Dear Dave and Buster's,

[pic via maddogmarko]

Dear Dave and Buster's,

Until I moved to New York, I had heard of you only in the vaguest way - that you were something like a Chuck E. Cheese for adults (or those who, at least legally, count as adults for purposes of drinking). I considered the pros and cons of such a place:

Pros:

• Beer
• Video games
• Possibility of hilarious prizes

Cons:

• The type of person who would frequent such an establishment

In this case, I determined that the cons outweighed the pros, and decided that I would not, in fact, enjoy you, Dave and Buster's. I imagined overgrown fratboy types saying things like "Broseph, you really killed it on that last Fast and the Furious brand video game" while giving each other sweaty high-fives upon getting the hot waitress' number. Gross. Not my scene.

So when a friend's birthday party took place there recently, I was skeptical. Said friend is a theater person, and as such the invitees were also primarily theater people, but still: who else was going to be at Dave and Buster's? On a Monday? In Times Fucking Square?

The answer: a wide variety of demographic segments, all there just to hang out and have a good time. A surprising number of kids. We had some nice moments with some trivia-game-loving mini gangstas. The staff were surprisingly nice and helpful, considering the shit they likely must put up with. All in all, not too shabby.

So Dave and Buster's, you're okay in my book. But your $9 beers have got to go, broseph.

Laters,
Anna