Day Two -- Waiting for Sean -- Part One

I am excited that ECRG is using my Sephra photos for the new program for their 2012 season -- I was waiting around after work for Bullet Brains to come up and pick up a disk of the photos of the referee hand signals (which mistakenly were Sick Town bout photos -- total embarrassment, but oh well) and after I decided to walk down to Dairy Mart to use the ATM to get cash to give my nephew for my ticket to go see Dick Dale, the fastest pick in the west. My only thing that might top this whiskey journey is going to be witnessing Dick Dale, Duane Eddy and the Ventures all in one year -- but that would make for an entirely different blog, but back to my walk from Dairy Mart to Izakaya Meiji company. I walked down 1st to Van Buren with the housemate where he veered towards home and I turned left toward the warm amber glow of Meiji and bourbon. 

Right before the railroad tracks, "Hey buddy, do you got the time?" I checked my cellphone and I had company from the tracks to the front door. Two blocks of a hard luck story with a very strong scent of marijuana before I made the door and was on my own again. 

I sat near the back corner, one table down from the table I had sat during my first two visits when it was food and beer only. The waiter came, ran through the list of special including the whiskey of the week, Elijah Craig, 12 years, and the food specials all kinda fell by the wayside. I let the waiter know my resolution, which got him excited. "No one has ever said they wanted to try all the whiskeys here." Most people don't have the time or the money...I don't really know if I have the money, but I am trying to remain resolute. I had him hit me with the EC12 -- I figure $5 is worth the price and crosses one more whiskey off my list. Let him know I had company still coming and I would be good with water and whiskey for starters. 

I posed the EC12 neat for the photo, started taking notes on my Eeyore waiting for Sean Campbell to stop by. The couple at the table next to me started talking to me -- I guess they were waiting on a larger party, which never showed up. They asked about the blog, about the menu. I let them know Meiji was in the midst of their new happy hour from 5 to 6pm. I recommend anyone reading this check it out. The IMC, is very affordable, in and of itself, but if you hit the happy hours special, you can really get a nice sampling of food for a very reasonable price. The Elijah Craig was incredibly smooth for a $5 shot of whiskey, but I decided to order one of the Shitake Skewer interested in the Miso Butter. 

The skewers were amazing. $2 well-spent. Perfect food to cleanse the pallet. Not only cooked in Miso butter. Still coated in it when they serve them. The butter pooled and sticking to the mushroom, 4 to a skewer. Sean showed up right as I was finishing my the Elijah Craig and sat down across from me.