Kris was out of town for my birthday, so she and Petro offered to take me to dinner. I am almost embarrassed to say I'd never been to Tioli's Crazy Burger, but I live across the street from Burger Lounge and Ponce's has a pretty damn good burger, too, so when I need my fix, I don't go far. Man, had I been missing out. I mean, I definitely have several favorites around town...Rocky's for the "you can have whatever you want as long as it's a hamburger or cheeseburger" attitude, Burger Lounge for the false sense of healthy eating (with their grass-fed beef), greasy spots like Canada Steakburger, or even the Carl's six-dollar burger when you're hoping for a post meal heart attack. But Crazy Burger easily made it to my top 5. I like the counter ordering, the selection of burgers (and exotic meats). I went with the Dansk because I'm a fan of all bleu cheese. It was delicious.
After our food and washing it all down with our beers, we decided to hit Toronado. We bumped into a couple guys from Apes of Wrath and chilled out drinking the beer off their great list. I've heard complaints that the place is too bright, but it's supposed to be a drinking hall, not a nightclub hotspot and I think they have it right. I am a fan of Russian River, so I stuck with their selections, though I think by the end of the night I had each style twice.
Alex and Francine joined us later and it made for a very fun evening. Alex made a point to only order beers served in distinct glasses, avoiding anything in a standard pint.
As it approached 11, maybe even close to midnight, Petro and Kris called it a night and dropped me off at the Radio Room, where I intended to see the return of Lualta who only recently started playing again. The singer, Michael, is a good friend of mine from junior high and high school and it was his birthday, so apparently they played first and I missed them, but I was able to see The Roman Spring.
It was a long night, so that's where mine ended. Got dropped off and called it a night.
Come Sunday morning, my mom called to see if I wanted to go to Oktoberfest in El Cajon. If someone offers to drive you to Oktoberfest, you do not say no. I really have nothing to say about Oktoberfest. You pretty much sit around, drink beer, meet fellow beer drinkers, sing along to beer drinking songs, eat ox and soft pretzels. Jake came out to meet us so he and I did a shot of Jaeger to compliment the beer, and I pretty much spent the afternoon fawning over my niece. It was pretty awesome.
