On first meeting Eric Turner struck us as a hard edged club owner. The Ab House have taken up the Foundry space, the former club, but it looks the same to us. A visit with owner Eric Tturner proved interesting. He told us that he has a wide selection of Absinthe which is” mostly 75% alcohol.” Though turner tried to portray an air of culture and food sophistication for Absinthe House, we could only see a huge dance floor and sound system. It reminded us of Carlos and Charlies which turner balked at. That’s not all he balked at. He said he had lines around the block so he saw no need for marketing his new venture to a Boulder population and started comparing his joint to the Med. Hardly. The Ab House claims a wine list of 50 wines, but we didn’t see any
. When asked if he had a wine bar, he told us “this is not a wine bar kind of place. There are plenty of them here.” Oookay. He claimed the biggest cheese selection in Boulder, but what are a bunch of rave college kids going to do with cheese and wine, throw cheese balls?
Turner also told us he was having a hard time figuring out how to reach an older dinner crowd earlier, but wasn’t open to suggestion. We did not see evidence of a chef in the house and the dining area looked more like the bar tables at the Boulder Theater. The menu was just as fascinating. Panini sandwiches are the big draw for Boulder foodies. A nice section of olives, cheeses and toasts to go with your beer and several pasta dishes all moderately priced at around $8.00. Bar food. Oh and there are salads.
Turner has a backround in clubs and showed us some of the websites of clubs he owns, but insisted the Bo Ab House was not like them, meaning …….actually we have no idea what he meant…… It looks like a club to us and the food is bar food….olives and cheese not with standing. It’s a party down, drink down club. Call it what it is.
We are also not big fans of Absinthe (the alcoholic drink) and can’t imagine why the food and drug administration made it legal again. It has a history of causing rapid brain damage besides the high alcohol content. Just what we need here in Boulder. Another hallucinogenic to feed to the college kids.
But since this is a preview maybe we will be surprised by the food….and it will over take the Med. huh! Now their dance club scene. We’ll see about that. They could do well to achieve success in fickle town like Boulder which opens and closes bars and clubs weekly. Rave on Boyz.