2 days/10 breweries

So it's been about a month now, and I really need to catch up on this stuff... The second 2 days of my "Unaway Vacay" consisted of me going away.

J and I went on a 2-day brew tour of Northern California - and while hitting 10 breweries, we missed so many. I think I could spend a month doing this kind of thing.




1) RUSSIAN RIVER BREWING (Santa Rosa)
What we had: 10 beer sampler ~ $8, focaccia ~ $5

J's top 3 (in descending order): Stout, Blind Pig, Perdition
C's top 3 (in descending order): Little White, Perdition, Stout

Beer Notes:
Little White Lie: Similar to Hoegarden, but lighter and smoother
Perdition: Slightly sweet, slightly hoppy, nice balance
Blind Pig: even better balance between the sweet and hoppy

Staff /Ambiance Notes:
Dude was pretty cool, nice but not super-warm. When we told him we were headed to 3rd Street Ale Works next, he told us to say "hey" to his roommate and tell him to quit eating all the pizza. The inside felt like the college bar we wish we could all have gone to.

Unaway Vacay

Ran the marathon this Sunday. It's over. I'm not going to talk about it here right now.

What I am going to talk about is the vacation I'm on right now. J and I took the week off and we don't really have a big destination. We're kind of hanging around the homestead (with a couple road trips mixed in) and spending money and eating out and not caring about time or logistics or anything like that...

MONDAY:

Woke up REAL sore-like. Walking downstairs and sitting on the toilet were two of our most painful tasks today. Weird though that riding a bike doesn't hurt at all... even less than walking. So we hopped on our bikes and went for brunch at Tortilla Flats in the Mission. It's the most standard fare you can get really - solid food, decent prices. Kind of reminds me of Lee's deli in that way.

We then rode down to the Ferry Building. Man is that place hoity-toity. I thought that maybe on a Monday afternoon it wouldn't feel so ridiculous, but it does. I love all the stuff in there and wish I had a few million extra fancy dollars to throw around on $80/lb cheese or mushrooms. It's still a fun place to have a pretty coffee and look at all the funny people.

Next stop was the Metreon. I know you're thinking, "Why the hell would anyone who lives in san francisco go there?" VIDEO GAMES, people.

In the fancy, yet already run-down video arcade, there are some classic arcade games and a couple fun new ones. I quickly burned through my $10 video card, while J went for at least an hour on just $2. He got his highest score ever on Galaga at something like level 64.

We evaluated the rest of our evening and realized that it was stupid to ride home before our 6:15 reservation at Kokkari so we went to Old Navy and bought some nicer clothes to wear. That was kind of fun.

Kokkari was okay. It was really fun to celebrate our marathon with co-runners Mike & Heather. The service was amazing. The pita and dips were outstanding. The mousakka, the best I've ever had. The special lamb and pork didn't wow me and the recommended wine wasn't all that exciting or interesting, but decent. However the desserts - fucking fantastic!!! Oh my god. The fig dessert was perfect and they even decorated the plate for J's birthday. But the fruit tart and yogurt ice cream/granita desserts were WONDERFUL.

Today we leave for a NorCalifornia brew tour - very excited about that.