Shane’s off to DC tomorrow, returning Monday night, and after he gets back, we’ll have houseguests for the better part of a week.  I was in a terrible mood, so to combat that and also get some quality time in together, he suggested that we go on a date.  We decided to check out Vinology’s happy hour specials: half price wine by the glass, $3 draft beer, $6 fancy flatbread, or 3 sliders for $5.

We both really like wine, but for a variety of reasons rarely drink it at home.  As you might have noticed, Shane likes beer, and likes to explore pairing beer with food, so depending on what we’re eating, he’s likely to have something from his collection ready to go.  I often want a glass of wine with dinner, but only a glass, so I’m unlikely to open a bottle just for me because it means that I’ll either drink more than I want, or it will sit in the fridge for a few days, by which time it’s lost a good bit of flavor.

I felt that Vinology’s menu made selecting a wine really accessible for a relative amateur – they use icons to indicate whether a wine is big, bubbly, luscious, crisp, etc in addition to sorting by type – so if you have an idea of what you like, you should be able to find at least a couple of appealing selections by the glass or by the bottle.  Our server was very knowledgeable, and helped us both choose wines we loved – I wish I could remember exactly what I drank, but I know that one was a Garnacha from Catalunya, and the other was very earthy, with more than a hint of tobacco.

Vinology’s dinner menu is arranged around the different wine tasting profiles, which made it easy to find a select an entree that paired well with both of our wines.  Another appealing thing about the menu is that you can get a half portions of many – if not most – entrees – which, in my experience, is usually more than enough food for me.   Most of the half portions come in between $10-20, so tonight we split a half portion of the roasted venison (with spaetzle, braised cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, omg!) and the happy hour flatbread (sausage and pepperoni, but changes every day) for $22 total – a very reasonable price for a delicious dinner that totally filled us up.

I had been on the fence about going out tonight – bad mood, spending money, etc – but I’m awfully glad we did.  I’m also excited to have found another affordable AND delicious happy hour option.