Mista G and Mirevj's Casa de Plata Haiku Happy Hour gets an A+
* For any nerds interested (Mista G, I'm pointing at you) the plural form of haiku can be either haiku or haikus. Both are correct.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Haikus and Hammertime
Last fall, the amazingly talented Mista G had a few haikus* published in the Alibi. Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves at Albuquerque's ridiculously overpriced and over-hyped Imbibe Cigar Bar and decided that its ridiculousness was definitely haiku-worthy. We decided that an entire haiku happy hour was in order and seven months later we finally got down to business. Here are some selected pieces from Monday night. More will come soon from my co-blogging friends.
Mista G and Mirevj's Casa de Plata Haiku Happy Hour gets an A+
* For any nerds interested (Mista G, I'm pointing at you) the plural form of haiku can be either haiku or haikus. Both are correct.
Mista G and Mirevj's Casa de Plata Haiku Happy Hour gets an A+
* For any nerds interested (Mista G, I'm pointing at you) the plural form of haiku can be either haiku or haikus. Both are correct.
Monday, March 30, 2009
More Wine on a Monday Night!
All dressed up and nothing to do on Monday night? Take your self over to the bar at Scalo Northern Italian Grill in Nob Hill!
Scalo's Monday happy hour makes my inner wine snob jump for joy. Along with great food specials, like $5 bruschetta and $4 Calamari (the best I've had in years), Scalo offers a half-priced bottle of wine special. This means we can actually afford to get those $50 bottles we've always wanted to try, and with financial times like they are it feels good to splurge without breaking the bank.
My brother and I found a seat at the bar with some old friends and enjoyed great wine, food and coversation the whole evening. The bar and waitstaff were knowledgable, friendly and very welcoming. Sitting at this bar was almost reminiscent of my favorite place down the road... (it rhymes with Fonti Mista).
Our bartender (I didn't get his name) was like the fabled bartenders of old Vegas- he knew a martini and cosmo, opened bottles of wine and champagne with the greatest of ease and was quick with a nice word and a refill of your drink.
I will definitely be back for Wine Mondays and their other daily specials. They also have live music throughout the week including local favorites like Chris Dracup and Felonious Groove Foundation check their schedule for upcoming events here.
Ready to dance after that wine? Check out Double Time Dance Studio on Morningside for an $8 beginning Salsa lesson and open dance after you stop at Scalo.
Scalo's Monday happy hour makes my inner wine snob jump for joy. Along with great food specials, like $5 bruschetta and $4 Calamari (the best I've had in years), Scalo offers a half-priced bottle of wine special. This means we can actually afford to get those $50 bottles we've always wanted to try, and with financial times like they are it feels good to splurge without breaking the bank.
My brother and I found a seat at the bar with some old friends and enjoyed great wine, food and coversation the whole evening. The bar and waitstaff were knowledgable, friendly and very welcoming. Sitting at this bar was almost reminiscent of my favorite place down the road... (it rhymes with Fonti Mista).
Our bartender (I didn't get his name) was like the fabled bartenders of old Vegas- he knew a martini and cosmo, opened bottles of wine and champagne with the greatest of ease and was quick with a nice word and a refill of your drink.
I will definitely be back for Wine Mondays and their other daily specials. They also have live music throughout the week including local favorites like Chris Dracup and Felonious Groove Foundation check their schedule for upcoming events here.
Ready to dance after that wine? Check out Double Time Dance Studio on Morningside for an $8 beginning Salsa lesson and open dance after you stop at Scalo.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Absence and Phoenix Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (for the 505 of course)
A small trip to another city will surely either make you wish you lived there or make you miss home. My latest adventure took me to Phoenix, Arizona. Yes Phoenix is a great place full of wonderful shopping, great sports and fun things to do but the whole time we were there we received terrible customer service and ate overpriced food.
Walking into the Monte Vista is sure to make you feel better right away. 99% of the time you know at least 1 person who is there, there's a great food and drink special for that night and on Fridays you'll probably get to see a great local band.
The great drinks, amazing people and yummy food make me realize why this city (and Monte Vista) always makes me want to come back.
Angelo- trying out the new Aha Toro Margarita
Faith, Arlene and me enjoying a Monte Vista evening
Cheers!
Thus, coming back to my favorite Albuquerque hang out was a fresh cool breeze after a hot, rude Phoenix experience.
Walking into the Monte Vista is sure to make you feel better right away. 99% of the time you know at least 1 person who is there, there's a great food and drink special for that night and on Fridays you'll probably get to see a great local band.
