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Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Did you like my last entry where I talked about Cannibal movies? Me too… well, both movies were actually pretty tedious… but now I get into the REAL Valentine’s / President’s Day weekend stuff. Essentially, the weekend started Thursday night, when Izzy suggested that we meet up at Elevation 66 Brewing for fancy dinner (including Moroccan chicken) and drink some of their wonderful beverages (including barrel aged Old 66, which is their Scottish Wee Heavy). Now, Izzy raised a point that I wanted to share (if I haven’t already repeatedly). We honestly couldn’t think of a place in the Bay Area that A) had better food and B) had better beer consistently. I mean… the food is pretty amazing. We don’t frequent five-star or Michelin rated restaurants often… but they’re often too expensive to try much… and their beer selection is always lacking (and dated). Beer places… usually don’t have great food, especially high-quality fancy food in grand proportions. I can’t say it enough… eat & drink at this place!!! It’s fantastic!!! You won’t regret it!!!

 

Well, I guess this weekend’s story really starts… about four years ago… when Izzy introduced me to this new brewery that opened up by her house on our first… not even date, really just a meetup where she tricked me into coming to help her move the TV that I gave her (as opposed to throw away) from out of the back of her car… only it was out & set up in her house… but she still wanted to treat me to a Nation’s burger and a beer at this new brewery called Elevation 66 across the street. Good move. That was my introduction to this place… and this wonderful lady in my life… and four years later, things are still going pretty damn good.

 

So now, back to the story… or rather a few weeks ago, when I purchased a ring after finding out what Izzy would like down the road when/if I were to propose. Yeah, I was pretty quick about it once I had any clue what she wanted other than a purple plastic spider ring (my original plan as you well know… but she don’t do spiders). The ring’s titanium… and has a redwood loop inlet… because my lady is a California girl. There’s also an inscription on the inside that says “Reminder: I Love You!” because… you know, if she’s ever forgetting that for some reason… she has the shiny equivalent of a string wrapped around her finger. Also, big ups to The Wingman for finally getting the ring information out of her! You rock!

 

So… after a few weeks of waiting for this “handmade” ring to be delivered from “Hawaii” or wherever it really came from… it finally showed up on Monday. Okay $teve, go time! Get a plan going. How are you going to do this? Fancy dinner? Event? Road trip getaway? Heart-shaped pizza? That last one was really the default… but we’ve known one thing about each other for a long time… don’t hide anything in food except other more delicious food. OH SH*T!!! I haven’t even asked for permission from her fath… never mind, Todd’s a bit of a douche. I’ll ask permission from her mom… and the aunties. So I did that… via Facebook Messenger… and they basically lost their sh*t in approval… and wanted to know details about how I was going to do propose? No idea… but I listed off my ideas… and they knew the heart-shaped pizza was a good fallback rug. So yeah, I’ve got the ring & the approval. Now for the plan…

 

Wednesday night, Izzy was at her house… and I was at mine… and she suggested that I come to see her Thursday night after work and we have dinner at E66. PERFECT!!! By the way, I know it’s mostly because it’s February… but the last month or so… EVERYTHING was about marriage. Commercials, topics coming up at parties, family messages, all this stuff… and it really didn’t help that we went to Vegas on a whim last month… but yeah, it was going around. While I was at work, she was hanging with her mom… and her aunts… and not going to lie, I was more than a little concerned that they’d spill the beans about proposing. Long story short, they didn’t… so then we had dinner at Elevation 66… and it was spectacular as mentioned before.

 

So then… the time came. I had ordered dessert (stout brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & pecans), the ring had been in my hand for a few minutes now while we were talking, and I was going to do the whole tapping on the glass to get everybody’s attention and do the whole stupid speech in front of everybody while my girlfriend cries her eyes out… but it didn’t quite work out that way… because my girlfriend had to pee. She excused herself… and before she went off, she was standing next to me while I was sitting down… gave me a hug & a kiss… and told me “I love you sooo much… you know that, right?” Of course I did… and so I told her so… and figured “What the hell? Now is as good a time as any”. Again, the ring was already in my hand… and sitting down, I was pretty much already on a knee… so then I said something along the lines of “It’s funny you should mention that… because I have a question for you?” I opened my hand… and she didn’t even look at first. See, when I asked her about it later… apparently she thought that I was just bullsh*tting her and there was going to be a pickle slice or some sort of snack in my hand… not a titanium-redwood symbol of my devotion to her. She was just looking into my eyes… so I kind moved my hand a bit to get her attention… and did the eye motion thing towards my hand so that she would check it out… and then it started to click… “Will you marry me?” So… after a quick swelling of emotions, she said yes… we kissed a few dozen times… and apparently the waitress was right behind me with the dessert when this was going down, so she set it down… and basically came back with a half-bottle of champagne (out of beer?)… and yeah, I don’t think really anybody else in the restaurant knew what was going down… but you know what… we did… and that’s pretty much what’s important.

