The remains of the day
Today is April 9. That means it's the day after the Big 33 for me. Yesterday was one of Beth's long school days, so we couldn't really celebrate, but tonight we're going to hit up this new steakhouse called "The Keg" (yeah, I don't get it either) and see what that's all about.
Beth has turned me on to the joys of wine, and one of the gifts I got for my birthday was a Viandante del Cielo chardonnay. For those of you who don't speak Italian, it translates roughly to "sky walker". In fact, it comes from the vineyard at Skywalker Ranch in Marin county. Shipping wine involves tricky (and to be honest, stupid) laws regulating where you can send stuff. It seems Arizona can't be on the receiving end, so Beth was able to work it so that it went to her parents in Washington and they then shipped it to her. She's a sly one, but I love her. :-)
Anyway, the wine is distributed by the same folks who do the Francis Coppola line. (That probably shouldn't come as too big a surprise.) Even though I'm far from a wine expert, I know enough to realize that the Coppola line is an excellent bargain for the price, so I'm hopeful that this Skywalker Ranch wine will be pretty good.
Tomorrow, my dad will be coming down to pay us a visit, and more importantly, help us shop for a good outdoor grill. :-)
'Tis the season to be charring...
Comments
I guess The Keg must be more of a Canadian thing because we have had one here in Edmonton for as long as I can possibly remember. In fact my parents used to goto The Keg here before I was born.
It's a great place to eat. In fact it's one of my favorites. They serve this excellent sour dough bread before the meal. I love that stuff so much that I have to monitor how much I eat or I wouldn't even need to have a main course. The baseball steak is pretty good there, and if I'm going to have steak while I'm there that is usually what I'll have. Oh ... they do something to their mashed potatoes that just makes them wonderful. I hope The Keg by you is as good as the one up here. If it is you are in for a real treat.
Happy Birthday.
Posted by: Josh | April 9, 2004 05:34 PM
First off, The Keg was fantastic! Food was superb. If you have one in the area, GO.
Second, when I called Niebaum-Coppola about the Skywalker Ranch wine, I was given a bit of back-story there. Apparently Coppola and Lucas are old buds. When Lucas said he was interested in planting some grapes on his property, Coppola stepped up and offered up some of his staff to get the ball rolling. They helped him with the planting and growing and cultivating. They then helped him with the making and whatnot. So, in a sense, it's a collaboration between Lucas and Niebaum-Coppola. I hear tell that they're (SWR) releasing a merlot later this year... WooHoo!
Posted by: lyssa | April 10, 2004 01:16 AM
First of all, you young pup, 33 isn't "big". I'll always be older than you are. :~)
Second, we like to give Glenda's sister wine for Christmas, but she lives in Utah. You can understand how that might be a problem with all the arcane shipping laws, plus the alcohol restrictions in Utah.
We always have the wine we want shipped here and send it to her with different wrapping. I don't think it's an uncommon thing to do at all. But sly, yes, it is sly.
Posted by: suellen | April 10, 2004 09:38 AM
They have a few Kegs in Washington. Two within 15 minutes of where I live (Seattle area). In fact, one of them is part of the "Shawn Kemp is an alcoholic" controversy. He was spotted drinking several alcoholic beverages in a short period of time the night before an afternoon game with the Bulls. I've only been to one and that was in Spokane. We lost at the trivia game because our controller was busted.
Posted by: a2daj | April 10, 2004 11:01 AM
Oh, and happy birthday!
Posted by: a2daj | April 10, 2004 11:04 AM
D'oh, it wasn't the Keg in Spokane. It was a different franchise steakhouse.
Posted by: a2daj | April 10, 2004 11:07 AM
Belated happy birthday! Good to know there are others out there still going strong at the ol' third-of-a-century mark. :)
Posted by: Brian Kendig | April 12, 2004 09:15 PM
The Keg is a Canadian company and has probably been around for around twenty years. ... whoops, 33 years according to their website -- the same age as Brad!
The Keg converted an old Toronto house of significant size into a restaurant and called it the Keg Mansion.
Posted by: Brent Gulanowski | April 29, 2004 10:31 AM