The Half Pint Inn - Taelbert's Inn and Bar - The Viper Pit - Gaethrend's Tavern - Sand Spit Tavern -

One of the eldest drinking establishments in restored Elanthia, the Half Pint features the famous "Bard's Nook," which has been the site of a great many bardic concerts and events. Before Daerlynn's Arthe Series and Dreamheart's Bearholt's Series, almost all concerts were performed here. The Troupe of the Four Winds was particuarly noted for always using this nook for their entrance contests.

Sela's Guide gives the place 4 tarts.
Myself, I put it at 3 and a half mugs overall. The drinks are pleasent, but overpriced. For me, what really makes this place stand out is its history. Which is why I have been proud of my several concerts in this venue, such as the Old Bards' Night, and the second of Daerlynn's Arthe Dale series. Incidentally, that was the only concert of the series not performed in Arthe Dale.


Located a mere block away from the Crossing Bard Guildhall, Taelbert's has both a bar and a seperate dining room. Though Taelbert deludes himself by advertising "Delightful Drink At Puny Prices," his bar is stocked with a fair assortment.

Taelbert revised his bar menu fairly recently, dropping his drink prices through the floor.

1 - Pale Ale - K40
Revolting, to call this an ale is a sin against fine ales everywhere.
2 - Hair of the Dog (Hangover cure, no guarantees) - K45
I have much simpler and probably safer remedies to the morning after.
3 - Gor'Tog Grog - K50
Fairly standard for a bloodgrog, served in a mug twice as large as the other drinks.
4 - Running Stream Beer - K37
You don't want to know what kind of stream.
5 - Red Wine - K50
A very mellow red, a good accentuation to the Roast Beast.
6 - Silver Wine - K50
An equally mellow house white, it would be good to cook with.
7 - Good Brandy - K90
A tolerable brandy, more for those that want to look more classy than those that actually pay true homage to vinters' arts.
8 - Sparkling Cider - K60
Not a bad crossover from a cider to a sparkling wine. Very mild.
9 - Darkstone Whiskey - K100
A very smooth whiskey, Taelbert makes up for the splash of quality by only serving it in halfling-thimble sized glasses.
A couple rooms away, Taelbert offers a some fair food at mostly moderate prices.

BEVERAGES:
1 - Pale Ale - K200
Same as at the bar, but 5 times the price - not even a bigger glass.
2 - Hair of the Dog (Hangover cure, no guarantees) - K250
3 - Gor'Tog Grog - K300
Same deal with the pale ale, only this one's 6 times as expensive.
4 - Running Stream Beer - K275
Again, another rip off, but not as highly marked up.
5 - Red Wine - K300
6 times the price, same wine, same glass.
EDIBLES: SWEETS:
6 - Vegetable Soup - K400 13 - Boiled Taffy - K100
7 - Roast Beast - K500 14 - Honeyed Porridge - K 75
8 - Skewered Crickets - K550
9 - Pickled Greens - K275
10 - Goatherd's Pie - K450
11 - Aged Cheese - K200
12 - Mudhen Fritters - K400

Sela's Guide gives the place 3 tarts, for a fair menu and nice rooms.
Myself, I put it at 2 mugs, the playing around with the 5 drinks on both menus, and the quality of the beers, leads me towards a negative rating, but it is a nice enough place to stock up on the brandy and wines for an event, possibly even some of the single-sip whiskeys.


Billing itself as the place "Where The Discerning Patron Is Well Served" with "Only The Finest Drink," Gaethrend's Tavern is easily the most expensive tavern in the land. However, they seem to thinking "discerning" is a matter of cash rather than taste. If they spent nearly as much time on their stock as they did thier self-promotion they might actually have something worth spending a quarter of their prices on. As it is, their "discerning patrons" would largely be better off drinking undiluted Segoltha water, and we've all seen the stuff that gets thrown in that poor river around here.

