Nookie

Ah, a lazy Saturday afternoon!

The snow is beginning to fall (do do do do...that's me singing, in case you couldn't figure it out...), Trooper is zonked out by me while I tappy tap tap, there are sweet potatoes, squash and baby reds in the oven roasting and filling the house full of delicious veggie smells, and a cup of hot chai tea (Tazo with a little milk and fresh honey from Karl's farm -- amazing!) in front of me to increase the coziness factor.

I thought I would do a little food prep for my busy week ahead. Trying to learn from my mistakes poor-ish choices. It's been a less than stellar food week. When I'm busy, eating well is about the first thing to fly out the window.

Speaking of out the window, who can beat this?  Snow is so much fun and I am soooooo in love with this house and her views! : )

Last night was a blast!  T's tasting at The Wine Thief was really fun.  I took the opportunity as an excuse to goof around with my camera and take a bunch of pictures...

...and, of course, to drink a little vino (yep, that's my glass!). T had 10 bottles open last night.  These were the reds.

And these were the whites.

T working his tasting magic...

 ...notice his slight of hand??!?

Fun pics of the wine wall...

One of the sale areas...

...and one of the fun, themed tables...with one of my favorite Pinot's!

What makes Wine Thief unique is that it carries mostly boutique-y wines that are under $20 per bottle, so you'll always leave with a great find at a great price. Don't let the price point fool you -- they painstakingly pick out the best of the best.

And while you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get a good bottle of wine, they've got a Splurge area, too, for those one-of-a-kind treats...

...like Chateau d'Orignac's Pineau des Charentes. If you're looking for a great gift or for a sipper in front of the fire on a night like tonight, THIS IS IT! Five year barrel-aged Cognac blended with the unfermented fruit juices of Cabernet and Merlot...put back in the barrel for another couple years. It has a gorgeous amber color and flavors of hazelnut, apricot, honey, raisin and caramel you absolutely have to taste to believe. This is unlike ANY OTHER Pineau des Charentes and is made in very limited quantities. Ask for it by name (or show them the picture)...and tell them I sent you!

They're waiting... : )

Since we're talking all things Wine Thief...

have you ever wondered what a Wine Thief is? I know you're losing sleep over it, so I thought I'd let you know...

This is it!  It's the tool winemakers use to sample wine out of the barrel -- simply put the tip of the wine thief in the wine, put your thumb over the hole on the top and pull it out.  Remember doing this with the straw in your pop as a kid? Or maybe you still do it now! Fess up...I know you do!

Here's T, always happy to be working hard...or is that hardly working? He is drinking wine, after all...for a living! I know, right??!?

If it's beer you're looking for, look no further than The Ale Jail...

...connected and owned as well by the formidable Paul and KaTrina Wentzel.  They've got the best selection of beer in town, and the coolest space ever.  Look at these paintings on the walls!

Love it!

Mmm...beer!

They even had to tear out a doorway to get this HUGE cooler in...I'll have to dig out some pictures of that. Amazing what dedication it takes to bring a vision to fruition! And bring it to fruition they have.

LOVE THIS PLACE! And it's people : )

Can't beat that.

What Was For Dinner Last Night?
We did, we did go to The Nook last night for dinner! Sorry Burger Jones, The Nook leaves you in the dust.

The new space takes a little getting used to as it is pretty different and has lost a little of its dive bar charm, but the food is still stellar, so I'll have to let it go. ; )

There was an hour wait when we arrived but now that they've connected the restaurant to their bowling alley next door, we scored a table downstairs immediately. Yes! Complete with bar,

said bowling lanes...

and Skeeball! Our favorite! Look how speedy KaTrina is...I couldn't even capture her picture!

Just in case you were wondering, this is what a REAL burger joint's menu looks like. What's that? More than 20 varieties of burgers? I rest my case.

Nookie Supreme Challenge, anyone?? Eat two Nookie Supreme's, complete with french fries, and win a free t-shirt. Yeah, baby! No, we didn't do it, but it always makes me think of Man vs. Food and his crazy antics. Adam could probably do this one in his sleep.

