Got my doctors appointment out of the way and pickd up my stash from R. Fields Wine Co so it was time to actually start our staycation. Well, for me at least. The Mrs wanted to make sure Dad was okay after his procedure so I may or may not be flying solo. I decided on Amuse since it's right down the street from Dad's house and they also offer their $50 wine card for just $30 on Wednesdays and Mondays. We visited several years ago when they first opened but after several visits to the sister restaurant Stage, it seemed to be more of a "club" atmosphere for young hipsters, not old guys like me but I assumed it wouldn't be "clubby" in the middle of the week.
They also offer Happy Hour from 5 to 7pm with several lower priced appetizers. Wait a minute! The BBQ Spiced Fries are $5 during Happy Hour but they're also $5 on the regular menu?! The Fries did come with ketchup and aioli so that was a plus.
I knew I wanted to sample the Havarti Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Truffle Oil - regular price is $11 but only $5 during Happy Hour... but the Happy Hour selection doesn't include the $5 fries... Hmmm... a whole $1 savings? Is there a trend here? The sandwich was tasty though there barely was any truffle aroma (truffle oil needs to be refrigerated to preserve the essence of 2,4 dithiapentane or the "truffle" smell).
I also sampled the BBQ Pulled Pork Buns - $6 at Happy Hour, not offered on the regular menu. It was very good especially with the 3 Turley Zins offered.
And the Mini Pork Manapua - $6 at Happy Hour, also not offered on the regular menu. Filled with a glazed pork - good though I like the drier pork filling like at Char Hung Sut.
I ended with the Hamachi Tartare ($11) which was basically guacamole and taro chips with scattered cubes of hamachi - good flavor but perhaps the name should be changed to Guacamole and Chips with Hamachi.
The Mrs made a brief appearance for bottle of Crispin Hard Cider (the bar's last bottle) and I NEED to look for this as it tasted like your traditional hard cider with undertones of whiskey since it was aged in whiskey barrels. This would make a GREAT summertime sipper!
It was a good thing that the Mrs did drop by so I could purchase another wine card (it's limited to 1 per person) as I used my $50 credit down to 1 cent. If you haven't been to Amuse, the 50 or so wines offered by the glass have a price above the spigot which is the per ounce price. Therefore the markup is quite high. For instance, I just picked up a 2009 Kapcsandy Endre that morning from R. Field for $59.99. The 1 ounce price was $6.79 which translates to $172.47 per bottle. In defense of the pricing, it does allow you to sample just a 1 ounce pour instead of purchasing a whole bottle so I didn't mind paying the price.
We'll be back mainly because we still have credit on the Mrs' wine card though we'll probably wait for another Wednesday or Monday where you can refill an existing card for $50 credit for just $28.
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