Just a quick 'Happy Birthday' post to a good friend John Bob. He had a little gathering at his house this evening, complete with a keg of Terminal Gravity ESG (Extra Special Golden). Kelly and I had a great time. Here's to you JB! (raises virtual glass)
Category: Beer
Categories
Live Irish folk at the White Eagle
Last night Kelly and I ventured to McMenamins White Eagle Saloon. It's a nice spot, very much a McMenamins, but more relaxed and pleasant than say, Kennedy School, and certainly more enjoyable than Ringlers or the like. One key difference between this and other McMenamins establishments is that The White Eagle has live music (looking at their schedule, it seems every night of the week) and what brought us there last night was some live Irish folk music.
We arrived at about 7:30, walked in through the long building towards the stage and then out to the patio since the weather was so nice. We took a table just next to the door, so we could see and hear the music, and was promptly served by a very friendly and attentive server. We were happy to discover they served Nebraska Bitter, the best McMenamins beer in my opinion, even though it wasn't on their menu. Hooray! We had a very nice dinner (I had one of the specials, the 'Sgt. Pepper Salad'; sliced breaded chicken, pepperjack cheese, peppercorn ranch, and totally delicious), and reminisced about our honeymoon in Ireland while the music started.
The music, by Hanz Araki and band (sometimes known as "An Tua") was fantastic. It was lead by Hanz Araki (flutes, pennywhistles, low-whistles, shakuhachi, and vocals) who was joined by four other musicians; a guitarist, violinist, pianist, and percussionist. ist. ist. 🙂 There were songs I recognized from other traditional Irish folk albums Kelly and I own (bought while on our honeymoon) and it was a treat to hear while we chatted about where we were two years ago. Between sets Kelly purchased the An Tua album 6 of One, Five of the Other, which is also great. Very fun night out. Very groggy today. 🙂
Kelly and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this evening by having dinner at an upscale Thai food restaurant near where we live called the Siam Society. Despite some of the reviews on CirtySearch.com (presumably by folks that were either very picky or were there on an 'off night') we found both the service and the food were fantastic.
Make no mistake, it's not a cheap place, and in some ways it seems like it would be more at home in the Pearl District than NE Alberta, but it was well worth every dime. We sat outside on the secluded patio area since the weather was was so nice, and the atmosphere was perfect. Kelly ordered a raspberry martini drink and I had a Roots Red from Roots Organic Brewing. For an appetizer we had the spring rolls, which were to die for, and for the main course Kelly had Phad Thai (which she said was among the best she'd ever had) and I had their Thai fried rice dish with tiger prawns which was delicious… crisp green beans, slied carrots and cucumber, rice, egg, large prawns, and a delicious lime-based sauce. I highly recommend it.
Odd occurances throughout the evening: We started out at a great pub next door to Siam Society called Binks, where we ran into a friend Maria who we hadn't seen in years, and then while at Siam Society we bumped into my ex-employer having dinner with friends. Running into one of them would have been strange in and of itself, but both in one night? My head nearly exploded at the chances. 🙂
So I have a plan. It's not a very good plan, but a plan nonetheless. I plan to write about the various beers I've sampled over the past few weeks. This is above and beyond my minimal reports of previous beerfests, but to go into some level of detail of the beers I've sampled over the past few weeks… things Ive purchased from John's Marketplace, etc. I've been keeping notes. I swear. Side note: writing this to The Smiths song 'Well I Wonder'. What a great tune.
Tonight I spent a few hours with my good friend Snooks at McMenamins Kenney School. Had a good time chatting about books, movies, sci-fi television shows, and other nerd-esque things. Thanks Snooks for coming out and helping take my brain off work. 🙂