The great drinks, amazing people and yummy food make me realize why this city (and Monte Vista) always makes me want to come back.
Angelo- trying out the new Aha Toro Margarita
Faith, Arlene and me enjoying a Monte Vista evening
Cheers!
I missed you 505!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Copper Lounge -The Trilogy
First off, shame on us for taking so long to visit our next location!
We chose Copper Lounge because of the great rumors we've heard from everyone. We've heard talk of the great food specials and the wonderfully-priced drinks.
Our 5:30 happy hour felt a bit strange, since we arrived at the bar while it was still light outside, (dang Daylight Savings Time) but we decided the quest for happy hour knowledge was more important than our own comfort so in we went! I did notice the great new patio they added on and the definite smell of smoke in the entrance from all the smokers who obviously have been enjoying their cigarettes on the new patio. (not my favorite smell but I understand the smokers have to go somewhere)
The bar was pleasantly dark and the entire ceiling in the main bar area was covered in great tin roof tiles. They were great entertainment in themselves.
We were unpleasantly surprised to find out the food specials didn't start until 7:30 so we consoled ourselves with some draft beer and vodka specials and some full-priced beef nachos. Our waitress was nice enough, the food was good and the clientele...
We chose Copper Lounge because of the great rumors we've heard from everyone. We've heard talk of the great food specials and the wonderfully-priced drinks.
Our 5:30 happy hour felt a bit strange, since we arrived at the bar while it was still light outside, (dang Daylight Savings Time) but we decided the quest for happy hour knowledge was more important than our own comfort so in we went! I did notice the great new patio they added on and the definite smell of smoke in the entrance from all the smokers who obviously have been enjoying their cigarettes on the new patio. (not my favorite smell but I understand the smokers have to go somewhere)
The bar was pleasantly dark and the entire ceiling in the main bar area was covered in great tin roof tiles. They were great entertainment in themselves.
We were unpleasantly surprised to find out the food specials didn't start until 7:30 so we consoled ourselves with some draft beer and vodka specials and some full-priced beef nachos. Our waitress was nice enough, the food was good and the clientele...
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Best Way to Spend a Sunday Afternoon
It's true, we normally write about the new places we've been to lately and tell you, gentle reader, about the food, drinks and merriment of each establishment. Today, however, I'd like to talk to you about an important skill every Happy Hour-er -ess needs to have in their happy hour arsenal.
It all started at my favorite place with a Captain and ginger. My brother, Mista G and myself had all bellied up to the bar.
My next drink was served with a cherry, to which Mista G gave a mischievous grin and grabbed his own cherry out of the garnish tray.
We competed a couple of times just the two of us then invited my brother to join. We soon invited the lovely bartender Nicole and her husband Steve to compete. A new waitress did the honors of counting down and we were off.
We each shoved the stems in our mouths and started twisting our tongues and faces to try to quickly bend the stem into a knot. After about 20 seconds I finished. Mista G finished next, then Nicole, Steve and my brother lagged behind still fumbling with his stem.
What better way to get everyone at the bar involved and having a good time. We all laughed and those of us who didn't finish last celebrated our victories.
Moral of the story- learn to tie a cherry stem in a knot with your mouth and practice your skill among friends. Everyone loves a little good natured competition... especially when there are drinks involved. This activity is sure to make you laugh and possibly make you some new friends. So the next time you're at happy hour and conversation is going downhill challenge someone to a cherry stem contest.
It all started at my favorite place with a Captain and ginger. My brother, Mista G and myself had all bellied up to the bar.My next drink was served with a cherry, to which Mista G gave a mischievous grin and grabbed his own cherry out of the garnish tray.
Our tradition is
- eat the cherry
- have a cheers with the stems
- tie them in a knot as fast as our tongues would let us
*Yes this seems like a very middle school type of competition, but boy is it fun.
We competed a couple of times just the two of us then invited my brother to join. We soon invited the lovely bartender Nicole and her husband Steve to compete. A new waitress did the honors of counting down and we were off.
We each shoved the stems in our mouths and started twisting our tongues and faces to try to quickly bend the stem into a knot. After about 20 seconds I finished. Mista G finished next, then Nicole, Steve and my brother lagged behind still fumbling with his stem.
What better way to get everyone at the bar involved and having a good time. We all laughed and those of us who didn't finish last celebrated our victories.
Moral of the story- learn to tie a cherry stem in a knot with your mouth and practice your skill among friends. Everyone loves a little good natured competition... especially when there are drinks involved. This activity is sure to make you laugh and possibly make you some new friends. So the next time you're at happy hour and conversation is going downhill challenge someone to a cherry stem contest.
