Boston University Pub

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notability= May 2008
orphan= May 2008
primarysources= May 2008 The Boston University Pub (or BU Pub or simply "The Pub") is a drinking establishment located in the basement of the BU Castle owned by Boston University on Bay State Road. [ [http://www.bu.edu/castle/introduction/welcome/index.shtml Boston University | Office of Conference Services ] ] The Pub is owned by the university, managed by members of the Aramark Corporation, and staffed by university students. [ [http://www.bu.edu/dining/employment/ BU | Dining Services | Employment ] ] It is modeled after an English-style pub, and serves both drinks and food. The BU Pub is open only to faculty, staff, alumni, students, and invited guests, and is closed on weekends. [ [http://www.bu.edu/phpbin/dining/location.php?l=bupub BU | Dining Services | Retail Dining | BU Club (Pub) ] ] Though The Pub largely sees its crowds on Thursday and Friday nights, Boston sports fans frequent the establishment to watch any competition on its flatscreen TVs. Weekly hosting a trivia night on Tuesday evenings, and winners receive prizes that range from apparel to glassware to gift certificates. The Pub sometimes has live music on Thursdays, with performances mostly from BU students. Popular house activities are "The Knight's Quest," in which the participant must try 64 types of beer sold, and "The Lord's Quest," in which the participant must try 64 assorted mixed drinks and shots. [ [http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2006/04/06/News/Bu.Pub.Still.A.Popular.Secret.After.Decades.On.Campus-1799257.shtml BU Pub still a popular secret after decades on campus - News ] ] Despite its long history as an alternative university eatery and drinking establishment, The Pub's location and jovial drinking pursuits retain relatively great levels of secrecy about campus.

History

The Pub, initially called the BU Club, has been in operation for over 15 years. Though first located in the university's student union (The George Sherman Union). [ [http://www.bu.edu/gsu/ Welcome to the George Sherman Union ] ] , the pub can now be found in the basement of the vine-covered [http://www.bu.edu/castle/ Boston University Castle] , a Tudor Revival urban manse with hints of Dorsetshire's [http://www.athelhampton.co.uk/ Athelhampton Hall] . [http://www.bu.edu/castle/introduction/history/index.shtml]

In 1904, William Lindsey (1858-1922), a prominent Boston businessman who made his fortune with a patented cartridge belt used by the British Army during the Boer War, commissioned Chapman & Frazer as the architects of what was to be his home, finally completed in 1915 at a cost of $500,000 [ [http://www.bu.edu/castle/introduction/history/index.shtml Boston University | Office of Conference Services ] ] (nearly $11 million in 2008 dollars) and soon thereafter played venue for the wedding of Lindsey's eldest daughter, Leslie, to Stewart Southam Mason. Tragically, while en route to England for their honeymoon, bride and groom became part of the 1198 who perished when their ship, the Lusitania, was torpedoed and sunk off Ireland in May of 1915. (Shortly after the conclusion of World War I, the Lindsey family donated a $500,000 lady chapel to Boston's Emmanuel Church, consecrated as the Leslie Lindsey Memorial Chapel.) [ [http://www.emmanuel-boston.org/LindseyChapel/LChistory.html History of Lindsey Chapel, Emmanuel Church, Boston ] ] Finally, the Lindsey family said goodbye to their castle in 1926 when William's widow sold the home to local orchid expert [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakes_Ames_(botanist) Oakes Ames] who, in conjunction with University Trustee Dr. William E. Chenery his wife, donated the Castle to Boston University. Though initially the University's Presidential Residence, the Castle has served since 1967 as a venue for formal university functions, weddings, and most any variety of receptions.

