Nicholson’s Quiz night!

I convinced David to meet me at Nicholson’s on Monday.

I got there first, and was greeted by Curtis, the bartender. After asking what was on cask, the Bells Porter, and trying a little sample, I decided to order one.

I found the porter to be a good example of one, and it’s very good on cask. Dark, smoky, but a little bit pricey at $7.00. It was served in a Goose Island Matilda glass which I recognized immediately because David and I also have one in our cabinet.

David arrived fairly soon and ordered and Belhaven Stout ($5.40), which he liked.

Nicholson’s has a very nice selection of scotches, and I urged David not to waste the opportunity. He listened, and boy is he glad that he did. He discovered a new favorite scotch, the Bowmore Cask Strength. ($12.00)

Nicholson’s has done some renovations. Instead of a few booths along the front, they have been replaced with two round tables similar to the Pub Rookwood’s. I liked the change, it made it much more open inside the restaurant. The outside has a new coat of paint.

A lot of other things are pretty much the same. I spied that Nicholson’s now has a little “bar and wee bites” menu, including Wee pub crisps ($3.95) with bacon and barbecue sauce, Wee fried pickles ($2.95) and a little Wee nibble trio platter, including cheese, almonds, and olives. ($4.95).

wee

wee

wee

We were debating about what nibbles to order when a lady came around and asked us if we wanted to participate in quiz night.

Oh boy, quiz night! I had forgotten. The Pub Rookwood has a quiz night, and it is packed. I had visited with Adam Bankovich, his girlfriend Colleen, and several of their friend the previous Monday and it was pretty crazy.

In contrast, Nicholson’s was very quiet. Which meant we had a better chance of winning! We got our raffle ticket, and since fish and chips are ½ price during quiz night, added that to our order. I also fell back to my familiar Belhaven twisted thistle.

Sadly, Team Inspirado (Warning, Tenacious D link is probably NSFW and not recommended if you are allergic to awesome) didn’t win quiz night. We totally blew it on the music round. But we had a really good time. I feel like I stumbled upon a little secret—a quiet quiz night! But as anyone who knows me remembers, I’m terrible at keeping secrets. Exhibit A: I’m blogging about it.

Nicholson's:

David and I go to Nicholson's often. David loves his scotch, and Nicholson's has plenty of that.

Nicholson's is a Scottish themed Bar, and they actually have one real Scotsman working there that we know of. His name is Duncan, and he is our Scotch advisor. If you like Scotch, try to track him down and ask him for his recommendations. The Scotch Sampler is 17.50, and you get to try 3 different types of scotches. It's a pretty good value.

The Drinks:

They have plenty of beers on Tap and in bottles. David and I have tried many of them. Some are pretty common, some are not. Strongbow Cider, Guinness, Boddingtons, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale: 7-9.5 % ABV, and rotating cask ales. Last time we visited I tried the three hopped beer, Loose Cannon from Clipper city brewing that was very good and a martini—Nicholson's has a list of about 8. I've also enjoyed Goose Island's Matilda and David sometimes orders an Old Speckled Hen. And of course, plenty of Scotch.

The food:

If you come at dinner time you get scotch toast and butter, which I prefer to rolls. I'm all for crunchy little toasts.

The Scotch Egg ($7.95) is good—it's pretty much like it is described on the menu, a hard boiled egg that is wrapped in some sort of bread/sausage combination and served on a "nest" of crunchy fried noodles with mustard in artful little squiggles around the plate. If you are considering ordering it, ask yourself the following questions: Do you like hardboiled eggs? Do you like sausage? If the answer is no to either one of those questions, I'd avoid it, even if the crunchy noodles look appealing.

David tried the Wood Smoked Mussels ($10.95) on one of our trips. He said they were decent, but not very fresh. Maybe we caught them on an off day, but we haven't tried them again, so it remains a mystery.

I've gotten the Spinach and Artichoke dip ($9.95) once, it was OK. I think my feeling towards it is "Meh". Could be better. It was good, but nothing really stood out. It says it has Guinness in it, but I felt it didn't really make too much of a difference.

The Red Pepper Hummus ($8.95) is very good and served with lots of vegetables and pitas. I'd recommend it as a vegetarian friendly option.

The Pub Crisps ($7.95) are served in a giant pile—seriously, if you order them, it's probably going to take two people to finish them. As I remember, they are kettle type chips. They reminded me of the Saratoga chips served at Montgomery Inn.

If I don't want dinner, I usually get an order of Fried Pickles ($7.95). Their batter is slightly spicy, but I'd say if you can handle ROTEL dip you should be safe with these. These would probably be my favorite appetizer. I like the creamy dill dip.

As for entrees, David and have tried the Pub Grinder—a sandwich with turkey, salami bacon and a variety of other toppings, which he said was good and not too expensive. ($10.95) The Prime rib is also very good as well. David got it and liked it.

The Fish and Chips (13.95) are very good. They are breaded, not beer battered and fried, but the fish is fresh and crispy and very yummy. They are served with nice big steak fries.

The best entrée we've gotten has to have been the Cinnamon Roasted Pork Loin that's only available after 5. It's served with a sweet potato casserole that is delicious. If you're hungry and like pork, I'd recommend it. David got it and I got something else and once I had tried a little, I completely ignored what I'd gotten and stole it from shared it with him.