>Contraband Pâté>>

So I just got back from back-to-back Lure/Woo Lae Oak happy hour and I'm going to write about it all while it's still fresh in my Kahlúa-scented mind...

My day started off with my fake Blackberry (or Greyberry/Ghettoberry as my friend, and other maître d' from work, Fabiana, calls it) waking me up at 10am to which I opened my laptop and began my day. After "checking the internet," I remembered that today was the day that I was going to register for my next 2 wine classes.

Wine Etiquette for the 21st Century (my first pick) was cancelled so I opted for my 2nd pick (and probably a better one anyway) The Celebrated Wines and Wine Regions of France. I also registered for How to Enjoy Navigating a Restaurant Wine List, another initial pick of mine.

Next on the day's agenda was the "hospitality meeting" we were to have at work. It was 15-somewhat minutes of common sense material which would have only been useful to the worst employee--and only if he had no common sense to begin with. At least I got to meet up with "M.G.E." and Fabiana for some impromptu happy hour drinks and appetizers...

We ended up going to the happy hour at Lure since it was still a few minutes before their 5 o'clock rush and started off with some nice glasses of wine while we waited for Fabiana to finish her shift.

As much as I love and adore Blue Ribbon, I must say that Lure's Wines by the Glass are much better than Blue Ribbon's. I was having a little trouble deciding between the Sancerre, Dry Riesling, or the Malbec, so I asked the bartender for a little discernment and help to which he nicely responded with some taste samplings.

I told him I liked heavier, less dry wines. He poured out a sample of the Dry Riesling for me to taste which I liked and ultimately ended up with. ($14 if I recall--but very much worth it if you just want 1 glass of nice wine.) Cynthia, whom we had met with there, opted for their Malbec which had some nice spiciness to it.

Finally, Fabiana showed up and we moved ourselves over from the bar to the "lounge area" to cozy up for some drinks and appetizers...

Since it was now 5 o'clock, we opted for a 2nd round of drinks (at the reduced happy hour prices) and M.G. and I both ordered their Rosé wine of the day, which wasn't bad. Another hostess from our restaurant, Merideth, joined us a few minutes later and wanted to try Lure's oysters, so we went ahead and ordered a round for the table. I didn't want any because I only order Malpeques, but the server (whom I believe to be a recent addition at Lure) informed me that:

"Malpeques aren't in season."

"--Hm. I just had them the other day. Oh well."

I had one (Blue Point, I believe) and it wasn't that bad...

But what I really wanted to taste was Fabiana's home made Foie Gras/Chicken Liver Pâté which she made and brought in to work especially for me to try.

After a few minutes of thought, I asked our server for some crostinis or crispbreads. Merideth seemed to be pooh-poohing what was about to take place, but I casually replied to her, "If they had it on the menu, we wouldn't have to do this."

She conceded and I proceeded to discreetly ration out a portion of pâté onto a small plate for us to enjoy on our crostinis. Was it divine? I don't know...

--But it was perfect!

After finishing off most of the pâté (I saved some to take home for David, but he refused to eat it because of the Foie Gras in it) we decided to head over to Woo Lae Oak to meet with our regular bartender, Warren.

We arrived at "Woo" with just enough time to order 3 Proseccos, 1 Sake Martini and a few nibbly bits before their happy hour menu closed at 7. I don't recall the name of the first appetizer I had, but it was some kind of "mini rib" atop some bread which were both, in my opinion, rather good. The second appetizer I had was one that I was curious to try the last time I was there: Sea Bass-stuffed Jalapeños. That too, was rather good.

In short, my opinion is: both the cocktails and the appetizers they offer at Woo Lae Oak's happy hour are far better (and a dollar or two cheaper) than the ones they offer at Lure's happy hour.

--But who am I to make a judgment? I eat pâté under the table...