Pub Fare

In addition to featuring a multitude of brew favorites and local specials alike, the Pub also offers a wide selection of sandwiches. The sandwiches, which certainly offer a higher quality product than the average university dining hall option, are bear names of common majors or hopeful aspirations of the students at BU, including: the "Engineer," the "Politician," the "R.O.T.C.," and even the "Failure." [ [http://www.bu.edu/dme/ Boston University - Division of Military Education ] ] Paired with a good beer and a cup of the soup du jour, these sandwiches are often the highlight of a student's day. In addition, the Pub offers a selection of quesadillas and nachos for ordering. Finally, Otis Spunkmeyer cookies round out the meal.

The Quest

The Knight's and Lord's Quests have been challenges for the taking since 1993. In addition to advancing the legacy of the Knights/Lords at the Pub, the two Quests provide a valuable resource and guide for the youthful college-age drinker's experience. Each Quest candidate receives a card on which the bartenders sign off on each beer/mixed drink as the questers drink them.

The Knight's Quest requires the hopeful seeker to drink a regime of 64 predetermined beers, ranging from pilsner and lager styles to porters and stouts. Because the Pub often features local brewer's favorites and less-known microbreweries, the Quest encourages those eying Knighthood to indulge in the delicious brews on the Pub's 15 rotating taps. Upon completion of the Knight's Quest, the weary knaves enjoy several "Bartender's Choice" drinks and a knighting ceremony. At the conclusion of the ceremony, a newly christened royal receives a mug emblazoned with the crest of the Order of Gunnungagap. The ceremony, complete with a knighting decree and multiple jovial roasts of the new knights, is an experience to behold. [ [http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2003/11/19/Spotlight/Bus-Little.Secret.Knights.Of.The.Pub.Tables-561831.shtml The Daily Free Press ] ] Knights are awarded a personalized mug, stored at the bar for permanent drinking convenience. [ [http://media.www.dailyfreepress.com/media/storage/paper87/news/2004/04/21/News/Permanent.Daylight.Bu.Pub.Offers.College.Experience-666574.shtml Permanent daylight BU Pub offers college experience - News ] ] At last count, the Quest has christened over 1550 Knights.

Pursuers of the Lord's Quest endeavor to imbibe a delightfully varied order of 64 mixed drinks and shots. Especially a favorite to most questers are the three flights on the Lord's, including: Scotch Whiskey, Irish Whiskey, and Bourbon. The Lord's Quest concludes with a similar ceremony to the Knight's Quest, but instead of a mug, the new Lords have their christening names put on gold plaques hanging on the bar, though the plagues have not been updated since the winter of 2007, presumably due to the continuing rotation of managers and Aramark interference.

Certainly, neither of the two Quests are for the faint-hearted, or for the shallow-pocketed.

The Order of Gunnungagap

The term "Gunnungagap" derives from the Norse term "Ginnungagap," from the Völuspá section of the Norse-Icelandic Poetic Edda, is defined as the abysmal gap of origin which separates and joins the northern ice and the southern fire. Out of this gap through the action of the giants and gods that the world is born - middle earth. [ [http://gigantomachia.typepad.com/gigantomachia/ Gigantomachia ] ] A Quest at BU aspires for no less.

Community

Students thrive on the university pub's exclusivity, and the collective, community-based association is a great way to boost the student body's morale. Many patrons enjoy that the Pub is a private establishment, and believe that the quality adds to the bar's mystique. The Pub fosters a huge sense of unity among the its student enthusiasts, most particularly through its in-house challenges: the Knight's and Lord's Quests.

Controversy

* In compliance with their liquor and private club licensing, The Pub is not allowed to advertise or promote its business. Secrecy continues to shroud The Pub due to this condition, casting a mythical feeling about the establishment. Among loyal Pub-goers, however, the establishment has an esteemed and notorious reputation.
* In recent years the Pub's student staff has troubled over the seemingly continuous turnover of one Aramark manager after another. In fact, since 2005 Aramark university management has struggled to fill the general manager position for over 1 year at a time. Student employees and loyal pub-goers cite this reality as a reason for the ever-growing corporate feeling of the Pub's atmosphere.

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