Although it has been months since Double Deuce took over the Gaslamp Quarter space once occupied by Martini Ranch, the country/western-themed bar held a "grand opening" on Thursday night.
We've all got friends in low places, but Garth Brooks references and Kenny Chesney videos are not my typical cup of ambiance. Still, I was intrigued by the addition of a mechanical bull. You can see it gyrating through a big glass window as your taxi pulls up to the Double Deuce entrance on Sixth Avenue.
As you watch bar patrons take turns mounting the woolly brown bull, you realize the type of ride you get is based on gender. A stocky guy dressed in a plaid shirt gets on. He's bucked up and down and spun off in about five seconds. Then a blonde gal in a low-cut strawberry top and low-rider jeans (whale-tail in plain sight) climbs aboard. The bull does a shimmy-shake (and so does the rider). A couple slow circles are followed by gentle bucking. After 20 to 30 seconds of this, the girl, essentially, tires and slides off the back of the bull. She hitches up her jeans and exits. The crowd hoots in contented approval.
"It's true -- we rough up the guys," said D.J. Dolan, a tall, strapping cowboy who is running the two-lever mechanism that controls the bull. "When the girls are up there, we make them look sexy."
Dolan points to a guy about to mount the bull.
"Look, this guy is wearing cowboy boots," he notes. "And look how he's holding onto the rope and sitting. He knows what he's doing. I'm definitely going to screw with him."
Six seconds later, the guy is bouncing off the padded floor. A girl in a gray cabbie hat and black tank top is up next. Shimmy. Shake. Slow. Sexy. Spins. Such is how the bull bounces at Double Deuce.
Ron Donoho, formerly executive editor of "San Diego Magazine," is a regular contributor to NBCSandiego.com who covers local news, sports, culture and happy hours.
