Monday, February 21, 2011

The Great Dane weekend

Protests and ice-storms characterized this weekend.

After our Friday lunch on the Capitol Square, we pretty much avoided the area, although thats difficult because we live only a few blocks away. Friday night an old high-school friend of mine came over to our apartment for dinner. I made pear and pumpkin risotto. It is really good and I definitely recommend adding the blue cheese or gorgonzola (we didn't because I'm trying to avoid cheese). Also, I used 1 tbs. of butter, not 7. We did that the first time we made it and it was too rich.

After dinner, we went to the Great Dane to try out their beer. Aaron tried a scotch ale and their IPA, he liked both. I got a cask conditioned ale called "Dark and Mild." It was ok, but a little too dark and too mild for me (like regular Guinness). I normally love cask ales, so I'm looking forward to trying again when they have different one. The front bar area was packed with people watching and cheering while the news showed images of the protests still happening at the capitol. It's pretty cool to be where the news is happening!

On Saturday, we took it easy, but saw horse cops coming down the street and heard helicopters all day. It was the first day for counter-protests, a group of people claiming to be the Tea Party. There were about 5,000 of them, which is a small drop in the bucket of 55,000 to 100,000 people against the bill! Not sure how those estimates are made, I guess someone looks at the crowd and says "I think its between 54,000 and 56,000." Then someone else guesses 100,000.

We went back to the Great Dane (hence the name of this post) for dinner with one of Aaron's co-workers and his wife. They were a lot of fun and hopefully we will hang out again soon! The place was totally packed and the protest signs were everywhere. The hour long wait for a table allowed us to explore the pub more, which has 3 bars and two dining areas. We also found out that they had served their busiest lunch in history. I tried the pale ale, which was pretty delicious.

We finally got table and all of the food was great and reasonably priced. The only complaint I have about the Great Dane is a little too many options. The menu is huge. Lucky for me, their aren't so many vegetarian options, but I did have to pick from like six possible sides. Don't do it to me! I want french fries, mashed potatoes, and cous-cous! They also have a ton of beer to choose from which can be a little intimidating. They even carry Miller Lite on tap.. umm weird. What kind of micro-brewery serves Miller Lite? Anyway.... despite that, I can tell we will be back soon.

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