by Jay Kerner
I love Foster’s Martini Bar at 7th and Felix. Have I mentioned that before? I love Patty and Nathan Karr who own and operate it. I love the hip, smoke free atmosphere and the sidewalk seating under the canopy. 
The music from the speakers is mostly classic rock, but without the hard stuff. On a recent evening I counted The Eagles, Moody Blues and Traffic, among the selections; always played at just the right volume to hear it clearly, but still carry on a conversation.
The live music, mainly on Saturdays is always tasteful and appropriate for the venue. A good selection of local and regional performers have graced their front corner stage area.
When my daughter comes back from the East Coast, that’s always where she wants to go. She likes the fancy martinis. Her favorite is the one that tastes like a Cherry Mash. I think I’ll just stick with a beer in a frosted glass, and since they added their taps of import selections a few months back, their customer base has increased as well.
Foster’s recently added several food selections to their menu. The Queen and I enjoyed a few of different mini-pizzas last week that were both fabulous. I don’t know what kind of cheeses were on them but I’m salivating thinking about it as I write this.
A great atmosphere, nice people, high quality food and drinks. No wonder Foster’s just celebrated the two year mark.
Their anniversary party last week was a smash! I stopped by mid-afternoon and things were in full swing. I’d love to mention some of Joe-Town’s music royalty who joined in on an evening long jam session, but I’m afraid I’d leave someone out. It’s much easier to say that if you can think of them, they were probably there saying thanks for a great two years as one of the “coolest” places in town.
Another thing I’ve always enjoyed about Foster’s is the art on the wall. I paint a little myself. It’s a therapy of sorts. When I’m working on a watercolor of someone’s home or something, it quiets down the other voices in my head for a while. That’s a much needed break from the usual chatter in there.
One of the things I’ve learned since I started doing this is that as long as you paint things that have meaning to someone and then give it to them, they are almost guaranteed to like it. They don’t evaluate it on talent, they look at it and say, “Oh look! Our lake house,” or something to that tune. I think their brains look past the crooked lines and slightly skewed perspective, and sort of fill in the rest the way they see it in their minds eye.
The same went for Nathan and Patty when I gave them my watercolor of their place as an anniversary present. In the painting it’s about 5:15 pm. That’s me, or at least my shadow-self there in the back window. I’m having a quick beer before walking up the hill in time for dinner.
Hopefully you’ll stop by Foster’s yourself, quite possibly you’ll see me there. Either, I’ll be there in the flesh and maybe you can be gracious enough to spring for a round. Or, if not, I’ll always be there in spirit, hanging on the wall.