The Stones Throw is located in downtown Eau Claire at 304 Eau Claire Street. Originally we had intended to do a Downtown Double Header which is to say we had planned on reviewing two downtown bars that were relatively close to each other. But before we decided which two we wanted to review I happened across some information on the Internet about Wednesday nights being Open Mic Night at The Stones Throw. Since we enjoy live music we decided to chance it and head on down while placing the possibility of a Double Header on the back-burner.
The Stones Throw isn't the largest bar in town, but they definitely make use of the space that they have. Immediately upon entering we are able to view the main bar area with 4 round tables adorned with bar stools spread throughout the room, a line of bar stools that ran the length of the bar, and 4 small tables along the wall opposite the bar. After picking up a pitcher of Miller Lite for $5 I took a walk upstairs to take a look at the "mezzanine". This is where I would find more tables set apart from the main bar for a more private setting. There are two video game machines and even a shuffleboard game that you can play up here on the mezzanine, just talk to the bartender if you want to play. Although we didn't make it downstairs, that is where you would find "The Rock Bottom Lounge", an area with pool tables, darts, and a jukebox.
I also took a trip into the restroom to see if there was a difference between The Stones Throw and our latest less-than-spectacular experience. I would have to say that I was pretty impressed with how clean the restrooms are at The Stones Throw. They smell good, the soap works, and the toilets come with seats! We were also fortunate enough to have a female perspective along with us this evening and it was noted that the women's restrooms were very nice as well. In her words, there are pretty "Ansel Adams" framed pictures for the ladies to enjoy while they are freshening up.
After taking in the layout of the place we took a look at the menu for food and drink specials. For hungry patrons The Stones Throw can provide "Starter Munchies" (as labeled on the menu) including some Homemade Curds and Onion Rings, 9 different "Scrumptious Sandwiches", as well as Soup and Salad. They also have "Mexican Specialties" including Burritos, Tacos, 4 kinds of Quesadillas, Nachos, and even Taco Salad. If you like burgers you will only get three different choices, but I suppose one burger is going to be just like the rest. One of our party members decided to have one of these burgers and placed his order right around 9:45pm just ahead of the 10pm kitchen closing. However, our bartender was unable to find us when the burger was ready (even though our table was right next to the bar), but when it did finally arrive she let us know it was "on the house". It is still unknown whether the burger was worth the wait or not.
Our Sausage Factor and Attractiveness Ratings took place at 10pm as per the normal schedule. The Sausage Factor weighed in at a hefty 2.67 with 16 guys and 6 girls. The Attractiveness Rating was midway between a 6 and a 7. We were also able to find what could be an interesting logo for our Sausage Factor thanks to a little help from the local video machine!
It was just as we had finished our first pitcher and taken our readings that the House Band began to play. The House Band includes Jason Introwitz, Phil Joudis, and Scott Milz as lead guitar and vocals. Scott even took a trip out into the crowd during his guitar solo. These guys were voted the best band of the evening, by our party, for their great music and variety.
Around midnight we took our second set of readings and counted 17 guys and 3 girls giving us a Sausage Factor of 5.67... Ouch! The Attractiveness Rating was still a 6.5, but it's really hard to judge when there are only three girls.
The other musicians to grace the stage this evening included in no particular order: Caleb Horne, Dan Korn, Tony Basley, Charles Morgan, Michael, and Eric.
The live music made for a nice change and great escape from the top 40 DJs that we have become used to at most of the other bars we patronize. It was because the music was so good that we ended up staying at The Stones Throw for the entire evening instead of reviewing another bar (either that or we had too much to drink and thought it best to stick around and sober up)! I would have to say that the live music definitely distinguishes The Stones Throw from the other bars that we go to.
Once the bands were done it seemed that the night was done as well. The final Sausage Factor reading was off the charts as end of the evening slowed to a long crawl with a multitude of men and one woman. At least she was good looking and enjoyed dancing. I found out that her name was Teresa because she was brave enough to come over and ask me for a Cranberry Vodka. She also expressed her interest in our bar reviewing process, we'll have to see I guess since I've already spoken to Lynne about coming on board with us.
Overall our experience at The Stones Throw was satisfying. The service was somewhat slow for those of us that arrived early in the evening when there was just one bartender, but it definitely got better as the night went on. The layout is very nice for the size of the bar and the restrooms are very clean and well-kept. The drinks are nice and cold and not too expensive either. The live music was great and I guess you could say it made up for the lack of women. The Sausage Factor is probably solely responsible for bringing the rating down to a 4/5. I made certain to ask John (who I believe is one of the owners of the bar) about this lack of femininity and he said that Ladies Night is definitely the night to see the girls.
Here's what he has to say about Ladies Night:
Last week was awesome. 130 people, 80 of whom were ladies. We have DJ DZ and Breakneck the Mage doing their thing and taking requests. $5 all you can drink Bacardi, Rail or domestic draft beers (John).
This Thursday we will be heading over to Menomonie to check out the last Carp Calendar Cutie contest of the year at the Silver Dollar Saloon and Brick Co. a.k.a. "The Buck", so maybe sometime soon we'll check out Ladies Night at The Stones Throw. We'd love to see more girls there!
Beer Rating: 4/5
Sausage Factor: 10
Attractiveness Rating: 7/10
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