Hey, Adam!  If you're reading this, I double-dog-dare you to come to The Nook! : )

Where was I?  Oh yeah...mmm...beer! Mine is the tap beer -- Summit's Seasonal Winter Ale. It may just be my favorite. Dark and smooth with deep flavors of coffee and chocolate. I was going nuts it was so good. And brewed locally? Can't beat it!

Yep, this is exactly what we did.

See?

Here they are!

I thought I'd live on the edge and try something new -- the Reuben Burger.  I was afraid the corned beef would be overkill but it wasn't at all.  It was sooooo crazy good!

I'm a saucy kind of gal, so I adored the thousand island atop the melted Swiss and sauerkraut. And their fries? They're included in the burger's low, low price of $7.99! And served with a little garlic pepper on top (be sure to ask for "crack" on your fries!) they are likely the best fries I've ever had. Ever.

The corned beef was so flavorful and tender, I might even have to try their Reuben Sandwich some day!

All of it...incredible to the last bite!

Thanks, Paul and KaTrina, for owning such an awesome pair of shops, and for hanging out with us at the best burger joint in town.

Good food + good beer + good friends = a great night!

Jonesin

The conversation on the phone this afternoon went like this...

How was your day?


Exhausting.  Yours?


Yep.  Dinner?


No idea.  You?


Nope.


And then, inspiration struck!

Sounds like a Burger night!


I think you're right!


Burger Jones, it is!

I love this graphic, and the picture -- looks like the guy is sitting right next to me!

Burger Jones came on the scene in Minneapolis a number of years ago but we've never been.  And then they brought it from the big city and planted it right in Burnsville.  A big city mouse restaurant south of the river?  Really??

'Tis true.  So even a country mouse and a city mouse posing as a country mouse can try an overpriced -- yet awesome -- burger and fries.  Or at least mine was great.

But I get ahead of myself.

In the beginning, there was beer...

Bell's Two Hearted Ale -- one of our favorites.  I have a soft spot for good tap beer.  It was happy hour so these big beers were only $4 apiece. Nice price. Mmm...beer!

Then, there was the menu.  For having a name called "Burger Jones" and everything in the place having to do with burgers, I was surprised to see only a third of the menu be actual burgers.  Granted, they have the build your own and all, which was cool, the specialty burgers were few.

But we took our chances anyway.

I had the Green Chile Cheese burger...holy moly was this fantastic!

They serve their burgers on these little baking trays -- points for originality -- and this burger was spicy with pepperjack, salsa verde and the onion ring on the top was a nice touch.

The bummer?  Fries weren't included with our $9.99 burgers and while I love the fries (the same as Salut...it is a Parasole restaurant after all...) the portion was small.  We wanted to share the fries but when we saw how small the portion was, we decided to put in an order of onion rings as well...

...and got three, count 'em, THREE onion rings...for $2.99 no less.  A dollar an onion ring?  Really?  And yet, in spite of myself, they were GOOD.

This is how T's burger was served.  Doesn't it look like someone already ate half of it?  Weird.  Anyway, he got the burger that seemed to be made for him...White Trash Burger -- real nice, no not because of the name!  Because it had "chicken fried bacon, cheese curds and lots of Velveeta".

Now, we buy Velveeta (couldn't live with the man without it) and this did NOT look like Velveeta.  Have to admit that we know this by the color...this wasn't the right color.  Could there be an off-brand of Velveeta (*shudder*)?  It's hard enough having the real thing in the house, to be honest. But we do. So there you go. We know our Velveeta.

The cheese curds were cold and a little on the funky side, and the bacon wasn't exactly chicken fried, but more like fish fried?  It was a cornmeal type breading that didn't really achieve its "chicken fried" mark.

So, it was a 50/50 split.  Expensive, mostly tasty.  We'd try it again some night when we were either jonesin for a crazy build your own burger or feeling very rich.

At least we could agree on the beer.//