Apparently a pub in Baltimore, MD took offense at the reviews it got at Pubcrawler and had an attorney send a "cease and desist" letter.
Seems to me the bar doesn't have a case--courts have generally found that in such cases, legal action can be pursued against the reviewer (if it falls under the definition of libel), but not the forum or bulletin board itself.
Thoughts?
I always wondered who had the lowest rating in Pubcrawler; it's the Ropewalk Tavern. Apparently, it's easier for this place to sue than it is to improve itself.
Phil
Maybe they should sue this newsgroup... Now that it's been mentioned here, the tavern in questions will receive a lot more negative publicity than they would have at Pubcrawler. Come to think of it, maybe they should sue the internet........
Tell you what. I'm going to Baltimore next week. I'll stop in the Ropewalk, have a beer, no "official visit," just another fat guy with a beard at the bar. We'll see how they do. Might even get some of that famous poisoned food. I'll let you know.
Lew, I've always trusted your taste in beer (your taste in clothes is another matter). Hopefully, you'll enjoy yourself.
Phil
Lew, I've been to this place many times-maybe 20 or more, as it is right down the street from where my Uncle lived on Federal Hill. It's always been a good place to go when looking for the opposite sex. If I just wanted somewhere to have a casual beer, I would be in Baltimore's other serious beer spots. They have a decent beer selection, but if you want a great beer selection and kicked back ambiance, there is Sean Bolan's which is not more than two blocks away. The Ropewalk added a restaurant and expanded a couple of years ago. I have not eaten there but the place has always been packed on Friday and Saturday nights. One of the "in" spots on Federal Hill, for sure, but not necessarily where the hardcore Beer Geek should go. Unless, of course, you want to watch sports on big-screen TV's and have very nice "scenery" to look at. Good place to take a date, or find one, but Falling Rock it ain't.....I have not been there in about a year so no idea what's going on now. Chuck
It's not really an issue of terrific selection as far as I can see, Chuck. More an issue of "does this place truly suck, and is it completely clueless about beer?" I suspect the answer is no, but I'm open to the possibilities. We'll see next week, eh?
I dunno. I've seen some of the people he's hung out and had beer with.
Phil ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoooo.com) wrote: : : Lew, I've always trusted your taste in beer (your taste in clothes is : another matter). Hopefully, you'll enjoy yourself. :
Do not knock such a fine, carefully selected, Krass Bros. wardrobe.
"If you didn't get your clothes at Krass Brothers, you're crazy nuts!! Krass Brothers, Store of the Stars!!!!!"
Ah, that brought back some memories... Thanks, Bill!
: > Do not knock such a fine, carefully selected, Krass Bros. wardrobe. : : "If you didn't get your clothes at Krass Brothers, you're crazy nuts!! Krass : Brothers, Store of the Stars!!!!!" : : Ah, that brought back some memories... Thanks, Bill! :
My favorite was the one where he sat bolt upright out of a coffin and said, "If ya gotta go, go in a Krass Brothers suit!"
This was a good thread...
If anyone really questions what we have put up on PubCrawler and what I have sent out in emails to certain people feel free to contact me through the Pubcrawler.com website.
I'd gladly describe the whole thing step by step to anyone.
I agree that some reviews on Pubcrawler are non relevant and aren't really of any value at times. I cut the ones I see that qualify for such status. We don't run an editorial staff and I am not a publisher. We handle the largest issues when we happen to see them or someone sends us a message asking us to check it out.
Claims of food poisoning could be very real. As I have mentioned elsewhere I recently completed a nationally recognized food preparation certification and a big portion was on the topic of food borne illnesses...
It could be that the reviewer drink a few too many pint and ate his fill of dead things. My point is, there is no way of authenticating and validating food poisioning from where we sit. The health departments hardly can get involved aside from 60 people getting sick the next day or a similar type of thing that is severe - death is a primary example. Health related claims indicate perhaps for every one reported case there are upwards of 1000 that chalk it up to being the flu or mixing of food and liquor or something else.
I'm not asserting that Ropewalk has any food related problems, but it is totally believeable that someone got sick from eating there. Even the best known places have incidents of sickness from food through cross contamination. Unless you are serving pizzas on paper plates that people eat off of just Cloroxed counters there is a good chance that food poisoning can occur. As others have said clearly the place can be packed. Patrons always want their food now and the kitchen takes shortcuts to keep afloat. It happens everywhere unless you have the owners there at all times grilling staff to clean everything after each use and wipe down everything and sanitize things to death.
As for the water in the beer. Anytime a good beer is destroyed by such it should be a cause for concern. To the unknowledgeable person growing their beer appetite they are going to get a bad impression of the beer and thus impact the breweries image and sales as well as the wholesaler and distributors up the food chain. Beyond that, a pint of draft is typically pretty expensive for any micro. I suspect the Maryland Health department would be interested. It's definitely a health hazard no matter what and all sorts of interesting things could be breeding in standing water.
I'd encourage you all to check out Ropewalk and tell them who you are and why you are there. I suspect the place like any other isn't the atmosphere for everyone. They certainly have a lot of beer, the particular selection I am unsure of. We hope with well over 100 beers there are some good ones. It's hard to go wrong with that many choices.
It's hard to put politics aside with Ropewalk (I think politicians need to get real jobs and quit living their entire productive life as a servant leech). It's hard with the reviewer because Ropewalk's location has been said to be right across from some Democratic establishment and the annual Reagan dinner, the Regan bust, the Republican political fundraisers, the chaos around their support of Maryland's Governor and the issues with trying to open another location. It goes on and on.
It's definitely a unique place. Outside of the typical active Irish bar, I am not aware of such politically charged places that carry a good beer selection. Feel free to tell me about all the politically powered beer places out there... Maybe there is an article waiting to happen on that alone.
It sure would be a good article around say, election time. Elect good beer.
-paris pubcrawler.com >Maybe they should sue this newsgroup... Now that it's been mentioned here,
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Hell, it gets worse: I've *been* some of the people he's hung out and had beer with. Oh, wait - so have you.
*I'll make matters worse: I was dressed in a Selin's Grove Brewing blue/white tie-dyed long-sleeved shirt. Really a draw who looked worse, actually. >;-D
See what I mean?
Did you make it here yet, Lew?
Phil
Yeah, already posted, I'll re-post here for ya:
I lied. I wasn't going to Baltimore next week, I went today. Had some really good beer at Clipper City, a pint of the huge and excellent Fuel Imperial Stout at Capitol City, a piping hot flounder samwich at the Cross Street Market, Sandy Mitchell bought me a spiced Scottish at Ryleigh's that was pretty damned tasty (last pint of the batch, sorry!), and then we went to Ropewalk. I liked the place. Very worn-in and comfortable wooden interior, real-deal original brickwork, and all dat. I figured to give the "bad tap lines" a try by ordering a McHenry's, Clipper City's lager (all German malt, and a damned good beer, BTW). It was clean and cold, bartender was friendly and prompt. Beer selection wasn't Monk's-level, but respectable; good, if not great. Sure, there are better selections around, within a couple blocks, but...it was easy to find something good, like 2003 Anchor OSA for $2 a pint. Beat that. I didn't ask, and I didn't tell. I just hung out. I liked the place, and the food I saw looked good (I was STUFFED from that flounder, delicious). Sandy asked, and the bartender was real civil about the lawsuit, but it does sound like there's some misunderstanding. A lawsuit does seem heavy-handed, but...I don't think I have the whole story.
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