Britpop cocktails

A break from the Hawaii posts for a moment and catching you up on the recent goings-on at home instead.  Yes, it's monthly online happy hour time!

In honour of the recent Oasis and Pulp concert-going, and because it's Allison's birthday month, the group went with a BritPop theme for the drinks.  Now, I have to say, this was a tricky one for some people.  Allison and I are such big fans of BritPop that it needs no explanation for us.  We can just go with it and have fun.  Chris came through nicely with an Elastica allusion in one cocktail.  Marie or maybe Rachel or Van or Conrad had previously asked if Elton John was BritPop, though, and... oh dear.  Ah well.  We always encourage a lot of creative thinking in relation to the cocktail theme, so whatever worked for folks worked.

First things first, though:  I came attired. 

I pulled out a tshirt

that still fit me (barely) from when Conrad and I saw Suede and Manic Street Preachers co-headlining a show in LA two or three years ago.  Dressed for drinks, I made up several to try.

I posted these on Instagram, and a friend asked me - agog and worried, I think - if I had drunk them all.  No.  I tasted them all, but I had two cocktails in the end.  It was not a hyper-boozy Sunday!

So here they were, with an appropriate backdrop in place for the photos.  Ranked from least favourite to the winner:

The Modern Life.  Sad to say, it was kind of rubbish.  Sorry, the joke had to be made.

The Country House.  Vodka, cranberry, tonic water.  Just a bit plain.

The Morning Glory.  A highball, and drinkable but bland.

The Wonderwall, version 1.  This was an oddball one.  I didn't mind it, but it was just odd.

The Park Life Fizzle.  I liked this, but I would dial back on the bitters next time.

The Wonderwall, version 2.  Pretty good.  Light and fresh and clean.

The Oasis.  A spin on a margarita using pear liqueur and basil.

A fun time was had by all, or so I always hope.  We'll meet again in a few weeks, and we'll see what comes of the drinks exploration for that one! 

Hawaii, day three

Hawaii, day the third.  I woke up and abandoned Marie to head out for a walk. 

Oh, so dramatic.  She was awake early, but she was disinclined to walk, so I set out on my own, past the convention center

and over to go along at least part of the Ala Wai Canal

before ducking more into Waikiki. 

Look, a rooster!

It promised to be another good and easy day.  Marie and I ended up at Liliha Bakery in Macy's for a breakfast, which - you guessed it - involved Spam. 

I joke about having Spam every day whilst in Hawaii, but this was the last of it I had.  Sadly.

From there, it was over to the Outrigger Canoe Club. 

Some beach time,

a close-ish encounter with an endangered monk seal

(signage helped to cordon off an area around it), mai tais

and poke

(each were a good price, neither was all that great), then back to the beach for a while

before finally getting in the water.  I know I was snoring at one point in those beach chairs, and I swear I read at least a few pages of my book.  Just easy and relaxing time for us both.

For dinner that night I booked us at Stage Restaurant in the design center. 

I'd been there once with Conrad, and my dim memories of it were fond.  Not so much now, perhaps.  Oh, not bad, but it wasn't the dinner I wanted, we wanted.  Just getting into the building was a weird adventure of walking up a drive into the building parking, and that in itself wasn't easy to find.  The restaurant was strangely quiet.  This was dinnertime on a Friday, and the whole time we were there, there was only one other table (a large one, celebrating a birthday or something) in the dining room and maybe four in the wine bar.  I always get nervous about places that have no customers, wondering what everyone else knows that I don't.

In any case, Marie and I

had a prime table, front a center in the windows overlooking the intersection. 

We sat in a, hmmm, bench?  Couch?  Not sure, but side by side.  The table was raised up to us, but because of where we sat in relation, I felt I was always hunching forward to get to my food and drink.  The service started out strongly, but at a certain point, we didn't see the original server any longer.  The martini was fine,

the wine flight was fine,

the amuse was good (though the bread was too large). 

I liked the dessert, which featured elderflower. 

I think the Caesar salad variation that Marie and I shared was the best dish, and that's not faint praise. 

It really was good.  My pork belly was fine. 

Marie's fish was overcooked, but she said nothing and soldiered through.  It was a goodly amount of food and drink, and I appreciated the bit of a walk back to the hotel.  But it wasn't a great meal, just some parts that we liked.  Odd.

To bed not long after that.  Another day of relaxation and such beckoned.... 

last weekend in September

Howdy, neighbours!

Is September really ending?  Wow.  I guess it is.  Life feels somewhat back to normal, but I say that a whole heck of a lot, so maybe redefining normal is needed?  Not tonight, though.  Tonight, let's blog.