 

I’m so lucky to have a wonderful, thoughtful & just amazing woman like Izzy in my life… and I think her family likes me too. I’m really excited to spend the rest of my life with her… and going on all new adventures. It should be pretty sweet. I honestly had no idea when we started dating four years ago where it was going to go (as you can probably read & tell if you wanted to go back) but we’ve had some pretty great times since then… and we’ll certainly have plenty more. We’ll definitely keep you posted on how all that goes… starting with the rest of the weekend.

 

So after Facebook blew up & we basically started trending on social media because of how happy everybody was for us when she posted pictures… there was still a whole three-day weekend of adventures to be had… and I know you ladies want to see the ring but... here's that bomb ass dessert that we got!

 

Saturday, Izzy had to work… but I went to a special presentation lunch to congratulate the Strand Brewing as Homebrew Club of the Year at Anchor Brewing. You may recall that the announcement was back in November during the California State Homebrewing Competition, but now this is where they were presented with the official award, etc. I met up with about 30 like-minded homebrewers… and we had some barbecue… and good times were had. Here are some pictures…

Sunday was Valentine’s Day… and I know how to treats my lady. Our first stop… was the World’s Greatest Taco Bell in Pacifica…

 

Then we stopped by Half Moon Bay Brewing for a drink… and that alone because it was Valentine’s Sunday Brunch time… and the mimosas & bloody marys were out… still a nice spot to grab a bear…

 

Next stop was a new brewery, Hop Dogma Brewing in nearby El Grenada. They have a wide variety of great beers & styles to choose from including The Incompetent Devil (foreign extra stout) and various sours and chili beers… and that was even when they were all out of Doppelbock & we had to buy a bottle of Imperial Stout to take home and drink later… but yeah, great little spot… and we’ll definitely have to swing by there when we’re in the area again…

 

 

On the way back to San Francisco, we stopped by Pacifica again… because my lady deserves Heart Baker Pizza from Papa Murphy’s for dinner… and cookie dough...

 

So that night… we continued our tradition of watching non-traditional romantic movies… by basically me watching “True Romance” and she was looking up wedding stuff on her phone… but yeah, a wonderful day with a wonderful lady.

 

Monday, we ran some errands, met up with Izzy’s mom (and I guess my future mother-in-law) for lunch… and then we FINALLY used our homegrown Galena hops in a batch of our Pale Ale extract recipe… enjoy the beauty that is whole cone hops…

 

So yeah… a wonderful weekend with my new fiancée… who I am so incredibly lucky to have in my life. She’s amazing & I want nothing but the best for her. So yeah, it was pretty fantastic even getting a lot of things done. More things getting done for next entry… but more on that later. Until then, have a great day everybody!!!

Triumphant Return to Vegas

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Wow… the Vegas Trip was a complete success… in spite of my credit card company screwing the pooch TWICE!!! But yeah, here are some of the highlights…

 

Thursday – Izzy & I flew in around noon, checked into the hotel… and then walked over to the Venetian for lunch at Johnny Rocket’s and then we spent the next two hours chatting with Tina at Sin City Brewing’s bar location there. We tried all six of their offerings at the location (Oktoberfest, Lager, Amber, Hefeweizen, IPA & Double IPA) and far and away our favorites were the Oktoberfest & the Stout. I highly recommend checking it out… and if you act right, maybe Tina will throw you a little discount, that you can then show your appreciation by tipping her well. Go check it out…

 

 

Next up was another bar called Public House at The Venetian which was recommended to us by Big Ben & Lone Cicerone. This location was more… hmm… fancy? The beers were at LEAST twice as much… but they did have a great selection of all kinds of beers from around the world… including Wasatch Brewing’s Black O’Lantern which I had. The bar staff was not nearly as bubbly as Sin City Brewing… but still nice. I’m sure it’s great if you have the time & the money… but we stopped by for just a drink… and then went back to Sin City Brewing to top off our growler with some Oktoberfest. Still… check it out… their selection is great!

The rest of the night, we mostly wandered the Strip in search of smashed pennies for Izzy’s collection & all the cool things that Vegas has to offer…

 

Then we ended up at Ellis Island Casino & Brewery on Koval just off the Strip… and let me tell you, this is probably our favorite location with respect to value. Now it’s extremely dated by Strip standards as I assume they just won’t sell their plot or something… but we really dug their location & offerings. For example, that Thursday night they had 2-for-1 pizza, great cheap beer brewed in-house, full racks of ribs for well under $20 (more on those later), the best karaoke in town, and plenty of old locals to chat with including several Elvis impersonators. Definitely check this place out! Or not… and we’ll just enjoy it. Oh… and the beer was great… and even full price is less than half what you’ll find on the Strip.

