So this post tells the story of yesterday - the supposed end of the world. To be honest, I had bought into all that Mayan calendar hoopla earlier this year and was all excited to throw a giant party. Alas, school and work ruled my life this last year and I soon forgot the end of the world was nigh. To celebrate it, I went to Urban Wineworks with A and Kyle (A's hubby who I suppose we could call K but then I'm K so maybe he's K2 but isn't that a movie about some snowy summit? I suppose he could be KM for K-male but those are the initials of my dog Keltsy Marie and we certainly don't want any mixups there. KB for K-boy? Veto. K2 it is). So A, K2 and I headed out for a late lunch at Urban Wineworks in the Plaza District. We in-the-know call it U Dub or we in-the-lazy call it that b/c, again, the full name of the restaurant is quite a mouth-full of slurred words once one has tasted plenty o' "damn fine wine" from said oenophile hot spot. Sadly, U Dub no longer serves lunch, only dinner and Saturday/Sunday brunch. Nevertheless, we sampled a few of the wines, even convincing K2 to have a sip (he's not much of a wine drinker). Oh, and by 'convincing' I mean A shoved her glass in his face and said, "Try this." They're so presh. U Dub also has a really cool collection of wine-related goods: openers, foil cutters, pressure seals, pourers, etc. A and I were just as pleased with the assortment of obvious Christmas gifts for ourselves as we would have been with eating food! The biggest surprise was the Aglianico. When the bartender said it had a nice, peppery finish I was a bit skeptical. Pepper and wine? But it was quite tasty indeed! A bought a bottle for her mom she liked it so much.
So by this time it was almost 3:00p and we hadn't eaten lunch. K2 was hungry but you couldn't tell. He really was a trooper. So we packed up in Mango Tango (yes, I let A drive again. She did much better this time - stayed in the lines and everything...so proud) and headed off to Midtown thinking we'd eat at McNellies since K2 hadn't ever eaten there and he likes beer and burgers. We thought we ought to go somewhere he would like since we'd taken him to U Dub. He was merely a backseat prisoner when we left my house. However, we didn't make it 15 feet before I spotted The Mule! A and I had talked about it before and when I said, "Oh, there's The Mule - that sandwich and beer place I told you about," she slammed on the brakes, turned MT right into a narrow alleyway (going the wrong way I might add) and hurriedly sped around another corner to snag a spot just vacated by another vehicle exclaiming, "Oh, that car just left!" Side note: I came to the realization today that A is quite the talker while driving. K2 and I got everything from, "What are you doing?!" to "Uh, hello!" to "Uh, you need a new car geez!" to "Okay, Buick, you can slow down I'm driving fast enough!" There were many more but I can't remember them all. Really I wondered if she even needed K2 and I there to talk to - she could probably carry on a full convo all by herself and be happy as a clam.
I digress. So we pull in to the stellar parking spot right in front of The Mule. It's in an old building that's been re-purposed - as most in the Plaza District have been - complete with exposed lighting, metal sheeting and chalk boards that serve as a drink or specials menu. All they serve are hot sandwiches called "sandies" and some soups and salads and a variety of cocktails. I chose the Beer Bite. It is made with Lake Beer and Angry Orchard Hard Apple Cider. What is Lake Beer? I'll tell you what Lake Beer is. No, it is not a brand. In fact, it is beer that one drinks at the lake - Coors Light, Bud Light, Natty Light, etc. Still confused? It's okay, I was too even after the waiter explained it, K2 got it and A got it. No judgey wudgey here. Some of us are slower than others. Anyway, I'm not a big beer drinker but this was pretty tasty. It was light and bubbly but not fruity or lake beery. A nice subtle blend. The sandies ordered were The Cortez (K2), The Macaroni Pony (A) and the BCLT (me). All three were good and the fries were delish too! They were a bit unusual, though, in that they came with what we think was either nutmeg or cardamom - some holiday spice we couldn't quite pinpoint. Nevertheless, they were crunchy and "not too potatoey" as K2 put it. Turns out he's not a big potato fan. Weirdo. For dessert, we all split the PBC&J w/ salted caramel ice cream. It was okay but coulda used more chocolate. Like all over the plate or in a side dish for dipping. I love chocolate. It's a weakness. I also thought the PB was a tad salty when paired with salted caramel ice cream. The ice cream was amazeballs, though. My fave thing on the plate for sure. Btw, I should mention that we ordered dessert b/c when I noticed that they had dessert on the menu and said something about it A ecstatically turned to K2 and said, "Oh yes, whenever we go out and eat somewhere we always order dessert. You can't eat somewhere and not order dessert!" To which I replied, "She just made that up right now as the words are coming out of her mouth but it's cool I'll go with it." I think K2 just nodded his head and gave us a courtesy laugh. Like I said, he's a trooper. And such a nice guy. I approve.
The prices at The Mule are reasonable too. A drink and two sandies cost K2 and A about $23. Not too shabby. Here are some pics. We remembered to take them this time! Well, A remembered and then remembered to tell me. Two points for A.
So after we stuffed our faces full of rich food, wine and the aforementioned lake beer cocktail we headed off to The Beef Jerky Emporium. We did make a pit stop at Acme Veterinary Clinic where A sang the "Acme" portion of the commercials she swears she remembers from long ago, but that's another story for another blog. I might add that she almost peed her pants after she sang the word "Acme." It's good that she makes herself laugh, I guess. Anyway, I think if I were ever to own a store I would somehow find a way to work the word "Emporium" into the name. How freakin' cool is that word?! So simple and yet so awe-inspiring. When I hear the word Emporium my mind wanders thinking of all the neat things that could be waiting for me on the other side of the door. In this case, it's all kinds of jerky and spreads and butters and salsas and canned goods. Everything I've tried there has been tasty, but it isn't cheap by any means. We all picked up a few things and called it a day. As A drove me back to my house her chatter continued so I tried to amuse myself by saying K2's name in different tongues - Austrailian, French, British. Except I didn't get very far b/c I started with French and K2 poo pooed that and thus the game was over. Wah wah. We play the say-that-name-in-a-different-tongue game at work quite frequently. It really is a ball; mostly because none of us can speak in anything but Oklahoman so everything comes out sounding a lot like a southerner who fell and bit her tongue and now has a slight speech impediment. Oh well, que sera, sera.
