The Tiki Gal and I joined Dale and Carol last night for dinner and Wicked, the musical. Carol did a masterful job of coordinating the evening, as always. The restaurant was very good and our seats at the show were great. If she ever decides to go into business as a travel planner, the Tiki Gal and I will be her biggest customers.
We started out with dinner at The Chalkboard in Tulsa. The restaurant is located in the Ambassador hotel and has been in business since the 1970s. The dinner was excellent and the Tiki Gal was excited to find out that Creme Brulee was on the menu for dessert. I think she would walk across a pit of fire for a good creme brulee and The Chalkboard serves a good one. We also found out that they serve Chimay White and that it may be on tap so I, for one, might be making another visit soon.
I wasn't sure what to expect from the musical. I read the book a few years ago and enjoyed it (I also read all of Gregory Maguire's other novels as well) but I didn't know how the story would translate to the theater. It turns out that it translated very well. The actress that played Elpheba was an amazing singer and the actress that played Galinda with a silent Guh stole every scene she was in. I gave it 4.5 pints out of 5 and there was not a hint of skunkiness.
This past weekend, our friends came over to the Tiki Hut and we had drinks and beer in the clear summer night. It turns out that our neighbors were also having friends over. They had apparently started in on the beer quite a bit earlier than we did because they cranked up the stereo for Fun, Fun, Fun by the Beach Boys and Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. I'm pretty sure that those two songs have never been cranked up at the same party before in all of history. I wanted to crank up some Beethoven to complete the bizzaro triumvirate but didn't have the amplification to pull it off. Instead, we decided to have some drinks. The girls started out with Margaritas and then (since I ran out of Sweet and Sour mix) switched to Coco Cabanas. The recipes follow since I haven't posted these in quite some time.
A Really Good Margarita
Ingredients: 4 oz. Sweet and Sour Mix, 2 oz. tequila, 1 oz. Cointreau, 1 oz. brandy
Instructions: Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Pour into a salt rimmed Margarita glass over ice and serve. For a frozen Margarita, pour all contents into a blender with 1 cup ice and blend well.
Comments: For the girls, I have learned to use 5 ounces of Sweet and Sour and 1 ounce of tequila. That way, they can have more than one Margarita and still stay upright. I call it the Little Girl Margarita.
Coco Cabana
Color: Red
Ingredients: 3 oz. orange juice, 3 oz. cranberry juice, 1 oz. coconut rum, 1 oz. Amaretto
Instructions: Shake well and serve over ice.
Taste: Delicate coconut and fruit flavors.
Comments: The girls had already had Margaritas so I'm not sure how much of the Coco Cabana they really tasted.
Dale brought over a collection of new beers to try. The ratings follow.
Marshall McNellie's Pub Ale
Color: Amber
Skunkiness: 0 skunks
Taste: Malty with a slight caramel taste. The extreme
bitterness of this beer overrides all the other flavors, however. It also had an unpleasant finish.
Comments: I really wanted to like this beer because it is brewed in Tulsa and is named after our favorite pub. Unfortunately, it was so bitter that we contemplated not finishing it. Of course, we did finish it. It is beer after all.
Carol Rating: 1 on a scale of 1 or 5.
Rating: 2 pints out of 5
Samuel Smith Taddy Porter
Color: Black like coffee
Skunkiness: 0 skunks
Taste: Smoky, malty and peaty.
Comments: The girls decided once again that they are fans of dark beers like this Taddy Porter. They decide this each time they have a dark beer, I think. This beer also joins our chosen few at the top of the rankings.
Carol Rating: 5
Rating: 4.5 pints
Guiness Anniversary Stout
Color: Black
Skunkiness: 0 skunks
Taste: Well balanced blend of hops and malts. Smooth and rich.
Comments: I like this Anniversary Stout better than the original Guinness Stout.
Carol Rating: 5
Rating: 4 pints
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