 

Friday – We slept in a bit… and then more wandering the Strip for pennies & to show Izzy some of the casinos on the southern end of the Strip… and we had a few drinks in New York New York (overpriced for plastic cup beer) and then had drinks & appetizers at Tap at MGM Grand. Here are some pictures…

 

That evening also included the Arrival of the Wingman… but it was later in the evening, so we went to pick up dinner (pizza at Ellis Island down the street) and upon our return… apparently the locking mechanism on our door malfunctioned when Izzy went left the room for a moment to get ice or something… and they couldn’t get it to open back up… even after engineering tried a few things… including taking off the lock… and then they called TWO locksmiths to come… and they pretty much had to take the door apart… so yeah, we were locked out of the room for a good five hours or so with all of our stuff in there. They were incredibly accommodating & incredibly nice… and in order to make amends for our evening of… honestly what we were going to do anyway, they basically gave us free drinks at the bar while we waited. We were completely respectful of their offer though… so we only drank from the top shelf. Let the free drinks BEGIN!!!

 

Saturday – So… because of our complimentary access to the bar for about five hours… we woke up pretty late with little memory of after midnight (time travel?) but eventually we got up and… went shopping at the Outlets on our way to the next hotel. Also on the way though, some great southern lunch at Lola’s Louisiana Kitchen, a great little place to get your po’ boy and jambalaya and grits on. Here are some pictures…

 

That night we checked into the Plaza which overlooks the Fremont Street Experience, which is basically a smaller-scale portion of the Strip… and the prices are kind of stuck back in the 50’s too. Yes, the homeless are about the same… and the clientele there are more of the Walmart variety… but hey, those are my people (the latter anyway) and you get all the gambling, drinks, entertainment and at a fraction of the price. Here are some pictures…

 

At the opposite end of Fremont Street is newcomer to the craft beer scene Banger Brewing, which has been around for just about two years. After sampling some of their product, we were given a tour by brewer Tommy… and it’s a pretty sweet place. Very similar to the kind of brewery that I’d like to run one day (with Izzy, of course). Check them out! Some of our favorites are El Heffe (jalapeno wheat beer) and Morning Joe (coffee kolsch… yeah, it’s a thing apparently), but all of their beers were pretty damn good.

 

 

Speaking of deals on Fremont Street, we got some great $2 Street Tacos next door & enjoyed them at Banger Brewing…

 

… and then when my lady wants steak… she gets Steak AND Lobster at Tony Roma’s… as long as it’s under $12 plus tip…

 

Sunday – Sunday morning, we went to watch the morning football game at Ellis Island Casino and grab some breakfast there… why? BEERS WERE $1 EACH DURING THE GAMES… and breakfast was also less than $7 per person… and here’s what you get… probably the best chicken fried steak of my life BTW…

 

After checking in at The Cosmopolitan… with this view…

 

We headed over to a new feature on the Strip called The High Roller, which is a 550-foot high Ferris Wheel similar to the Eye in London… where you get beautiful views of the area… and you have the option of having an open bar for a few extra bucks. Sounds sweet, right? We said f**k that & brought our own drinks for the half-hour ride around the wheel… in a private car!!! Boom!!!

 

  

We followed it up with some drinks at the Yard House at the base of the wheel… great beer selection on tap… and the food was pretty good too…

For dinner, we went BACK to Ellis Island Casino again… for an $18 full rack of ribs…

 

Monday – We set out for buffet at the M Resort, here are some pictures of the buffet…

 

We were trying to work in the buffet before the Wingman had to go home… but we were in line for a while… we ate… and we were running a little late… and not feeling the least bit bad about it. After a discussion with the rental car company, The Wingman ended up staying ONE MORE NIGHT!!! WOO HOO!!!

 

In celebration, we hit the Strip again… and this time, we brought The Yardstick!!! TWO OF THEM over the course of the night…

 

We also got some tickets for something… I was kind of questioning when I saw the advertisement… called Zombie Burlesque. Now, in years past, I had seen ads for Bite, which was a vampire burlesque… and it just sounded horrible… and from what I understand, it was basically just a lame strip show with some fangs & fake blood added. So I had my doubts… but I’m here to tell you… go check out this show! It’s actually a raunchy, funny & sexy variety show kind of from the 1950’s era… just starring zombie characters. Don’t worry, it’s not the super gross-out kind of zombies… more like dancers with some makeup that makes them look a little more emaciated than usual. I highly recommend it…

I think they were shooting Fast & Furious 8 or whatever they're up to... they had the streets and the Aria kinda shut down to traffic...

Tuesday – This was the morning that we flew back to reality… but it was an AMAZING weekend!!! I’ve missed hanging with Wingman… and even had some great alone time with Izzy… and the whole time was with my former mistress Vegas… so yeah, amazing trip! Go check out Vegas!!! Especially the Ellis Island Casino!!! Have a great day everybody!!!