Sean lives really close to the Pomona-Claremont border, which worked out to be very convenient because the show we were going to see was taking place in Claremont. We took the short walk into Claremont and looked around for a place to stuff our faces.
Claremont has a really nice feel to it with a good amount of eateries, boutique shops and bars. Since there is a handful of colleges in the area, it seems like the perfect place for an overworked student or 9-5er to go out and let off a bit of steam.
After wandering through the area we found ourselves at Eureka!, a burger place whose tag line is 'Gourmet Burgers & Craft Beer'. They had us at burger and beer, thus we settled in and started the evening.
Eureka! was pretty busy, which is a good sign, so we headed over to the bar while waiting for our table to become available. Upon taking a seat at the bar, in front of a plethora of very interesting beer taps, we were handed a quite lengthy drink menu that consisted of all craft beers and even some whiskeys.
Al and I had to think for a few minutes on what would be best to whet our whistles, but we quickly spotted a beer that is brewed close to our hometown in Palos Verdes, called Blonde #5.
The first one was quite delicious, so we had to make sure that it held up a second time around. After we were seated outside, it was time to make it two Johnny...two!
The second one was almost better than the first.
The appetizer list looked like a treasure trove of goodies, and it was hard to make a selection, but when in doubt it is always wise to roll with the corn dogs. Eureka! had Lollipop Corn dogs with a Spicy Mustard Porter sauce and a Cheddar IPA sauce. The dogs and sauces were all delicious and made for a perfect primer for the burger goodness that was soon to arrive at our table.
I had the LuLu Burger which was a brilliant combination of ground lamb and ground beef mixed with diced onion and cilantro and topped with melted brie cheese. Under the patty was a nice bed of lettuce, tomato and onion. The kicker was the sweet mint aioli. I can't say I've had a burger quite like it before.
Sean had the Cowboy Burger which was a burger topped with onion rings, bacon, cheddar cheese and barbeque sauce. Alison had some burger, but between lettuce instead of bread, so we will forego a picture for that one.
After dinner we went up the street to the Folk Music Center to check out Slaid Cleaves perform. The Folk Music Center was pretty cool, especially for someone like me who freaks out on stringed instruments. When not a venue, the joint is an instrument shop with all kinds of stringed treats (not cheese, instruments). The walls of this place had every stringed instrument imaginable and I will definitely need to make a trip back to further investigate.
Slaid Cleaves' performance was two sets of him playing some pretty insightful songs that ranged the gamut from quitting drinking, to the death of a legendary logger to a perspective on the way people are treating each other under the guise of religion. There was even a song about the Horseshoe Lounge in Austin, TX., which we tend to imbibe at in a couple of weeks... stay tuned! In between playing he shared stories, which shed light on the song he was setting up. He played two sets, which went rather quick, but made for an entertaining evening.
Here's a couple of videos we took at the show:
Everette - http://youtu.be/e_F0KsJrMxs
Wishbones - http://youtu.be/bnDaK6NKwFk
Drinkin' Days - http://youtu.be/aSdEQhvzJyg
Afterwards, we went out to a local watering hole and knocked back a few cold ones and some peanuts. One made you thirsty, then the second made you hungry and that's pretty much how the night continued. I'm glad I had the big beer.
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