Midnight Sun: How to turn goldfish silver

During my search for local nightlife I came across rumors of people drinking live goldfish at a local bar.

This was too strange to pass up, so I linked up with my official wingman, Tony Ruanova, and set off to find out if it was true - wanting to observe the bizarre ritual first hand if it was.

Tony and I began sniffing around for clues, and initially ended up at Crazy Earl’s in the Foothills. Upon arrival, we asked the rather large and intimidating bouncer about goldfish, and after checking our ID’s, he ushered us inside.

We moseyed on up to the bar and flagged down the bar keep. To my dismay, the man simply pointed to an empty fish tank and said, “We’re out.”

I was disappointed by the lack of scaly friends, but it was exciting to know the rumor was actually true.

The bar keep said the Mine Shaft, which is owned by the same people, might still have goldfish available.

Tony and I ran to the parking lot and jumped into his little green Ford pick-up truck with a renewed sense of purpose and tore off into the night. (Don’t worry, we were both totally sober).

We pulled into the parking lot of the Mine Shaft and swiftly made our way into the bar. After getting our ID’s checked yet again by another bouncer, we swaggered up to the counter, like John Wayne, to inquire about golden fish.

It turned out they were out too, and our hopes were smashed. However, Kelly Clark, a bartender and manager at the Mine Shaft, invited us to come back on Monday to try the strange  concoction for ourselves.

We decided to stick around for a bit to watch the band on stage perform, and luckily they were pretty good. There were even several couples who got onto the wooden dance floor under the neon signs to cut a figurative rug.

Two days later, we were back, and Kelly was good on her word. Now me personally, I hate raw anything and the thought of swallowing a slippery little living fish was enough to make me gag. I would never make a good Klingon.

Tony isn’t as squeamish with his food, and happily volunteered to take the goldfish shot as I videotaped the entire event for posterity. (Check out the video on Yumasun.com).

Kelly poured Tony a large shot of tequila, and gingerly caught a goldfish with a net. She put the fish in the tequila and passed it to Tony.

Tony is a brave soul and quickly swallowed the tequila-soaked fish without hesitation. After it went down, he made a look I will never forget.

He said it wasn’t too bad, and likened the experience to swallowing a pill.

We left the bar, and went home.

So how do you turn a gold fish silver? Let's just say the fish didn't stay down forever and let your imagination fill in the rest.

Now I know what you are thinking, where are the People for the Ethical Treatment of Fish? Technically when Tony was experiencing the exotic taste of goldfish “Andrew Zimmern style,” the practice wasn’t illegal.

According to Kevin Tunell, Yuma County communications director, the County Health Department is looking into the matter, but said there is no precedent to use as a model. They did say they will most likely ask the bar to discontinue offering the goldfish, but a final determination hadn’t been made as of Wednesday.

If that is the case and you want to experience the weirdness of drinking a goldfish, you’d better do it with a quickness.

See you next week under the midnight sun...


BANDS PERFORMING
• Leavin' Rustin - 9 p.m. Thursday - Cocopah Casino's River Room
• Kevin Melcher - 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24 - Daybreakers Cafe
• Yuma Jazz Co. - 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 - Julieanna's Patio Cafe
• J&J CrosZRoads - 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 - LZ Bar and Grill
• Alter Ego Show - 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and Saturday, Oct. 24 - Sharkey's at Paradise Casino
• Re-Wind - 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - LZ Bar and Grill
• Slick Nickel - 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31 - Yuma Landing

KARAOKE
• 5 p.m. Thursday - Daybreakers Cafe
• 8 p.m. Thursday - LZ Bar and Grill
• 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 - Friendly Tavern
• 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 - Friendly Tavern
• 8 p.m. Thursday, and Friday, Oct. 23 - Cocopah Casino's River Room
• 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 - Cocopah Casino's Sports Bar
• 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 - Cocopah Casino's River Room
• 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 - Hooligan's Sports Bar/Grill & Comedy Club

MUSIC JAM
• Yuma Blues Band Jam - 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday - LZ Bar and Grill

OPEN MIC
• 9 p.m. every Sunday - Pop A Top Saloon

CONCERTS
• Dierks Bentley - 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12 - Quechan Casino's Pipa Event Center
• Tony Orlando - 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18 - Quechan Casino's Pipa Event Center

COMEDIANS
• Ron White - 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22 - Quechan Casino's Pipa Event Center

Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.