Whiskey Creek Restaurant Mammoth Lakes Happy Hour

We visited Whiskey Creek for their upstairs happy hour yesterday.  We had tried to go a couple of times before during ski season, but were always too late - the upstairs was always packed, and in all honesty, the food downstairs was at best average.  So, we hadn't been back since March.

We managed to get there yesterday just as happy hour was starting, so we got a great window seat.  It just got better from there as we learned more about happy hour.  First, happy hour runs for 90 minutes according to the ad in the Sierra Menus tourist guide, and starts at 5pm in the summer and 4pm in the winter (even thought best to call and check, as on the Sunday we were there, it was only one hour long, not 90 miutes).  It's $1 off drafts, and I can get my second favorite Mammoth Brewing Co. Epic IPA on tap.  So, happy hour was off to a good start.  Next, I learned that every underlined item on the bar menu is 1/2 off.  There are some amazing deals here, as the specials aren't just on the usual bar fare/appetizers, but also extend to the salads, sandwiches, and dinners.  For example, you can get the salmon dinner for about $14, or a nice salad for about $3.50, or a huge portabelloa mushroom sandwich for about $6 - all very good deals for what can be an expensive place to eat and drink.

Overcome with enthusiasm at our first successful seating upstairs for happy hour and giddy at the discounted prices, we ordered far more than we could eat at one sitting.  We really enjoyed Parmesan-Herb Crusted Calamari Strips (which were so good they disappeared before I could get a picture).  Why most restaurants cut their calamari into rings rather than down the length is beyond me.  It makes the calamari far more tender, and much easier to prepare well.  Cudos to Whiskey Creek for being smart enough to do it this way!

After the app and a couple of glasses of Mammoth Brewing ale, I grabbed the Pulled Pork Sliders, my son piled into his Angus Steak Sliders, and my wife had the Portabella Mushroom Sandwich.  Here's the spread:

I opted for the Ranch Salad instead of getting the fries with the sliders, and my son and I enjoyed sharing it.  Next time, I'd get the ranch on the side, as it was absolutely smothered in dressing, and I might as well have skipped the salad and just had a brownie sundae.  The pork sliders were standard fare.  Everyone agreed we'd get the Angus sliders again, and the portabella mushroom sandwich was the most photogenic even though that's a lot of bread!

The sweet potato fries shown with the portabella sandwich were not nearly as good as the beer-battered fries we had with the calamari app...again, sorry for the lack of picture on the app - it was probably my favorite meal of the evening.

Have No Fear - The Growler is Here

OK, so the USA has been downgraded, and the Fed-induced market rally fueled by free money poured into the bankster's coffers just collapsed like a cheap blow-up doll purchased from a smelly, seedy shop in Times Square a decade ago.  Maybe the monster created by Dr. Bernanke, the Dollar Carry Trade (son of Yen Carry Trade), is about to rise up out of the Hudson River and give Wall Street the thrashing it so richly deserves. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you've "gone to cash" (or something more tangible, like gold), and you stopped by Mammoth Brewing Company  (http://www.mammothbrewingco.com/) for a Growler.

Mammoth Lakes, CA - Best Burger in the USA at Burgers!

We've eaten a lot of burgers in a lot of places, but for some reason, we always have the best time at Burgers in Mammoth Lakes, CA.  I don't know if it's the restaurant itself, or the Mammoth Brewing Co. beer (http://www.mammothbrewingco.com/), or the great time that we always have in Mammoth Lakes either on the slopes in winter, or on the trails in summer.  Who knows?  Maybe there's some secret ingredient in the Burgers' burger.  Regardless, Friday night we enjoyed another hour of side-splitting laughter, and two delicious hamburgers.  My English wife went off the reservation as usual, and had the beef stew and side salad.

Our son, who is quite proud of his English heritage, ripping his jacket off in the coldest of winds and saying "I'm harf English, this isn't cold", suddenly reverts to an all-American boy bragging on the great American burger and fries and milk shake that he is about to consume every time we walk into Burgers.   Tonight, he opted for the root beer instead of the shake, in an effort to reduce his caloric intake given our diet of the last few weeks and lack of exercise while sitting in the truck for eight hours a day.