The Wine and Sake Post

Last night I went down to Winter Park with Alana and a few of her friends. I had never been to the area before, less one direct trip to see a movie last summer, so I was not really familiar. The place is really nice and reminds me a lot of a Georgetown meets Old Town hybrid, but with more of a focus on shopping and the arts than its DC counterpart. We first headed to the Wine Room, which is a really cool idea for a bar. When you go in you buy a card that you can use to sample different wines. The whole place is filled with bottles lining the walls and elaborate Willy-Wonka style vending stations that allow guests to see the bottle as the wine is poured, as well as read up on the wines style/taste/history etc. All the wines are grouped by region and can be found allover the place inside the bar. Couches, tables and areas to mill about and schmooze are provided. I ended up not digging the wine so much (its all moldy grape juice to me) but fortunately they have an excellent selection of beers at a (proper) bar in the back.

Afterwards we headed down the road a bit to a sake bar. The place was really weird, but very likable. There where no seats, just cushions and low tables for people to sit at, while a DJ spun in the back and waitresses brought around all kinds of bizarre drinks. I stuck with beer (Kirin Ichiban) due to the need to drive home eventually, but was intrigued by the many different sake brews and odd beverages other people where ordering. The weirder of all where these fruit flavored teas that came in a sealed container that had floating balls of tapioca in the bottom. The straws they came with where really think to allow the balls to passes through. (‘Tapioca balls must chew before swallow’- as the directions eloquently stated). The weirdest past of all where the bathroom doors which had large glass windows that allowed people to see right into the stall from the bar area. The fact that the toilets where illuminated in a bright blue neon glow made it even more conspicuous. On the inside there is a switch that actives a second light that inastantly causes the window to frost up so people cant see in or out. Pretty cool, if not overly unnecessary. All in all I had a good time, defiantly want to check the Winter Park area out again in the near future.