Marble...more than a rock
Let me start off by apologizing for my tardiness. I really suck at this blogging thing.
Marble Brewery-
Moral of this bloggg-Marble brewery for happy hour followed by First Friday Night Fractals at the museum makes for a magical time.
Marble Brewery-
- Nice little dive (By little I mean little...it's a good thing it was warm and people could overflow onto the patio)
- Interesting clientele (I'm not sure how I would describe this...kind of a biker bar, rough looking crowd. Don't go there expecting to find Mr. or Ms. Right)
- Delicious beer (10 different locally brewed pints of goodness on tap and ready for your consumption...I especially liked the Amber Ale)
- Friendly staff (Very attentive to customers and their needs)
- Fun, random environment (Located just north of Downtown in an industrial area)
- Reasonable pricing (I don't remember how much the beer cost so it must not have been outrageous)
Moral of this bloggg-Marble brewery for happy hour followed by First Friday Night Fractals at the museum makes for a magical time.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
cave of wonders
As a professional happy-hourer, I was super pleased with our Monday evening experience at Zinc Cellar Bar. Monday happy hour is billed as “$5 Martini and Movie Mondays.” A silent film was shown on a projection screen and there were 5 different $5 martinis on the menu from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
From the $5 menu, I ordered the Passion Fruit Punch (Skyy Passion Fruit Vodka, OJ, Pineapple & a dash of grenadine) while MistaG had the French 75 (Bombay Gin & lemonade, served with a champagne float.) Both drinks were strong and delicious. Well, at least mine was delicious. Gin tastes like pine tree air fresheners smell, so I can't comment on the French 75. Our waitress was cute and very helpful. She even fixed our wobbly table when she overheard us bitching about it. Bonus points.
Daily happy hour specials include a decent selection of drinks for $3.50 (the Three Olives Cherry Limeade comes highly recommended) and happy hour white and red wine. There are also five or six fancy appetizers on special for $6, including seared Ahi tuna and crispy duck eggrolls. We ordered the buffalo chicken quesadilla and were not disappointed.
Other exciting weekly happy hour deals allegedly include:
Monday-Saturday: 5:00-7:00 p.m. - $3.50 Fat Tire pints and Sauza margaritas, $3.50 house sangria, $4 red and white wines, $6 appetizer specials
Tuesday: 5:00 p.m. - midnight - $7 for a pint of tap beer, pretzel and bratwurst. Count me in.
Wednesday: 5:00 p.m. - midnight - 20% off bottles of wine with free cheese platter. Yes. A whole platter of cheese. I will definitely be investigating this ASAP.
Thursdays and Saturdays offer exciting live music. Elaine and I saw a hot boy play music at Zinc once. Maybe you’ll luck out. The winter schedule is posted below.
Overall Zinc HHG: A
+ Extra credit for the informative Web site.
From the $5 menu, I ordered the Passion Fruit Punch (Skyy Passion Fruit Vodka, OJ, Pineapple & a dash of grenadine) while MistaG had the French 75 (Bombay Gin & lemonade, served with a champagne float.) Both drinks were strong and delicious. Well, at least mine was delicious. Gin tastes like pine tree air fresheners smell, so I can't comment on the French 75. Our waitress was cute and very helpful. She even fixed our wobbly table when she overheard us bitching about it. Bonus points.
Daily happy hour specials include a decent selection of drinks for $3.50 (the Three Olives Cherry Limeade comes highly recommended) and happy hour white and red wine. There are also five or six fancy appetizers on special for $6, including seared Ahi tuna and crispy duck eggrolls. We ordered the buffalo chicken quesadilla and were not disappointed.
Other exciting weekly happy hour deals allegedly include:
Monday-Saturday: 5:00-7:00 p.m. - $3.50 Fat Tire pints and Sauza margaritas, $3.50 house sangria, $4 red and white wines, $6 appetizer specials
Tuesday: 5:00 p.m. - midnight - $7 for a pint of tap beer, pretzel and bratwurst. Count me in.
Wednesday: 5:00 p.m. - midnight - 20% off bottles of wine with free cheese platter. Yes. A whole platter of cheese. I will definitely be investigating this ASAP.
Thursdays and Saturdays offer exciting live music. Elaine and I saw a hot boy play music at Zinc once. Maybe you’ll luck out. The winter schedule is posted below.
Overall Zinc HHG: A
+ Extra credit for the informative Web site.
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