Indy In Threes: Beer and Wine and a Voice Divine

Midtown Carmel, located to the north of Indianapolis. Not unlike Columbus,
parts of this city are undergoing a massive redevelopment effort

Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana, has been a city that we have dabbled in on previous journeys, but have rarely dug in as deeply as we might like. With our current status of having to having to stick a little closer to home due to job-related duties, easy weekend jaunts to places like Indy (in this case, a mere straight three hours west on I-70) have a very high desirability factor.

This first post of this mini-series is composed of highlights, but only in the sense that these three destinations either inspired our trip to Indiana's capital city in the first place or stuck out in our minds immediately as definite must visits. As it turned out, we found much more to keep us entertained during our stay, with the realization that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of things to do here.

Brews and 'Ques Deluxe: Weekend in Butler County (Pt. 2)

(As noted in my previous post, our trip to Butler County was sponsored by the Butler County Visitors Bureau. Our immense thanks go to them for hosting us; all opinions on the places we visited are ours alone.)

A statue of Alexander Hamilton straddles High Street in downtown Hamilton

We are already fans of the Marriott hotel chain from our previous travel experiences: we have found their service to be solid and their beds uniformly comfortable across all brands. The Butler County Visitors Bureau put us up in their Courtyard location in downtown Hamilton for the weekend, and this experience turned out to be as good as any others we've had with them.

Added bonuses include this hotel's central location for all things Butler County as well as its location right across the street from Municipal Brew Works, a place we detailed in this previous blogpost. We took our trip one week before their first anniversary celebration, but if our down moment visits during our stay are any indication (lots of foot traffic and solid brews across the board), they'll have plenty more anniversaries to celebrate.

Wine Country in Recovery: Through The Valley of the Moon

We admit, it was hard to keep our eyes on the roadway ahead of us as we made our way out of Santa Rosa down California's Highway 12, the scenic "Valley of the Moon" highway that cuts through some of the prettiest parts of Sonoma and Napa counties. The charred hillsides in the distance proved to be a consistent backdrop to be chaotic, erratic nature of the wildfires on either side of the road.

Relatively lengthy stretches of normal were interrupted by seared foliage and grasslands, or worse, a vineyard or a business blackened almost beyond recognition. Perhaps the most jarring to me of the sights I saw this day was the rubble that had been historic, century-old Stornetta Dairy complex where Napa Road and Highway 12 intersect.

Serene and Spiritual: New Clairvaux Vineyard (Vina, CA)

The majestic Mt. Shasta, which towers over the northern reaches
of California's Central Valley

As one drives northward into the upper reaches of California's Central Valley on Interstate 5 during the winter months, an enticing piece of eye candy grows more prominent on the horizon. This white-capped, jagged precipice is Mount Shasta, a member of the "Ring of Fire" volcanoes which rim the Pacific Ocean and deceptively serene-looking (the last eruption for this stratovolcano was back in 1786, a relative blink of the eye in a geological sense.)

Quoth The Brewer: Columbus Brew Adventures' Haunted History Tour

Our starting point for the Columbus Brew Adventures'
Haunted Brewery and Winery Tour was the Downtown
Columbus-located Wolf's Ridge Brewing Tap Room

We have had the great pleasure in the past few months of being invited to and attending a couple of craft beer oriented tours by Columbus Brew Adventures, founded by local culinary entrepeneurs and ambassadors Bethia Woolf and Jim Ellison. Our previous experiences with their Brewery District Walking Tour and Grandview Heights Tour have provided their own uniquely fun and quite informative experiences; the latter part of which was a nice surprise for us as relative veterans of the local craft beer scene.

This Wednesday, we had the pleasure grabbing two tickets to what promises to be a very unique event in Columbus Brew Adventures' catalog of tours. The inaugural "Beer, Wine, “Boos” & “Spirits”: A Haunted Brewery & Winery Tour" promised a nice chunk of this area's haunted history mixed in with a tasty sampling of the area's locally-produced craft beer and wine.

As it turned out, the feel of this particular tour, which was hosted by Jim himself, is fairly similar to their Brewery District excursion in that a tour-goer will get an equal if not more of a focus on local history as you do the craft beer side of the equation.

However, the unique subject, combined with the time of the year (just a couple days before Halloween), made this perhaps our favorite Columbus Brew Adventures tour so far for both my spouse and I. Once again the knowledge we picked up proved to be truly fascinating and lent a little more color to both places we had visited many times (i.e. Studio 35 and Barley's Brewing) and had not known about at all previously, such as The Central Ohio Fire Museum.

In addition, the unique combination of topic and season also made me decide that a uniquely-styled write up was appropriate in this case. In many ways, a typical blow-by-blow write up as is typical in my blog posts seemed like it would spoil the experience a bit for future tour-goers. However, I did want to give a taste of what we encountered this night, and it seemed a poetic touch from a master of the macabre (the obvious inspiration from the one and only Edgar Allen Poe) seemed a perfect way do this (helpful links to the places we visited and the historical info are embedded within the poem.)

May your haunting this Halloween weekend be good for you all...

