I don't suppose a single good drink warrants a glowing review of an entire restaurant, but... seriously, it was a good drink. I stopped into Luca's Cafe on an abbreviated Fort Avenue pub crawl on my way home from the Star Spangled Salute to Michael Phelps. Here is the part where I would be sarcastic and poke fun at the event, but it wasn't bad. It was executed nicely and the fireworks were pretty impressive for a non-4th, non-New Years event.

Anyway, my first stop was Luca's. I had never been in there before and only barely recalled its predecessor, Truman's. The bar itself didn't jump out at me as particularly fancy or dive-y. It was right there in the middle or, possibly, leaning or nodding at the taste of the good life. It was a little Idle Hour and Captain Larry's with a dollop of The Wine Market. It felt good.

Looking for an adventure, I opted for one of the drink specials that was announced by the bartender. Pomegranate something or rather didn't strike a chord, but the Pumpkin Spiced Vodka hit home. It's fall. It's chilly. It's the time for pumpkin things.

I had no idea what I was getting. It was just vodka infused with pumpkin spice. What does that look like? What I got was martini glass with a slurry of of pumpkin pie colored liquid. It had some weight to it without being of daiquiri consistency.

I dove in. After the first sip, I thought about what was happening, expecting to be knocked about by some sever flavor. I was still on my feet. And what I found was a pleasantly sweet, pumpkin pie-like taste. Not overwhelmingly vodka tasting or bizarre and unplaceable. It was pumpkin pie.

I devoured the drink and would have stayed for more if the rest of Fort Avenue had not beckoned. I left with the idea that I would be returning for the drink and to test out the food. I figured if they could manage such a splendidly odd drink experience, they might be able to whip up some decent viddles.

I say something like, "no, I can't go out tonight because Tuesday is my bowling night." Then, I get quizzical looks. It seems as though kick ball is acceptable, but a great American past time like bowling doesn't rank. Saying bowling probably conjures an image of the dank, smokey, stale beer stained lanes you might see in a movie like King Pin or Big Lebowski. With Mustang Alley's that isn't the case at all.

First, it is a decent bar. It's chill, relaxed, has a good selection of beers. I would compare the bar to something like Grumpies or Don't Know (I would name a bar outside of Federal Hill, but I rarely leave the neighborhood and especially don't cross the pond to go to Canton).

Second, good food. Not just pub grub. You can get a quality meal that doesn't look like it was deboxed, heated, warmed, fried, and served within the space of 5 minutes.

Third, There just happens to be 12 lanes of bowling when you turn around, duck and ten pin. They play decent music. It's decidedly upscale when comparing it with its bowling alley cousins. It's not as obnoxious and bright-lights-big-city as those places like Lucky Strike or Kings. It's rock and bowl for the new class of 20-30 somethings of urban dwellers (aka yuppies).

Enjoy the short little video showing the fun and frivolity found through bowling at Mustang Alley's: http://www.visitmybaltimore.com/video/450/

I just bought a couch from Su Casa a couple weeks ago. I underwent a laborious search of most of the furniture places in and around Baltimore. I didn't turn up much. I was willing to shell out bucks, but nothing really inspired me.

For some reason I had neglected to check out Su Casa. I don't know why. My friends have purchased stuff there before. When I went in I immediately found no less than 4 couches that I would have gleefully purchased. They have a unique, hip collection of furniture, rugs, accents, and house stuff. I felt that a lot of fit my personal style, if not helped defined what that means. I left saying, "my style is very Su Casa-y."

I settled on a couch, the Avery in a minty green fabric. It was exactly what I wanted, not knowing what I actually wanted. And it was a steal. I was ready to drop over $2K, but it ended up being about $1400 when all was said and done.

Plus the process was not miserable. I like carmax and shopping on the internet. I have a very low threshold for difficulty in a purchase process before I punch out. I said, "I want this couch and I want it in this fabric." They said "sure." The whole transaction took all of 12 minutes. A wonderful experience on all sides.

Muy Bueno Su Casa.