I just don't get why people would spend $200 bucks for a bottle worth $30. The markup is so much. Are you paying to look cool? To be able to have a table for a night? Come on.

If you get bottle service at the Hustler, you also have the strippers stopping by your table, bending over in front of you to mix strong drinks for you... so I hear.

"Baltimore is not Washington or New York or Philly or Miami, and a lot of club owners just don't get that. "

Nor do bloggers.

/does not want Federal Hill to become MORE like Adams Morgan

One Eyed Mike's in Fells has wonderful Gran Marnier bottle service.

Bottle service is the purview of those places that encourage expensive drinks--high-end clubs and strip clubs being two of them. There are not a lot of those kinds of places in Baltimore.

Now, on an unrelated note, Sam, please stop using the tag in your posts. It's getting to be as annoying as your colleage, Ms. Large.

Hey JJT, I'm going to use the extended entry posts more than I used to, but I'm not going to get obsessed with them. I like the way they let you see two or three entries on the main page instead of just one big one.

Extended entry is good for posts with small pictures or no pictures at all, too.

Also, does Midnight Sun qualify as a "playground for the old codgers"? Or just Dresser's column?

http://www.baltimoremick.com/blog/2008/04/15/bthesite-a-review/

It's funny how Philly is in your list, "...Baltimore is not Washington or New York or Philly or Miami, and a lot of club owners just don't get that..."

Five years ago, even less than five years ago, Philly would be as far away from that list of cities as Baltimore is today.

Primary derail: JJT I saw your feedback on the b site and was pretty satisfied by the immediate response. I agree with most of your review except the forum is incredibly cramped by the amount of ad space on one side (i should probably be saying this over there)

And in order to simultaneously sound like an old codger and provide something to this entry, I'll say that as a towny born and bred in the Baltimore area, one of the last things this city needs is pretense. Bottle service to me, at that level, is screamingly pretentious and does not fit the image or 'air of Baltimore' AT ALL. Not in five years, not in twenty years (to me). Regardless Sam and Mark are both very correct with the assessment that it needs to be a gradual thing.

But of course as more people move here from all points elsewhere and see the introduction of such clubs and services, the image changes. The air changes. Then I'm officially an old fart sitting in South Side Saloon complaining about 'the good old days' that never really existed.

As far as business opportunities are concerned, seems to me that it's ground level and everyone knows it. I guess that's why so many owners are trying to go for ludicrous amounts of money for places that barely draw 200 people on a Saturday. I hate to admit it but a decent, well run, high end club would make a killing in the right place in the city. I mean, people gotta go somewhere nice for First Friday!

Bottle service is a good deal when shared with a large group. Either all friends pitch in ten bucks and get 2 drinks or each gets their two drinks at the bar and pays 7-8 dollars each. Do the math...

It has it's place and a few bars/clubs in B-Town might be able to pull it off if priced right (including hustler) but I don't think it will ever find it's way into the Hill or Fells.

'not Washington, New York, Philly or Miami'

Damn straight we're not! We are Baltimore and proud of it!

And btw...what the hell is DC doing in that line-up? Nothing but suits, wonks, interns and overpriced drinks.

Sam: The use of the more tag is just an annoying convention. While I appreciate more content, please, for the love of all things nerdy and efficient, do what your sister publication b did: allow full-text feeds for those of us who read via aggregators.

Now, as for you being an old codger, at least you go out for drinks. I fully expect Dresser's next column to be titled "Now, Get Off My Lawn." At least you are not complaining about speeding ALL THE TIME.

I still expect to run into you at some point in my ramblings around South Baltimore.

Evan: I think part of the problem with b's forum is that the size of browser windows they designed their site for. Looks to me like 800x600, which in this day and age is laughable at best. I digress.

To me, while it might make sense to do bottle service with a large group of people, I don't think Baltimore is that kind of town. Being a native, Baltimore is a city with little pretense. Sure, we have our places where you can truly "do it up," but the essence of the city is in the places that are neighborhood bars. Unfortunately, some of the latter are going away.

Second the notion of Dresser being the most useless aspect of the paper and website. He has a full range, with the next few focusing on people who speed on I-95, people who don't use turn signals, people who only speed when they are late for stuff, kids playing their hippity hoppity too loud, people who still don't stop at the fake cross walks in the middle of some city streets, and people who pick their nose while being stuck in traffic on I-83.

Sam... Thanks for posting Vincent's name. I was able to track him down and send him an email about my experience at Mosaic.

Here is part of his perfectly worded response....

"I appreciate your continued patronage, and will definitely look into your concerns. Bottle service is more than just delivering a bottle to the table and letting the customer do the rest. It is a SERVICE, and it should be a full service at that.

I apologize for any inconvenience, and I am most grateful for your continued support, understanding, but most importantly, your feedback."