The Last Napkin Moustache!

Number Three Hundred and Sixty Five:

Mekong Restaurant, Dinner, Last 'Stache

The Last Napkin Moustache A Day:

I wanted to get to Mekong early in order to figure out how the evening would go, and Gina was nice enough to pick me up and drive me there. I was over estimating that I would have 30-40 guests appearing this night, but An was very relaxed about the situation and we reserved several tables. People started arriving pretty early, which was great because then we could take over other tables not being reserved first, then make room as needed. First there was Gina and I, then Deanna (who was actually waiting for us), followed by Lily and Roger. An gave me 30 tickets to give out for a beer to each person. It was really kind of funny how few I actually gave out! We also had two "Donation Stations" to go to the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation, since the next day was Veterans Day and I wanted to do something for that.

Some of the next people to arrive were Emily, Chris and Alex, Carolyn, Stephanie, Willem and Jesse. Followed by Janet, Wendy, Ceci, Doyle, Chris, Jimmy, Mark and Anna. Totally great turnout for a Masstache!

Willem working on the next mustache movement.

After a bit of jumping around tables and socializing, as well as getting some food and a fine FINE beer that kicked my butt (Backwoods Bastard from Founders, on tap), I had to time the photo for the group stache. 7:15 was the set time, and I didn't think anyone else was showing, so I started to set it up in the back room. Good thing I brought the tripod because it took a few minutes to get the setting right as well as learn how to use the damn timer on the camera again. Then when all was ready, I had everyone come back, as well as An, and clicked a few prep shots seen below:

Getting ready.

The last group Napstache I took, I told everyone to get crazy with it.

The photos turned out swell, everyone was into it. So freaking awesome! Afterward, I went around getting random shots of people and the staches they had created. Here is a good one of Wendy and Ceci. Ceci sporting the hilarious feminine napkin stache.

Followed by Lily and Roger and their origami staches!

Then we went back to our tables to have more beer, conversation and food.

A few moments later, I noticed a familiar face! Abby Davis, who's My Daily Nature Photos is one day after my project, was there with her family! It was so great to see her and to be ready to do some staching of her own with the spiderweb napkins!

Love this shot of Abby and her family!

Staches started getting epidemic by that point as I coerced our waitress Thui to do one!

More settling in after the rampant napkin moustaching, the vibe the whole night was just so grand and fun. Everyone was having a blast and getting into it.

Janet making a silly-serious face as Gina laughs.

Emily and Deanna having a moment.

Then it got even weirder....

An serving up some beer to some guys in red caps.

So as the evening went on, we started noticing some ho-ed up looking gals coming in with dudes in cowboy hats, leather belts, and other hipster "what-the-fuck?" fashions. Then this gal came around the corner, donning a napkin nearly as large as the dress she had on.

Batter up.

It was a spring roll eating contest! With a little beer gnome statue as the first prize, and some beer tin ad as a second prize. The contest? First to finish 10 spring rolls AND their beer in 3-5 minutes would be the undisputed champion.

Announcing the contest, notice the trophy and the runner up prizes.

Clearly this was a fantastic night to be here. How could I not photograph this as well? It was a helluva tough battle. Those that started out of the gate strong, faltered, weakening under the chewy pressure. I heard a girl shout out in the middle of the squishy chewing sounds, "Peanut sauce! More peanut sauce!" Apparently the peanut sauce that usually comes with the delicious rolls also serves as a good lubricant for them to go down easier.

An and the crowd count off the contest.

A hard fought battle of stomachs.

The Winner!

Needless to say, it was an immensely entertaining way to end the evening. Lisa showed up a bit after nine to pick me up, as well as do this nice ending napstache! There is no person I would rather finish my year of silliness with!

We raised 75 dollars for the Veterans Fund and it really was a terrific evening and swell way to end my Make Something 365 project. Thanks to all that could make it out, to An and Mekong restaurant for being completely awesome, those that wished they could have made it out, and those that have followed this project through the year. I will likely post some more reflections on it soon, so stay tuned!

Oh, and the fortune in my cookie from last night seemed so appropriate for not only the evening, but the year:

Last-stache!

The Three Hundred and Fifty Ninth...

Number Three Hundred and Fifty Ninth:

Mekong, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken

Me and Thui cutting it up in this photo. Lisa and I were at Mekong exactly and hour, 5:55 - 6:55, and by the time we left, parking lot in the back was getting full. Place is doing well, ya think!?! Did I mention where the last Napstache is going to be?

T-minus 6....

Three Hundred and Forty Ninth...