BEVERAGES:
1 - Golden Ale - K400
Abominable. Fools that can't even figure out how to serve ale cold (and I was testing in winter, in the middle of a snowstorm!) have no business being in this business.
2 - Imperial Brandy - K1500
There's no brandy in those bottles, they fill them with run off from Saedelthorp's surgery table. If this brandy is an indicator of the quality of the old Empire, then we should hold a great big party for the anniversary of it's fall.
3 - Starry Road Sherry - K1375
Eat the lint from the bottom of your pack. It's not only cheaper, but will taste better.
4 - High Elven Wine - K900
This drink truly astonished me. It was the first one in here that didn't make me want to hurl it right back at the bartender. Truly an inferior vintage, the only thing that makes it appetizing is if you've drunk one of the first three concotions. I want my money back.
5 - Wild Hive Mead - K850
Okay, you know the line about how even a broken orlog is right once a day, same thing here. This mead actually tasted quite delicious. How much that's related to this being the last drink I'd sample in this establishment, I'm not sure.
6 - Venom Root Elixir (S'kra Mur) - K1295
After wasting 5 gold on drinks that weren't supposed to make me sick, I didn't even test this.
7 - Mudrock Brew (Gor'Tog) - K1150
Same as the S'kra drink.
Sela's Guide gives the place 5 out of 5 tarts for snobbery. 2 tarts for the lack of rooms and prices.
Myself, I put it at -4 mugs. There are very few places that get a negative from me, and this is one of the worst.

This is an establishment where we both agree and disagree on. The snobber aspect, I'd say 6 out of 5. However, Sela is quoted as saying, "Imperial Brandy is the top choice for the top price of 1.5 gold a glass." She later admits it's not worth the price, but this statement leads me to question the validity of her entire guide. The only thing on the menu worse than the brandy is the sherry. I'd much rather have the (expletive deleted)-warm ale, or the poison, or the blood. If I absolutely had to drink here again, I'd bring my own keg. If that wasn't an option and someone else was buying, the only drinks on the menu worth even a tenth of their price are the Wild Hive Mead and the High Elven Wine.


This dive is clearly trying to be the worst pit in town. I don't think they're that good.

BEVERAGES:
1 - Amfitro's Ale - K200
It's really "a pint of watered-down ale," and you don't want to know what kind of water he's using.
2 - Viper Venom - K225
This "can of sickly yellow liquid" was more vinegar than venom.
3 - Gor'Tog Grog - K250
The one item on the menu that actually was the same in hand as on the menu. And at a fair price for Crossing.
4 - Fresh Ground Coffee - K250 There's no coffee, just "a mug of syrupy coffee grinds."
5 - Mountain Mineral Water - K50
Amfitro's idea of a mountain is his gutter, as "a tall glass of stagnant rainwater" is what you'll get here. And I ordered that at the end of winter, it hadn't rained in several months.

DAILY SPECIALS:
6 - Seafood Chowder - K300
7 - Leg o' Lamb - K400
8 - Brushwood Shrimp - K375
9 - Egg Surprise - K275
10 - Multi-Meat Pot Pie - K225
11 - Chef's Salad - K150
12 - Pickled Hairing - (out of stock)

SWEETS:
13 - Candy Chew - K100
14 - Rum Cake - K150
I was morbidly curious... it's really just "a slice of moldy bread".
Sela's Guide gives the place half a tart, particuarly due to the state of the rooms and questionable content of the food.
Myself, I put it at 1 mug, for having an inexpensive bloodgrog for our Gor'Tog and Prydaen fellows. If you're not one of them, I recomend passing on it all, unless you really hate yourself.


The Sand Spit Tavern is a waterfront tavern near the Segoltha River Ferry pier. It offers a very stable thematic bill of fare for small prices.

Drinkables:
1 - Sand Spit Rum - K25
This house rum lives up well to the mariner ambiance.
2 - Sea Foam Ale - K35
Fairly average, still a refreshing ale at a good price.
3 - Kelp Water - K 5
I drank it out of duty to the reporting... It actually was water.
4 - Sea Witch Grog - K100
Surprisingly good for a grog, I still suggest staying with the straight rum.
5 - Helmsman's Ruin - K150
A refreshing lager, the ruin is getting the helmsman away from the keg.

Food:
6 - Goat Cheese - K5
7 - Quarter Roast Gull - K250
8 - Sea Slug Stew - K40
9 - Pickled Seaweed - K25
10 - Brine-Cured Shark Egg - K35
11 - Pickled Eel - K150
Sela's Guide gives the place 4 tarts for atmosphere, 2 tarts for the food.
Myself, I put it at 4 mugs. A good assortment, all sticking well to the common theme, all fair quality drinks for a very small quantity of coin, even though the barkeep kept making sure all the coins were real.

Sela's right about the atmosphere, the proprieter has done an excellent job with the waterfront dive motif, dark corners and secluded tables, almost everything made out of supplies from salvaged shipwreks.