Quoth The Brewer

(inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven)

Once upon a Hallows Eve dreary

My spouse and I wandered alert and leery

To Wolf's Ridge Brewing lauded culinary score—

When we entered, beer a tapping

Suddenly, a man came a rapping

'Twas Jim of Columbus Brew Adventures lore

He met us that night clapping, clapping at the fore. 

“’The haunted tour?,” he muttered

We nodded at the brewery door— 

Only this, but a whole lot more.

Ah, distinctly it was in a bleak October; 

We with eleven other rovers

A haunted brew tour we had gathered for

We prepared for our ghostly tales

In our hands Wolf's Ridge Imperial Pumpkin Ales

Amidst the costumed CYP Club troupe

Benefiting the Columbus Literacy Council group

We'd embark for beer and wine

And to find the Columbus' ghostly lore

Frightened here for evermore. 

Now to the firehouse stately and proud

Came the members of our crowd

A Museum now lay within its core

Anticipate, our hearts a beating 

Alongside Jim, who stood repeating 

It was a visitor entreating 

Entrance at the museum door

Captain D, was he revealing

His spirit on the museum floor?

Yes, he was, and much, much more.” 

From there our souls grew stronger

Hesitating then no longer, 

We moved on despite impending horror

No one was even close to napping

Walhalla Ravine we were a mapping

A foreboding hand we had in store

Rolling into Armbruster land

Tension felt and uploading

Trapping us at the fore?   

Darkness there and nothing more. 

Deep into that darkness peering 

Under the bridge of death we're fearing

A dream like no mortal dared dream before; 

Don't go or they'll think you're loony

The cursed grounds of the Mansion Mooney

Where blood from the lion's head doth pour?

A young girl's scream

From Glen Echo whispers

A stark murmur restored!

Merely this and nothing more. 

Farther to where crowds are churning 

The theatre where ghouls are yearning

Studio 35, a projector clapping louder than before. 

Sipping on a Land Grant Kolsch

Our host Andy did not squelch

Ghostly tales from lady Kelly for

There sitting across the bar

The dapper 30's twosome

A threat traveled from afar!

Or was it the wind and nothing more?”

Down to Barley's, our nerves a fluttered 

To the Underground, dark and shuttered

When a street named High lay in the days of yore; 

Our guide serving delicious Blood Thirst Wheat

When lo! the echo of pounding feet?

Was doom the fate for us in store?

Not a hint of menace made she

Lady Erin perched next to Jim

We drank deep as they declared

The cemetery which this space had shared

Whence only gravestones moved, but nothing more

Through an ebony night compiling

To a winery quite beguiling 

Via Vecchia and the Raw countenance it wore, 

Owner Paolo, shorn and shaven

Declared "Art thou so craven,

To hear the ghastly sights in store?"

We marveled at discourse that plainly 

Discussed ghosts that quite so ungainly 

Flung bottles and brooms 

Flung so hard, across the floor

Past spooky mirror to the back

Eyes alert for sudden attack

To see their winemaking at its core

Zulu Nation stood on the wall

Ready to heed the call

Should specters rise and come to the fore 

Grape skin splatter seeing

We found ourselves agreeing

Being scared is better

Much better when the wine does pour 

Driving down a street named Mound

With its numerous burial grounds

To return to the place we had been before

Unflustered by the stillness broken

Disembarked, the night had spoken

Haunted lands we did indeed explore

And yet still, a voice did utter

"Do not leave, come have another"

One more ale with a ghostly brother"

Quoth the Brewer, evermore

Columbus Brew Adventures
Tour and ticket information can be found on their website at
www.columbusbrewadventures.com
Other Social Media Links:
Facebook     Instagram     Twitter

El Segundo: Arepazo Tapas and Wine (Downtown Gahanna)

In complete contrast to the original El Arepazo in downtown Columbus (my post on their location can be found at this post,) their second location in tony downtown Gahanna seems mansion-like in comparison. The interior is reminiscent of their original Pearl Alley location with the dominant brick inlay; even the chairs and tables are similar to each other. However, modern style touches such as fancy overhead lamps, wine racks and industrial pipework lend a much more refined atmosphere. Here, the diner gets much more of a chance to stretch out and relax even during peak hours, enough time to notice these details, including a very cool South American mural toward the rear of the room.

More space means more attention to interior and details at El Arepazo Gahanna

Like the increase in space, Arepazo's menu here is expanded across all fronts. Aside from the traditional items you can get at their anchor downtown location, a list of South American influenced tapas are offered for $6-$8 each; their Picada for $18, a blend of various items including chorizo, steak and chicharron, can serve 2-3 people, The options include Albondigas (essentially, spiced pork and beef meatballs with tomato sauce), Chorizo al Vino (Colombian sausage in red wine) and Peruvian Ceviche (tilapia, onions and herbs in citrus juices.) As implied in the business name, wine is also a focus: Arepazo offers solid list of various wines to diners to enjoy with their meal.