Friday!  On Friday, we went to Maestro.  Just as we have done many times before, and - with luck - we will do many times again.  We arrived there not long after 5, but the bar was already too full for the 3 of us.  So it was dinner outside on what had been a grey day.  Very comfortable temperatures at this time of year, and we appreciated that.  Cocktails to start with,

and among the food was a roasted beet salad. 

It was very good to be back.  I always appreciate our time there.

Saturday morning I was feeling lazy.  It had rained a little overnight, and I decided not to go out and walk all over on a still-damp morning.  I waited for Conrad to get up, and then the two of us headed to Amara for breakfast.  Decaf oatmilk latte and, this time, a breakfast burrito for me. 

That was enjoyable.

We did some things around the condo after breakfast yesterday, and we also had some lazy time.  That was welcome.  Oh, I know - Hawaii was relaxing, right?  Yes, it was.  But it's another thing to get to relax in your own home, and so we did.  Early evening, though, we headed to Van's, where he made us cocktails and put out light bites for us to enjoy,

giving Olive some love,

before we met up with Jennifer and Sanders at Cannonball,

a new restaurant in South Pasadena.

My verdict?  Handsome space, decent food (ocean trout for me)

and cocktails (the Arroyo Park and then the Milk and Honey),

but it was very loud.  I'm genuinely glad that they are popular, but I don't know if/when we will go back.  Even for the 3 of us not wearing hearing aids last night, it was tough to listen.  ah well.  Maybe one day.

This morning I got up a little later and went for a walk - just look at that magnificent fungus I saw. 

Groceries and Starbucks, and then Van made us a satisfying brunch.  The even wound down with an online happy hour that I'll blog about separately.

What's weird is that I have a fairly normal workweek ahead..... 

Hawaii, day two

Our first full day in Hawaii started off with a morning walk for the two of us. 

It was one of only two days when Marie came for a morning walk, though she did a long walk another day.  I'll be blunt:  we are both large people and out of shape, Marie arguably more so than I am.  The walk was more than her usual, and she might have stepped down wrong at some point, so by the end her back was bothering her and more.  I felt badly about that, and I'm sorry it prevented her from coming on other morning walks - I should have been glad of her company.  Ah well.

So we were up just before sunrise, as the skies were lightening,

and out the door to head to the nearby Ala Moana Park.  Not a long walk there, but we caught some views of boats,

beaches,

birds,

beasts (mongooses - cute but invasive),

and (sorry this isn't entirely alliterative) Waikiki. 

We crossed over to the mall, wandered it a little while we debated what sounded good for breakfast, and eventually parked ourselves at an Eggs 'n' Things.  It was fine enough.  I continued my quest for Spam, choosing that with eggs and rice

and a glass of POG

for a very filling breakfast.

I wish I could tell you about grand adventures throughout the day, but the truth is, after getting showered and changed, we spent a goodly while in the mile, poking in stores, buying some things, later grabbing a small lunch (and thank you to the woman at the one business in the food court who offered me the senior discount, telling me that with my white beard I look like Kenny Rogers!) there, eventually choosing a book in Barnes and Noble to bring to the pool deck that afternoon.

Nice pool, but I wish there was more shade available on the deck. 

It wasn't too busy at the hotel pool, though, and I know I dozed off a little at one point.  Yes, we did go in the water.  Once done with the pool, we headed to the room changed, and came down to the pool level to try the little bar there.  Lilikoi (passionfruit) drinks for us - a margarita for Marie, a spritzer for me. 

The bar was, sorry to say, underwhelming, but now we know!

Dinner that evening was at a place Van had found back in 2023 for him and me and Conrad.  Fête is downtown/Chinatown rather than Waikiki, and I think Marie appreciated that we saw a different part of the city.  I was glad to go back and enjoy it again.  The hostess greeted us and asked if Marie and I were on a date, thereby beginning a pattern of the two of us explicitly inserting into conversation with service staff in restaurants, bars, and stores that we were brother and sister.  I guess not many siblings like us travel together, or something.  Anyway, we had a table in a little side part of the restaurant, by the window and across from where the kitchen was doing its magic. 

Great views!  We started with much better cocktails than at the hotel bar:  the Grab 'Em by the Pineapple for me

and the Spicy Kitty for Marie. 

We shared an appetizer special, breadfruit with Indian spices and crispy shreds of okra atop,

then it was the Korean steak for me and the coconut prawns for Marie. 

The coconut cake was a special as well, and we went for it. 

She and I capped the evening with an amaro each, and I was delighted that Marie is into them. 

Something else we now share.  It was all very good, and we headed back to the hotel with full bellies, turning in fairly shortly after getting back.