nothing of consequence besides a giant stainless steel horseshoe embedded in the ground. I am especially defensive if my visitors are from Europe since I expect them to be used to seeing great architecture and having ready access to significant cultural attractions on a regular basis. While Saint Louis is certainly no match for Paris, it does have a lot more going for it than most people realize.

On Thursday evening I had my regular lodge meeting at Naphtali #25. I invited Adam to stop by after our meeting so he could take a quick peek inside the building. I was surprised when Adam showed up with both Dilip and Dennis as well. However, it turned out that it was not a problem and they got a rare opportunity to see the interior of the New Masonic Temple. After the meeting Adam and I went to a bar and had a great time catching up.

On Friday evening I took Adam, Dennis, my wife Terry, my daughter Lauren and her step-sister Katie to the Fabulous Fox theatre to see ‘Rent’. Adam and Dennis were both very impressed with the theatre itself. The music was fantastic and very enjoyable. However, as a play, the production entirely failed for me. The actors ‘sang’ every single word of dialogue and I really had no clue what the hell was going on with the story.

On Saturday morning I did some shopping for the poker party. My main goal was to have the best selection of beers available for the event. I ended up purchasing fifteen different brands of beer! One of my guests attempted to have one of each kind. I don’t think he made it all of the way through (or at least I hope he didn’t!) but he sure made a dent in them. The selection included:

Warsteiner (the champagne of beers!)
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Guinness
Samuel Adams
Corona Extra
Pacifico Clara
New Belgium Abbey Beer
Schlafly Pale Ale
New Belgium Blue Paddle
Leinie Honweiss
Bass Pale Ale
Pilsner Urquell
Killian Red
Budweiser
Bud-Light

A few of these are tied as my ‘favorite’ beer in the world. My three favorites are ‘Warsteiner’, ‘Sierra Nevada Pale Ale’, and ‘Pilsner Urquell’. Near the top of my list are Anchorsteam and Bass Pale Ale. Of the beers I could have done without are the Belgium beers, which have a very ‘musty’ flavor, and the Guinness which is just too strong for my taste. I enjoy the Killian Red and the Leinie Honweiss as something different. Corona and Pacifico are always excellent but are best served on a beach in Cancun. I purchased the Bud and Bud-Light because some of my guests just don’t care for these ‘fancy’ beers.

At noon I took Denis and Adam to see The City Museum. The City Museum is so amazing and so unique I can hardly begin to describe it. Try browsing their website but, really, you just have to experience it to understand what it is all about.

In the afternoon I brought Dennis and Adam back to my home where they helped get the place ready for the party. I also took them on a quick tour of the lake on my pontoon boat, even though it was pretty cool outside.

The party began at 7:00pm and we had a huge crowd early on. We ended up with about 32 guests total and the pot was about six hundred dollars! The party went off without a hitch but my only regret is that I should have made the buy-in $10 instead of $20. While $20 was no big deal for a single person it did add up to quite a bit of money for couples. Even I had to pay $60 for myself, Terry, and Alex. That said, it was an open bar and there was a ton of food so I hope all of my guests ate and drank enough that they felt it was worth it.

A few people dressed up for the party. I was really pleased when my friend Dave Reini showed up in a 1950’s Greaser costume. The poker tournament went on until 2am where the final round included my neighbor Mike Reiter who won $100 for second place. Fifth place went to my friend Johnny who got his $20 buy in back. I don’t recall the name of the winner, she was the wife of a teacher my wife works with. I’ll update the blog when I get those details. She held on for a $350 first place pot!

On Sunday all of my guests left and I spent the day getting the house back in order. I would have to say that the first big party of 2006 turned out to be a great success. I hope it is a promising sign of many more to come throughout the rest of the year!