When lushes are blinded with science

Introduction: Previous research (Lush, 2002) on venues in the Boston area and interactions with socially inept MIT students led us to wonder whether there are any cool bars in the MIT area. The Miracle of Science Bar & Grill, located on Mass. Ave. several blocks from the Central Square T stop, was chosen as the setting for our study. The experimenters were interested in the relationship between student nerdiness and bar likeability. It was expected that, of bar attendees, the majority would have pocket protectors and tapered stonewashed jeans.



Methods: Experimenters entered the bar. Drink orders were taken. Food board was analyzed. Food was ordered. Beer was sipped. Food was eaten. Dessert was ordered. Beer was guzzled. Dessert somehow disappeared from bowl. Check was brought. Beer was chugged. Check was corrected. Bathroom was examined and measurements were taken. Check was paid.



Materials: Various beers, chicken skewers, potato side (really an undescript way of describing spicy fried chunks of potato), seven layer bar with vanilla ice cream, knife, fork, spoon, rubber chicken.



Results: The relationship between nerd value of the clientele and cool value of the bar was not found to be significant. See Table 1.



Discussion: The Miracle of Science is the opposite of a Harvard Square bar. While these establishments try too hard to be trendy but come off as pretentious and fake, Miracle of Science is effortlessly laid back and comes off as classy casual. It is a place where you could bring a group of friends for some Saturday night partying and come back on Sunday with your TI-6x10^23 calculator and work on a problem set.

The bar occupies an odd trianglur space on a street corner, the inside of which is decorated with exposed brick, deep red paint, and dim lighting from trendy fixtures. It is intimate but not cramped, as the large windows make it feel open. The furniture is simple but classy _ granite table tops in squares and triangles complemented by light wooden chairs. No Discovery Channel interior design guys were harmed in the decoration of this establishment.

Though beer offerings were few, Miracle of Science doesn't play around with light beers and girly drinks. On draft were Guiness, Bass, UFO Hefeweizen, Trement, Ispwich, and Brooklyn Lager. The bottled selection featured regional beers such as Harpoon IPA and Magic Hat #9 and other familiar favorites. If that doesn't whet your palate, there are three shelves of hard alcohol _ and several sketchier bars across the street.

The "& Grill" part of Miracle of Science is not to be forgotten. The centerpiece of the bar is a large chalkboard displaying food offerings in the form of a table of the elements. Don't come here expecting Dewick nacho cheese _ the menu is much more creative and less radioactive. Dinner choices were sandwiches, burgers, and quesadillas, all prepared at an open grill behind the bar. If you're looking for something to quickly absorb the alcohol in your stomach, try the skewers, which come in chicken, beef, vegetable, or shrimp, and are served with a variety of chutneys and dipping sauces.

If you still have room for dessert, sample the miraculous seven layer bar with Toscanini's ice cream. Suggestion for future research: trying to ascertain what the seven layers actually are after consumption of seven beers.

Though the Miracle of Science escapes the stigma of its nerdy title, it is certainly not a bump and grind bar. Music was catchy but not terribly loud and lacked a dance beat. The bar is also not the best place to catch a game, as the one television it displayed was small. But it's a good place to go with a mixed crowd if conversation and food are going to be the foci of the evening. And hey, we like conversation and food. And words like foci and matrices.



Suggestions for future research: Effect of alcohol consumption on ability to write Daily articles. Effect of weekly alcohol-related articles on parent-child relations and parental willingness to send checks for "school supplies."