Back again! Instead of doing a traditional Christmas day countdown like in the songs, I thought I would just describe my day and let you put things where you think they belong. First this is the view off the balcony to my room. I know it is a parking lot, but they gussied it up a bit and it gives it an ambiance that ain’t too shabby. The rest of the day was kinda so so…
I thought after my meetings I would stop by my favorite steak house in the world. Ernies Steakhouse in Grangeville Idaho isn’t going to win any four star ratings, but the steaks are to die for and the service is friendly. So I was looking forward to a nice grass fed steak. But to what should my wandering eyes appear?
Yep, that’s Ernies. It had burned to the ground a couple months back! This leaves a serious cramp in my style when I come here. See Grangeville does breakfast like nobody’s business thanks to the Hilltop Cafe, and Lunch is decent in a few locations as well, but dinner is marginal, ernies fixed that. Not any more. I’m hoping they rebuild quickly, but so far there has been no sign of that. Once the snow started falling, I’m pretty sure they will be shut down until spring.
So I then went to Brodocks Which is attached to Oscar’s, the only other watering hole left now, and had a few drinks with a friend. I had a Clamdigger. I haven’t had one of those in a long time. Basically a Bloody Mary with Clamato juice. Not bad, because they ran out of their well vodka, so I got Stolli’s instead. A nice upgrade from the Popov I’m sure they were going to use. I also had a couple of Boston Lagers! Thank God for Sam Adams! You know what I would have been drinking otherwise.
After parting ways I started to look for dinner. There is a Chinese restaurant in Grangeville that I went to once before like 5 years ago. It was awful then, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I convinced myself that I just ordered wrong before and that I could do better this time. So I went in.
The Hong Fa restaurant has been a staple in Grangeville ever since I’ve been coming here. I thought if I ordered smart I’d be alright. So I ordered the Beef and peapods, with a side of Egg Foo Young, and an eggroll. How bad could that be? I was about to find out.
Let me just say the tea was great! Light and grassy with a dry finish, served at a great temperature. What more do you want from a cup of tea. As for the rest of the meal…meh. The Beef and Peapods used frozen, not fresh peapods. That was the first time I have ever seen that at a restaurant, let alone a Chinese place. Also there were more onions than peapods in my dish. The nondescript white goo covered square on a plate was their version of egg foo young. Let’s just say it was marginal at best. There were almost no veges in it, no bean sprouts, no peas, just mostly onion. I guess they must have had a big sale on fresh onion because they used them everywhere. My eggroll was passable. And the hot mustard was good and hot. So dinner was kind of a bust!
After the Clamdigger that was about 2/3rds Stolli with a few dashes of other stuff, and two Boston Lagers, I decided that I would forgo drinking a lot in my room, but I did bring along a BIG barleywine that I needed to try. It called to me from the minifridge.
The Arctic Devil from Midnight Sun Brewing in Anchorage, Alaska is a HUGE barleywine, and a great chest warmer. It is aged in Whiskey barrels and I think that mellows it quite a bit, and adds to the sweetness of the beer. Not much oak is imparted.
Did I mention that this beer is HUGE? It is 13.4% ABV and I had a 22 oz bomber. Let’s just say the reason I am writing this today instead of last night was because it kinda sapped my motivation if you know what I mean.
It poured a nice brown like the color of mashed up raisins. It also tasted quite a bit like fermented raisins, like a lot of barleywines do. This was a very smooth brew with a kind of slick mouthfeel. But that was ok for this beer, it reminded me of drinking whiskey, where that is an admirable trait.
All in all it was a very good brew that 95% of you will never be able to get. It was just the thing to sit by the fireplace in my room and relax with after a long day of driving on icy roads and meeting with clients. Great way to unwind with a very nice winter warmer.
In total the trip wasn’t a total bust, I had a pretty good clamdigger, I had a really good cup of tea, my meetings went well, and the project is moving along nicely again. I got to have a very good barleywine and slept pretty good after that!
Now I just hope I can get home for Christmas with my Family. Those icy roads can be a real nail biter.
-Don
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
I hope you make it home safe and sound, bro.
But I also hope you get stuck in a ditch and the only way out is to use your fancy new iPad as leverage under your tires.
Lovin the iPad…Thought you might like to know. 😉
I should be joining the club in three days…
How do you know? Did you Peek?
That tea sounds awesome! Too bad about Ernie’s; do you think militant vegetarians are to blame?
You know it was an arson caused fire, so perhaps the GPD need to investigate that angle! I’m thinking not, I don’t think there is a vegetarian within 100 miles of this place! Probably a rancher he had a dispute with is more likely, or a cow lover.
Forgive my practicality, but I bet that steakhouse smelled amazing as it burnt to the ground.
Yeah, right until the bathroom went up…
I just laughed and cringed.
Jim has that effect on people.
If I was there I would have gotten a fork and knife and ran in to “Save” some of the food!
You have to be sure to run in quick so the food you’re saving is medium rare.