Last night we rode our bikes up to 75th Street for some dinner.  For a while we were going there every Monday night but we kind of fell out of the habit.  Or went broke, or something like that.  Whatever the reason, we decided we needed to get back up there and check out their new patio area, which they’ve named “The Alley.”  Actually we’ve sat out there many times before;  It’s been open since the Big 12 basketball tourney.  Apparently it wasn’t “officially” open though, because they had a big grand opening deal a few weeks ago.  Basically they took the building that was attached to the brewery on the east side (which has been vacant since the big fire several years ago) and tore the roof off it.  Half of it is covered, and the other half is open, with big glass overhead doors dividing the two areas.  They’ve planted hops all around the open area, which are growing like crazy and should cover it at some point later this fall.  The only downside was they seem to have decided that since they call it a “deck” it’s OK to smoke, even in the covered area.  Hmmm…  It’s totally enclosed, (the overhead doors where shut,) has a solid roof over it, and doors for entrances.  Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal last night as there was only one person smoking and the luxury of the air conditioning made up for it.  We tried out the Saison shrimp with risotto and a big plate of calamari for dinner.  Good stuff.  I’m sure we burned off all the calories on the 1/2-mile ride back home.