The Current

My observations about All In with Chris Hayes Live 2/10/20 will require more than one piece to detail so I’ll start with the end which starts with the beginning of the middle.

I’ll explain as we go along.

Near the end of our travel through the maze-like Hotel we were going along the corridor to the Armory Room which is being used as the MSNBC Manchester Studio we passed a door to what looked like it belonged to a Bar or Restaurant named the Penstock. So I stopped and asked if normal human beings could go inside and get something to eat or drink.

Sure.

So I filed it away. A few steps later we passed a Bar and Restaurant named Current. This was obviously serving both both Booze and Food because it was exposed to the corridor in that trendy “Open Architecture/Office”/Atrium/Ersatz Cafe kind of way that is in fact so basic.

We found the end of the line and because it was short and we had over an hour to wait we decided we’d eat. I thought we might go back to the Penstock but TMC pointed out we’d just hiked a mile through the Hotel (True That) and we could eyeball the end of the line while we were eating.

It was crowded, which the Bar wasn’t so we parked and ordered a Charcutiere to tide us over. We were going to be there from 6:30 to 9:15 and the rules said no one comes or goes (they’re more lenient than that, but not much). With time to spare and not much farther back we rejoined the line and when the audience doors opened we went inside.

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Like those? Kurt Vonnegut used them.

We didn’get out of the Studio until 9:30ish and I was anxious to get to the Penstock because when I had popped in earlier I had seen what looked like the Bar Stand Ups they were broadcasting. We were in no hurry because, hey- it’s a Bar in a Hotel. They stay open as long as they can because someone has to work Night Shift anyway and nobody drives home. Great places to get wasted if that’s your goal.

There should perhaps have been more urgency, by the time we got there it had just closed (Before 10! What kind of Joint is this? I later found out.). Plan B. Back to the Current where we sat in the Dining Area.

We had Ahi Tuna on Cucumber, Mediterranean Flatbread (Tomato, Spinach, Feta, Tapenade), and Fish and Chips. As we were waiting for the check I saw Chris Hayes and Production Entourage plop down at the Table 2 away.

So I nudge TMC who was facing away and say, “I think I’ll stop by if he’s not actually eating when we leave (he was on a bee line between us and the door) and congratulate him on an excellent show,” I think it would have sounded better if I had but it actually went something like this.

“Mr. Hayes,” that was to get his attention because he didn’t notice me yet being really rude. He turned with what I took to be a look of encouragement but I suppose was just annoyance, “Mr. Hayes I want to Thank you for an excellent show tonight.” It should have been “congratulations” because the next thing he said was “Thank You,” which is wrong, you’re supposed to say what I said next which was, “You’re Welcome.”

Because I was not yet sufficiently embarrassed, I continued, “I’d like to introduce my associate, TMC“. She said something gracious and diplomatic and the I said, “Thank You again Mr. Hayes and we left.

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Epilogue

I told you I had new information about the Penstock. I had forgotton the name and wasted an hour or two rooting around the Tubz trying to find something I recognized. Fortunately I remember how we used to do things in the Olden Days so I found the phone number, called the Front Desk, and asked the nice young lady on the other end of the line about it.

“Oh, you must mean the Penstock. It’s not really a Restaurant, it’s a Meeting Space we rent out for Conventions and stuff.”

You can reserve it for your Wedding, or Reception, or both.

What puzzles me is either Doubletree has this Cheers Set lying around collecting dust or MSNBC had it built (or modified I guess) and has never to my knowledge (and I’ve watched a lot of coverage) said that it’s anything less than a live jive average spot you might find on Trip Advisor like the Mug & Anchor.