pick your poison

On the walk home, I picked up a couple DVD rentals, a six-pack of Moose Drool Brown Ale and three tacos from the new taco truck in my neighborhood. The guy who runs the liquor store is pretty cool. We always talk about stuff and ask how the other is doing. I'm a regular customer; I probably go in at least once a week--sometimes more if I'm really stressed. Usually, I'll just buy a 22 of something dark and heavy, carry it home in a brown paper bag, and maybe get halfway through before I fall asleep on the couch for an hour or so. I didn't feel like multiple trips, so I got the six-pack to drink at my leisure. I cracked open one about an hour ago, and I don't think I'm halfway through it yet. I almost just fell asleep on the couch.

There's a liquor store closer to my house, but its beer selection isn't as good as the one I frequent regularly. The one closer to my house does have a taco stand in it though, and its burritos are really good in a disgusting sort of way. I heard the guys who run the stand got busted for selling crystal meth out of it or something. Whatever the problem was has obviously blown over, though because they are still in business.

Tonight, I wasn't sure what to get. I saw a friend of mine, a student, who'd been out of town for the summer, and has just returned because school starts next week. He's not a close friend, but we've hung out at a few parties or whatever; he was a good friend of my old roommate and on the last night we spent at my last house, the three of us polished off a handle of Seagram's VO. I guess he'd spent time in Montana where they make Moose Drool and had brought over a six-pack once. I thoguht it was pretty good. As I perused the many different six-packs in the liquor store's refrigerators, I spotted the Moose Drool and firgured it was as good as any. I hadn't had any in a while. There's so much to choose from there, it's difficult to make a decision.

I brought it up to the counter, and the guy who runs the place said in his non-descript, somewhat Middle Eastern accent, "How are you, my friend. Good choice." I thought so too. I told him that they have one of the best selections of beer in town and that it always takes me a while to decide on something. He mentioned that he was just talking about that with a customer earlier in the day. "I figured out that I have almost 150 different six packs," he boasted. I looked over at the refrigerators and figured that estimate was pretty acurate.

He then told me about a new beer he'd just started carrying. It came in six packs, but for 17.99 a shot. They were all liter bottles, and the beer was imported from Austria. He said that another customer had asked him to carry it, and that the customer said it was very good. The shop owner had almost sold out of it already. "I haven't tried it," he said. "But he says it's very good." The shop owner doesn't seem like the type who drinks; that's probably common for a pusher.

The taco truck, to my surprise, was manned by two blonde white women. It may be stereotypical thinking to expect a couple of Mexicans working a taco truck, but still, if I were to get Chinese food from a place named "Giuseppe's," it would have to come with a pretty lofty recommendation. I was already at the window, though, and I figured I might as well. The tacos were greasy (as should be expected), but palatable. The carne asada was really soft and tender, but the salsa was a bit pasty, though spicy enough. Still, next time I have a hankering for taco stand tacos, I'll prefer to tackle the language barrier with the dudes who run the window at the liquor store.