Cheap Date: Waiting for Godello

Last month, Matt and I had another fun night out in Glendale. We enjoyed another nice wine tasting and took in a really great play. As for our Tiny Vaudeville night, we found the tickets through the discount ticket site Goldstar.com, proving yet again that being frugal during this recession doesn't mean you can't have the occasional fun night out.

We started out at Rosso Wine Shop where they were serving three French wines at the tasting bar (tasting three great wines for the low price of $10 - you just can't go wrong). As before, we really enjoyed our conversation with the owner, who was pouring, and we liked each of the wines he was showcasing. We liked the Castell-Reynoard Bandol the best, though, so we took a bottle of that to go, along with two others. We had loved the Godello we had gotten there before and have been dying to try a scallop recipe by Jose Andres (of the cooking show Made in Spain) that calls for it, but we hadn't been able to find it anywhere else . . . and, sadly, didn't see any on the Rosso racks. Sure, we could have settled for another Albarino wine, but this particular one (Abad Dom Bueno) was just so good. Thankfully, our disappointment didn't last long because the owner ferreted out his very last bottle from behind the counter and was gracious enough to let us take it. We were so thrilled! The third bottle we took home was another we'd looked everywhere for but weren't able to find - Sharecropper's Cabernet Sauvignon. Friends of ours had brought it to a wine tasting party we'd hosted last year and it was by far the hit of the night. It was great to get our hands on another bottle of it.

Next, we drove down to the plaza at Brand Blvd. - a new outdoor mall fashioned after The Grove in Hollywood, with lots of great trendy stores, restaurants, a water fountain, and a trolley. Since we'd eaten a rather large lunch, neither of us were hungry for dinner, but I'd never had a Wetzel's Pretzel (I know, I must live under a rock), so we grabbed a couple of those. It was no NY street vendor pretzel (god, it's been too long), but it was still satisfying. And, while we were there, I popped into the Kiehl's store to stock up on a couple of my favorites - lip balm and eye cream.

Then we headed across the street where we took in a performance of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, produced by A Noise Within. It was performed in a small theatre located up on the third floor of this very neat old building - an historic mason temple. When the performance is good, I love intimate little settings like this to see a play. And it was good. It had been a while since I'd been to a play, so I was really pleased. For me, there's always something so magical and life-affirming about seeing a live performance. And, of course, this particular play makes you think a lot about the big questions in life (man, there are SO many layers to Beckett's writing!), so it was a great experience.

After the play, as a healthy treat, we grabbed some Pinkberry on the way back to our car. I'd never had Pinkberry (see previous statement about the rock I live under) and had to see what all the fuss was about. I quickly determined it was indeed worth some fuss. Yum! Puts places like TCBY to shame. The quality of the yogurt is just so good; you really taste it. I got plain with raspberries and absolutely devoured it. I'm not a huge fan of pomegranate, but I really liked the sample I tried of that too and might try a full serving of it next time.

So, all in all, a very fun night on a frugal budget - well, if you discount the cost of the gas we burned up to get there and back. Someday we'll move a little closer to civilization! Some day . . .