Gas...or Wine??

Where I live, gas has been fluctuationg recently...it's leveled out at about a $1.99 per gallon - I've lived in Europe, so I know what a great deal that is...but let's look at this at a little deeper economic level...

I just tried this great Merlot by Charles Shaw that a friend gave to me - it's $1.99 too
Two Bucks a Pop
So for my $1.99 in the bank, I can spend that on one gallon of gas, which gets me maybe to work and back...or I can spend it on a bottle of wine, which takes my mind off of work...

What else does a $1.99 get you, or the equevalent where you live? Is it worth the trade?

[edit on 7/2/2004 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

Well it could get you a bus ticket to work and a beer.

It'd have to be one of those cheap beers tho - lol
I guess that would be worth it tho if you drank the beer on your way to work

I'd recommend looking into using vegetable oil, frying oil, or whatever...You can get it from restaurants for free. It's called a Bio-Diesel engine. All you need the Diesel for is starting your car, then you switch over to the oil.

Dude, are you drinking wine right now? Just curious.

Good old Two Buck Chuck. Its usually pretty bad. The winery that makes it (I use that term loosly) buys up surplus wine and grapes from growers then bottles it at at a profit. SO that Merlot you get may be from Gallo or it could be from Mondavi. You pay your money you take your chances

It was a bit more sweet than I would expect a merlot...

I was unaware of this however - interesting...
What would you rather spend your money on FredT? Removing your fingerprints from society...This is a little inside joke, not an attack - lol

Yeah - just finished a bottle of "Good old Two Buck Chuck" - since I didn't pay $1.99 for it as it was given to me by a friend, I can't complain to much...by far not the best - I'd rather spend an extra $6 and buy a bottle of Lindemans Bin 45

I wish. I have been a nurse now for 10 years so my files is probably sitting in an old and dusty file in the hoover building What would I like to spend my money on?
a 1997 Neibaum-Coopola Rubicon Red

I thought "two buck chuck" producer purchased grapes and wine from many different wineries and vineyards then blended it to produce their own.

Yeah...for $115.00 - lol - I guess if you saved those two dollars for about 58 days, maybe

If you ever get out to the Napa area the estate is in Rutherford. Its full of stuff from the movies etc. You might ever be served wine by Francis himslef at the Chateau. I would rather go without wine for 60 days than quaff a bottle of Chuck

I want to go to Napa valley so bad! I used to be a chef, still am really, just with a desk job now (need the money), but I want to go to The French Laundry so bad it hurts my sides just thinking about it...
The French Laundry

But to get back on "best bang for your buck"...why not spend those xtra quarters and pennies on a good book? I'd rather learn something new than throw my money at the oil heathens for a gallon of their gas...

Years ago I lived in Atlanta and had as a client, a French chef who owned his own restaurant (he was born in Tunisia and his family moved to Paris). He invited me over for dinner one night and I was unsure as to what wine to bring - so I stopped somewhere and asked for 'help' in making a selection. I asked for a wine from a small French winery - hoping to make an appropriate choice.

I present the wine for dinner... this chef goes into his basement and brings up a case of Smothers Brothers red that he'd gotten for a buck a bottle. It was really good! And much better than the wine I'd brought.. which taught me a good lesson, needless to say (so why am I saying it?).

I've never heard of that label before - I'll have to give it a try...I wonder how many other wines are out there at these prices, besides that fruit blended wind....uh...ya...not happening...I'll decide what fruit "flavors" are in the wine, not have them handed to me with artifical flavorings...blah

A nice chilled bottle of sweet white. Beautiful. Well, it is if you don't drink the whole bottle in one night. Then its all night and death warmed up in the morning

We have eaten there once. 3-4 month wait on the reservation list. The local Consirge sit out in front overnight when they are going to open new reservations just to get then locked in...

Wow - incredible...the man's a genious - I consider myself to be a pretty good chef - Not to pull my own chain here, but I was sous chef at the four-star fine dining plantation inn/resturarant Melhana I've cooked for Jane Fonda...Stedman Graham (Oprah's fling) and countless mil/bilionares in this area...okay, that was pulling my own chain a bit - lol

But my point is, I bought Keller's "cookbook" a few years ago (I think a new term is required for this book - lol) - and I've fouled up more than once trying to go about what this guy does every day, er...well...maybe not him - lol - but his equally talented staff

The owner of Melhana "claimed" he was in contact with him and had met him before... said he was gonna pay for my travel expenses to either train temporarly with Charlie Troter or Thomas Keller... I was 18 at the time and almost had a heart attack when he sat me down and told me this...yeah...then he went bankrupt....that's one reason why I don't work there anymore - I don't know how they're still afloat...

Enough on my rant tho...lol...How was your experience - no doubt it cleared up a few digits in the bank account - lol


Where's the fun in that?! lol - I'm almost 22 now tho, so I guess my tolerence level is a little "high" given this years blurry history - I know I graduated....that's ummm....that's it - lol - j/k