Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Journey to the liquor store


Wow, such controversy yesterday! That is what happens when you talk about going to the Elmwood Lounge to see Joey Giambra. You get accused by an anonymous schuft about not taking your religion seriously. That is what I have now learned.

Well, Anonymous Schuft will love what I have to write about today. I went to a liquor store!

I took advantage of yesterday's, ahem, snowstorm, if you could call it that. And I went after work to Premier Liquors. I figured, correctly, it would not be crowded. The family Easter is at my house this year and we like a nice, bright Riesling and that is what I thought I would go looking for. Well, who am I kidding. Most of my family given the choice would take beer or Lake Niagara. But I like a nice, bright Riesling, is what I am saying. Hence my trip to Premier.

Isn't that a beautiful picture above? I found it on a site devoted to neon signs. The description read: "Premier Liquor Neon, Tonawanda, N.Y. The neon sign is in excellent condition and is very bright. It can be seen for quite a distance up and down Delaware Ave."

Ha, ha!

At Premier I love the kaleidoscope of bottles and labels and descriptions. And prices!


There was a bottle of Pinot Noir or something for $49.99. Not that I would buy that. I was just looking at it.

It was a Premier Pick. I was thinking, I bet it was!

But then it rated only 91 points. If I were paying $50 for a bottle of wine, I would want it rated more than 91 points, I have to say that. I buy bottles of $5 Shiraz that are rated 91 points. Such is the wonderful world we live in.

They had taped up a little review of the wine. "A little lean, but ..."

I am thinking, "But??"

If I pay $50 for a bottle of wine I do not want buts.

Well, I would never pay $50 for a bottle of wine so the point is moot. Yesterday I played a game of $5 and under. I went around picking out interesting looking bottles of wine that were under $5. I would not go over that. That was my rule.

Ah, happiness!

But there was one thing. What was with that junk on the sound system?

They must know their market and it is slugs, is all I can think. I had to sit through this "Light My Fire" that went on for about half an hour and actually hurt my ears. I had to get out the Shuffle.

Thank God for the I-Pod. You get those ear buds into your ears and it is like oxygen. There was a pianist playing Haydn. Aaaaahhh! It was not as good as Leonard Pennario but still. There is a recording of Pennario playing Haydn, did anyone know that?

Click on that link and you will hear Pennario starting off with a Chopin prelude I love, in E flat. It always reminds me of Mendelssohn. So graceful and beautiful.

Had they been playing that at Premier, I would have spent a lot more money.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your so right Mary, the Palm Sunday mass is way to long!! See you in confession, ps please don't twitter during the mass on Easter.

Ryan said...

I never did pay any attention to the background music at Premier, but I will on my next visit.

I guess it couldn't be any worse than the time I ate at the New Star Chinese Buffet near the Elmwood Regal. Now it was bad enough that I was dragged to the New Star Chinese Buffet in the first place, but the music made matters worse. The lyrics were in Chinese, and the song only had about three lines. Those same three lines were repeated over and over for at least 30 minutes. I think it was an intentional attempt to make people leave before they ate too much.

Did you ever notice that Target doesn't even play any music? I've been going there for years, and I just noticed that the last time I was there.

Becky said...

But was it "Light My Fire" by the Doors, Jose Feliciano, or a Muzak version? That could make a difference between attracting customers or scaring them away (unless they have an IPod)

Mary Kunz Goldman said...

Becky, I was wondering that about "Light My Fire." I honestly don't know who it was. I don't know the Doors from s'mores. Ryan, I love that story about the Chinese lyrics! That is like Chinese water torture. Thanks, both of you, for your sympathy!

Anonymous, Mass is never too long for me! The "See you in confession" worries me though. Are you a priest?

Pauldub said...

The Doors version is no more than 10 minutes so it wasn't them. Probably Muzak. For the Shuffle may I recommend Skull candy earbuds? The case include 3 different size ear pieces that fit on the ear bud. guaranteed to shut out most outside interference.

Mary Ellen said...

Sometimes I will pay a little more than five bucks a bottle if there is a particularly nice picture on the label. A fish-shaped wine bottle once inspired me to creep toward the ten dollar mark. Nigella Lawson, a British cooking superstar, has a recipe she calls slut-red jelly which involves steeping rasperries in white wine, straining the mixture and adding gelatine. Always a big hit at a dinner party.

Mary Kunz Goldman said...

Mary Ellen, I know exactly the fish-shaped bottle you mean! I have bought that bottle! It was there yesterday. I saw it! I was just playing the $5 game the other day. Usually my cut-off point is $10.