July 2001
To Tell the Truth
Many consider Munich to be sterile, conservative and somewhat stodgy. Christopher Larmour and Damien Fournier think the Bavarian capital is groovy. Authors of a brutally honest, at times bawdy, guide to the city’s restaurants, bars and clubs, Groovy Munich, the Englishman and his French sidekick spent three years—and a lot of money on manhattans—collecting information for the volume. Groovy Munich is more like a buddy than a book. Critique is doled out in contemporary no-holds-barred language, the same type of hilarious commentary you might share with a friend over a caipi: “You walk down the stairs and you start to think ‘what the hell is this place?’” “It’s easy to meet people [here], to start conversations, to be charming and witty after a couple of beers and to let the beer goggles take control. And then the staggeringly handsome and utterly urbane boyfriend arrives. Typical.” “The waiters and barmen take a cue from the golden days when the sun never set on the British Empire, maintaining crisp white uniforms even in the sweltering heat of a summer’s evening—but they can be as rude as hell.” While the guide features ratings for each establishment on food, drink, atmosphere and service, the fun really begins and ends with its comedic—complimentary as well as scathing—texts. Groovy Munich also offers insight into Munich’s city quarters, Internet cafés, Oktoberfest, Tollwood and other events, making it a work you will enjoy reading from cover to cover, regardless of whether you seek pub reviews or not. The guide is available at Sussman’s (at Hauptbahnhof and the airport), Hertie, Hugendubel and Karstadt. Though MUNICH FOUND readers will surely notice that the authors are also our advertisers this month, this piece is not a commercial message. We simply find Groovy Munich to be, as Larmour and Fournier might phrase it, “damn entertaining.” <<< LV
