Wednesday nights for the FeauxFamily (aka, me & the hubs) are Trivia Nights. Every Wednesday, unless we’re sick or out of town, we can be found playing trivia at our favorite watering hole, Finnegan’s Wake. It’s a great mid-week break to the monotony of white-collar office work. And a good opportunity to work on our superb drawing skillz:
…And it usually means that the hubs & I can have a mini-date night dinner before trivia, which is always nice, because it means some one-on-one face time to talk about our day and enjoy some food that we didn’t have to cook.
We usually try to dine close to downtown, so we can just walk to trivia after dinner. So last night, we picked Finnegan’s “sister” establishment, Ophelia’s Wine & Tapas Bar. Granted, yes, I’m biased, but Finnegan’s & Ophelia’s are two of my favorite downtown establishments (along with AmyCakes, of course). Because while Finn’s appeals to my desire for mid-week brain stimulation and a wide brew selection, Ophelia’s appeals to my need for wine…and cheese.
But last night was not a wine night, because Ophelia’s is also famous for their infused vodkas:
(My apologies for the blurry photo—I somehow managed to leave all of my cameras at home & resorted to my phone.)
As you can see, the current selection includes olive-infused, melon-infused, a berry concoction, a mixed citrus infusion, and…my favorite…the blueberry lemon.
And since Wednesday’s Happy Hour special features $4 infused vodkas…yeah. Obvs.
The hubs ordered a beer (they have a small selection of high quality draft brews that rotate out frequently; I believe this was a Hummel-Brau).
The blueberry-lemon flavor is really nice and super-smooth, though in this particular batch, the blueberry definitely dominated the palate. Every batch is a little different. They also make a cinnamon pear sometimes that is just out of this world. (NOTE: If you can’t get to Ophelia’s & want to try creating your own infused creations, here’s a pretty simple WikiHow. My suggestion: start with good vodka. And the peeps at Ophelia’s tell me the blueberry takes a little while longer than some fruits to build a good flavor, because of the skin.)
…and then of course, we got some munchies.
A selection of awesomeness (clockwise from the top): Smoked trout cream cheese spread, prosciutto, Missouri summer sausage, my favorite cheese Cypress Grove’s Humbolt Fog, and some smoked gouda.
YUM.
The hubs didn’t care for the Humboldt Fog so much, as it is a goat cheese with a distinctive tangy finish to it…but I was totally okay with that because, hey…more for me!!! :D So I let him have a larger portion of the gouda and spent my time savoring each tangy bite.
A really wonderful way to start our evening, and perhaps a bit of good luck, since we did end up coming in second place at trivia! Meaning that next week, we’ll be dining at Finn’s on a free pizza & appetizer!
As always, mad props to the proprietors of Finnegan’s Wake & Ophelia’s, the illustrious Tom Muetzel & Anne Kim, and the fabulous staff at both establishments. Visit soon, visit often, and tip your waitstaff generously! It’s what the cool kids do.
This blog post not only makes me ravenous for three plates of exactly what you were eating, but I must have a blueberry lemon -infused vodka NAO.
ReplyDeleteWhat did they mix it with in your martini glass, or was it skraight-up yo?
Straight Up. They just shake it with ice for a bit to chill, then pour into a martini glass. I'm not typically one for straight-up anything, but the fruit infusion & whatever starter vodka they use make it superbly smooth.
Delete