Examples of Arepazo's expanded tapas and wine menu, plus two
Arepazo traditions (the Arepa and the Empanada)

As this was my spouse's first visit here, we decided to forgo the tapas menu for this visit and stick to Arepazo's traditional items. The arepa was as good as ever and my spouse appreciated her first sampling of this Venezuelan standard, but we both agreed that it was the empanada which was the star for both of us. The exteriors were perfectly textured, tender and but not mushy, and the fillings were all cooked and spiced well.

Worthy of sampling at all their locations is their spicy cilantro sauce. Even my spouse, who is not the biggest cilantro fan, agreed that this Arepazo creation is a winner; bottles of their signature sauce are offered for sale at their locations.

We have found this Arepazo location has a winning combination of food and atmosphere, making good on the promise shown by their anchor downtown location. It only seems natural at this point that we'll need to make it a proverbial "tercer" of sorts and drop by their German Village location in the future.

Arepazo Tapas and Wine
93 North High Street
Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 471-7296

Facebook    Twitter    Website

Worthy of the Gold: Weinkeller (Niagara Falls, ON)

Golden anniversary celebrations should be special affairs no matter what the circumstances. The spouse and I had been fully expecting to make the trip out to California to celebrate my parents' 50th year of matrimony this year, but due to another set of circumstances (thankfully nothing of dire nature) the big shindig just wasn't going to happen there this year.

Thus, we wanted to give them a slightly early celebration during their time out here with a special meal, and Weinkeller in Niagara Falls provided the venue.

While one can order a la carte at Weinkeller, their driving concept revolves around a prix fixe menu where customization is a prime hallmark. A customer can tailor their prix fixe menu in quite a few ways that are not apparent via a quick glance through of their website. The main choice lies in receiving a 3-course dinner for $35 or 5 course dinner for $45. 

Weinkeller's menu is meant for customization, right on down to
your drinking water (carbonated or pure still)

Despite the relatively select menu, diners will realize there are even more choices beyond the prix fixe/a la carte level, starting with the drinking water. Similar to their wine, Weinkeller produces their own in-house carbonated and purified water and allows diners to choose between the two. Other customization lies in their meat and fish entree offerings; these can be prepared by the chef in a multitude of ways (for example, their Pacific Salmon platter can be had blackened, cooked on a cedar plank, poached with seasonal hollandaise sauce, or grilled with herb butter.) Also, if you choose the five-course prix fixe menu, you can include their house-produced wines as one of the courses.

Top to Bottom:
Beef Carpaccio
Pacific Salmon
Chocolate Wontons

We all basically opted for the three-course prix fixe option and opted to get extra beverages on the side. Our first courses covered the gamut: from the Caesar Salad (a solid version) to my Chicken Parcels (an interesting creation consisting of ravioli-sized chicken-pot-pie pies accompanied by a tart cherry aioli.)  My dad utilized the customization aspect early on and went with two appetizers (instead of appetizer/dessert,) ending up with two good ones in a Smoked Salmon Bisque soup (finished with crème fraiche and fried capers) and the Beef Carpaccio (thin strips of seared tenderloin mixed with a Panzanella salad.) The other winning appetizer was one of the two Herbed Mussels variations offered. These mussels, which were panned in herbs & white wine and topped with parmesan-coated truffle fries, was chosen by my mom and was found quite a winning dish by all.

We all branched off on our own as well in regard to the entrees; while there was not a standout dish that wowed everyone, everyone was satisfied by their choices. Each dish chosen, from the Pacific Salmon with seasonal hollandaise sauce, to the grilled New York Steak with béarnaise, the Vegetarian Linguine (arugula pesto pasta with roasted garlic cloves, oven dried cherry tomatoes and crumbled goats cheese) and the Clams Casino (fettuccine tossed with smoked bacon, roasted red peppers, garlic bread crumbs and clams) were all solidly-delicious renditions of these dishes.

Desserts followed a similar pattern to the entrees: while none of the desserts reached that elite eye-popping "best thing I've ever had" level, everything ranked as quite good and provided a solid nightcap to everyone's prix fixe dinners. We were all close to being full, but we had no reason not to finish off their Dark Chocolate Cheesecake, Red Wine Chocolate Wontons (with raspberry dipping sauce) and Creme Brulee sweet treats.

My spouse and I also sampled their house-made wines; based on our entrees, we stuck with their white wines. Based on personal tastes, we thought we would enjoy the Riesling or Gewurztraminer varietals, but in the end the Pinot Blanc carried the day in our own personal "best of" designation with a nicely dry punch with a nicely noticeable tinge of peach.

Weinkeller (which translates from German into "Wine Cellar") sports an appropriately dark, cellar-like atmosphere. The interior is quite stylish: the splashes of modern artwork on the walls and smartly-engaged lighting making this a good choice for a romantic dinner or a relaxing group dinner with friends or family. The service was also top-notch: Weinkeller's high level of menu customization can prove confusing to the diner, and our server was well-versed and patient in explaining our options to us.

In the end, Weinkeller proved to be well worth the money for our golden anniversary dinner with my parents. If you are looking for something both a little bit more special and novel in regard to menu customization when dining on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Weinkeller fits the bill perfectly and should be high on your consideration list.

Weinkeller
5633 Victoria Ave.
Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3L5
Canada
(289) 296-8000
Facebook    Twitter   Website