Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

How and Why Tiger!Tiger! Isn't BLAH

A few months back, Mary Beth Abate gave an accurate rundown on Tiger!Tiger! The place had only been open a couple of months at that point, and it was still figuring out what it would be when it grew up. The menu hasn't really changed, but the scene seems to have evolved more completely and taken shape in a way that couldn't have been predicted, but makes sense in hindsight.

Despite being owned by the same group of people, TIger!TIger! has become a very different kind of place than the Blind Lady Ale House. I don't mean to say whether it's become better or worse, that's hardly relevant, but I do feel like the common prediction that it would be "another Blind Lady, but on the Boulevard" proved to be way off base.

As Mary Beth pointed out, the setup of Tiger!Tiger! is very similar to the Blind Lady. The familiar counter service and hand-chalked beer menu have the outward appearance of the Adams Avenue pizza and brew pub, but Tiger!Tiger! has veered towards dive bar territory with a much greater intensity than the uber-chill Blind Lady Ale House.

Firstly, I think this has happened in part because of location. It's only an eight minute trip by leisurely bicycle, but being in the company of bail bondsmen and drag bars is a big remove from the bike shops and yoga studios that're a stone's throw from BLAH.

Secondly, the crowd is different. Tiger!Tiger! still manages to be more or less family friendly--it's not the type of place where fights break out on the regular--but the overall demographic seems to be much younger and more single. This is probably due to it being much darker and more confined feeling inside of Tiger; an environment more suited to twenty-somethings than the over-forty crowd.

Thirdly, Tiger feels more expensive. The per item cost of food is similar to BLAH, but the meals are smaller--or at least less filling--and the selection seems much narrower. This leads to more drinking and less eating, which in turn leads to fewer stuffed and happy people in food stupors and a greater number of the energetic, mildly inebriated people who elevate the overall intensity of the establishment to a much higher level.

The places do have their similarities: the tap lists follow similar guidelines (although Tiger seems a little less heavy on the Belgians) and there's a discount offered to anyone who arrives by bike. Both places are closed on Mondays and reservations aren't an option. But I think the differences outnumber, and more importantly outweigh, the similarities.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”

A few months back, Mary Beth Abate gave an accurate rundown on Tiger!Tiger! The place had only been open a couple of months at that point, and it was still figuring out what it would be when it grew up. The menu hasn't really changed, but the scene seems to have evolved more completely and taken shape in a way that couldn't have been predicted, but makes sense in hindsight.

Despite being owned by the same group of people, TIger!TIger! has become a very different kind of place than the Blind Lady Ale House. I don't mean to say whether it's become better or worse, that's hardly relevant, but I do feel like the common prediction that it would be "another Blind Lady, but on the Boulevard" proved to be way off base.

As Mary Beth pointed out, the setup of Tiger!Tiger! is very similar to the Blind Lady. The familiar counter service and hand-chalked beer menu have the outward appearance of the Adams Avenue pizza and brew pub, but Tiger!Tiger! has veered towards dive bar territory with a much greater intensity than the uber-chill Blind Lady Ale House.

Firstly, I think this has happened in part because of location. It's only an eight minute trip by leisurely bicycle, but being in the company of bail bondsmen and drag bars is a big remove from the bike shops and yoga studios that're a stone's throw from BLAH.

Secondly, the crowd is different. Tiger!Tiger! still manages to be more or less family friendly--it's not the type of place where fights break out on the regular--but the overall demographic seems to be much younger and more single. This is probably due to it being much darker and more confined feeling inside of Tiger; an environment more suited to twenty-somethings than the over-forty crowd.

Thirdly, Tiger feels more expensive. The per item cost of food is similar to BLAH, but the meals are smaller--or at least less filling--and the selection seems much narrower. This leads to more drinking and less eating, which in turn leads to fewer stuffed and happy people in food stupors and a greater number of the energetic, mildly inebriated people who elevate the overall intensity of the establishment to a much higher level.

The places do have their similarities: the tap lists follow similar guidelines (although Tiger seems a little less heavy on the Belgians) and there's a discount offered to anyone who arrives by bike. Both places are closed on Mondays and reservations aren't an option. But I think the differences outnumber, and more importantly outweigh, the similarities.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

On Eating Pasta After Riding 100 Miles on a Bike

Next Article

Super secret sourdough

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader