Dallas Observer names The Amsterdam Bar Best Jazz Club for 2009!

The Dallas Observer's Best of Dallas Awards for 2009 are out and The Amsterdam Bar has been named Best Jazz Club for 2009!

This Exposition Park staple isn't really a jazz club, but step into this European-styled bar on a Monday night and, traditional jazz room settings be damned, you're gonna see yourself as good a night of jazz performance as offered by any other venue in town. Bad Ass Jazz, as the night is called, is pretty much just what the title implies—a night of the region's finest jazz talents rotating in and out of the playing area in the back of the room, sharing smiles, drinks and enough improvised jazz solos and group jams to keep the always-crowded room delighted. Even to the uneducated jazz listener, it's an impressive sight, not to mention an easy way to pretend you're more cultured than you probably are. Plus, it's free.

As this review notes, The Amsterdam Bar really isn't a jazz club at all. Our reputation as a jazz venue stems from our Monday night jazz, the notorious "Bad Ass Jazz" coordinated by local jazz great Shelly Carrol. We believe that Bass Ass Jazz is the single greatest night of jazz you are likely to find in Dallas, or in Texas, or quite possibly west of New Orleans or Chicago. It's that good.

We attribute this to Shelly's commitment to providing the very best in straight-ahead jazz and the talent of the diverse jazz ensembles he assembles to play every week. The lineup is never the same and there are always new faces sitting in to shake things up and keep the improvisation fresh.

Our thanks to the judges at the Dallas Observer and to Shelly and all the other talented musicians who have made Monday night at The Amsterdam Bar something extremely special!

Welcome to the neighborhood!

We were excited to read in the Dallas Observer's Unfair Park blog about a new business moving to the Expo Park area. Restaurant uniform designer Terra Watson has moved her business to a larger studio in our neck of the woods.

Welcome to the neighborhood Ms. Watson, stop in for a beer some time.

Avery's "The Kaiser" Imperial Oktoberfest

Lee at "I Love Beer" has a great review of Avery's "The Kaiser" Imperial Oktoberfest:

It was a bit more intense than what I sought in a simple dinnertime beer, but nothing else would do. It will surprise no one who has tried Avery's products that it is fantastic. It's like an Oktoberfest on steroids: 9.37% alcohol — and you can really taste it — with a generous dose of malt and a little more bitterness than I expect from this style. And yet, it was also really sweet, as well. I think that's because of the alcohol. If you're into really strong beers, this is a winner from the first moment it hits your tongue, through the entry into the mouth, and on into the sweet aftertaste. It really helped complete the fall experience brought on by the meal and the fading golden light of the first daylight savings time evening, which is about to dissolve into a crisp, cool night.

This isn't a beer that lends itself to mass drinking (if you were served one of these at your local oompah music festival, you'd be in for an early end to your party), but you really must have at least one of these to make your autumn complete.[1]

Thanks Lee, for a great review of a really interesting take on the Oktoberfest tradition!