Oktoberfest + New Mexican brunch

Adventures from the weekend

After a rousing pre-long run Friday night of consumerism and then couch time, I got up Saturday AM ready to tackle my "long run" of 6.5 miles. Report coming up in another post. Some bumps along the way, but I finished with a smile on my face.

Mmm, sweaty ponytail.

After getting back, showering off the grime, and icing, Dan and I headed out for a quick lunch of subs (veggie sub for me). Then we headed over to a local Oktoberfest celebration!

Beer tent. Place to be.

The event was a lot of fun--a good mix of beer drinking/live music + some art/open local historical sites that we hadn't seen. Entertainment and education! It was a gorgeous fall day to be outside and we enjoyed ourselves!

Trying to show off the wristband/beer, but looking oddly triumphant instead.

Dan's first blog appearance! Hi Dan.

Giant puppy making friends.

Band!

After all of that excitement, we grabbed some groceries and came home for a night of laziness. We didn't do too much--hung out, tried some beers, and watched Daniel Craig on SNL. I tried a new recipe for dinner:

Cornbread quiche, with a side of beer and Downton.

I used Caitlin's recipe to make cornbread quiche (I had another piece in addition to what was featured) using zucchini and cheddar cheese. It was decent, and perfectly edible, but not something I'd race to make again. I couldn't help thinking that I would have liked the eggs scrambled with the veggies/cheese plus a side piece of cornbread better. Oh well, it was worth a shot and garnered some leftovers for the week!

Today was fairly low-key, but started out with a tasty meal at Anita's--one of a chain of New Mexican restaurants in Virginia. We had tried them previously for dinner but had heard breakfast was the real star of the show. We agreed and definitely would go back there for weekend brunch. Reasonably priced, good portions, and tasty! I was a little disappointed they didn't have whole beans and only had refried, but it wasn't a crisis--I was too busy eating half a pound of chips to be bothered! I ordered the huevos rancheros with green chili sauce (guac on the side) and remembered to take a picture half-way through my meal:

Half-eaten food

I might try the breakfast burrito next time since Dan's looked so good, but we definitely will be making another visit there!

The rest of the day was spent in glasses and pjs. I did some work, some chores, and some relaxing--nicely balanced Sunday. We had our usual homemade pizza for dinner, which was good as always.

Weekend beers:
I've been meaning to start collecting my beer reviews in a notebook or something, but I figured since I haven't started using the notebook, the blog is as good of a place as any! For the record, I'm no beer expert--these are just my amateur impressions.

Victory Festbier (draught): Tried this at Oktoberfest. It was decent but not something I'd seek out again. Some nice malty tones, but it was just too bitter for my taste. I can handle some hops, but this didn't have enough balance for me.

Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale (bottle): My favorite of the beers tried this weekend. Lovely malty taste paired with some deeper hints like chocolate and coffee. Pleasant amount of hops. Overall just quite smooth and full-bodied. I really liked this beer and want to get it again soon!

Tripel Karmeliet (bottle): Shared this beer with Dan on Saturday night. Poured with a large head and quite carbonated. Surprisingly easy to drink despite the high ABV. Sweet with a lemony taste. I'd get this beer again, if only because Dan, a non-beer-lover, liked it too!