Number Three Hundred and Forty Nine:

Mekong, Dinner, Beef

Lisa and I sat at the bar, chatting with Diablo and others, enjoying the dinner, enjoying the beer. Also, planning the "Last Napstache". Met with An for the plan and this is what we have. Yes, the last one will be at Mekong, one free beer from me and get a ticket if you show, have some dinner, buy more beer for yourself, and plan on doing a napstache with me for the last one!

One of my favorite mirrorstaches by the way. Love the angle and the bottles of booze.

The Three Hundred and Eighth...

Number Three Hundred and Eight:

Mekong, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken

I was home, chilling and chatting with Lisa on the old Bookface when she suggested she meet me for an early dinner at Mekong for her dinner break at work. How could I resist eating with my wife AND spicy crispy chicken! Oh, and Saison Dupont on tap AND a nice Petrus sour. WOOT!

On a more reflective note, I guess around 300, especially with me basically just eating out or in or wherever, it might start to seem mundane? I don't know. Maybe it reaches that point where a reader goes, "Oh, he ate at Mekong again, got the same thing again, whoopty shit." I hope the blog hasn't turned into that, I think I have included some pretty interesting stuff over this past week and for the most part. Okay, I'll chalk it up to "300 Melancholy". How about that! I created a new 365 Make Something Term!

The Three Hundred and Second...

Number Three Hundred and Two:

Mekong, Lunch, Tofu with Lemongrass

Lunch at Mekong, later this evening first SPLORK!! practice in over a year for a reunion show for WRIR Fund Drive and CD release party! We didn't sound half bad! Should be a great show next week!

The Two Hundred and Eighty Ninth...

Number Two Hundred and Eighty Nine:

Mekong, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken

So in lieu of Mekong's month-long anniversary party every Thursday (I went to one, but was too non-crowd oriented to do the rest), Lisa and I went tonight. A funny thing over the past month or so, when we go to Mekong we have been seeing Mr. Jazz and Mrs. Jazz pretty much every time. Sometimes we would sit at the bar with them and chat it up. Always a good time when chatting and drinking with them. Tonight was one of those nights. After drinking some fine Great Divide 16th Anniversary on tap and some dinner, I took this seek and find 'stache. Mr. Jazz was naturally dubious, thought I was a crazy dude, "It's your thing, man, do what you wanna do." I guess a guy like that will never understand the absurdity of this blog, doesn't have time for that, but then I took another one with him in it and he was all smiles. And as I draw toward number 300 soon, that may well be one of the missions of this blog was about ultimately, to bring some absurd humor to anyone that might read it. Jazzstache!

The Two Hundred and Twenty Third...

Number Two Hundred and Twenty Three:

Mekong, Summer Solstache, Beer

Quick one this evening, Mekong had another terrific beer event for the Summer Solstice, called the Summer Solstache! I look like a crazy person here, but lots of fun and lots of facial hair!

The Two Hundred and Tenth...

Number Two Hundred and Ten:

Mekong, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken, Beer

After a Myers & Briggs class in the morning and a Dr.'s appointment in the afternoon, what better place to unwind than Mekong! The plan was to meet Lisa after she got off work early and have dinner, maybe sit at the bar since I wanted to chat with An about the Summer Solstache event. That happened. And it happened well. An told a trilogy of corny deer jokes, we had a few beers and some yummy chicken. And the place was hopping on a Wednesday night. Ah....

Seek and find stache!

The Two Hundredth...

Number Two Hundred:

Mekong, Lunch, Spicy Crispy Chicken

So I thought I would do something really special or whatever for the 200th. Maybe while meeting friends the Goldens and Lundy Ryans for lunch at Mekong, I would have done some weird video P.O.V. 'stache. All I managed was this random P.O.V. I think Janet is making a pretty funny face in this one, while Mark and Lisa are kind of caught off-guard. Happy 200! Ha!

The One Hundred and Eighty First...

Number One Hundred and Eighty One:

Mekong Restaurant, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken

After a missed attempt to get some decent video of a guy at Panera (Yes, I went 2 days in a row and got the same thing both times) during lunch today that culminates yesterday's post, Mekong for dinner is always good time! There was a nice beer event going on, and An has ideas about a WRIR Event. I like that!

The One Hundred Fifty Sixth...

Number One Hundred and Fifty Six:

Mekong Restaurant, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken

After a nice visit with Beth Brown, author and my co-conspirator with Richmond Macabre, at a local author showcase (with: Rich Babbit, Roger Bruner, David H.C. Carter, Edward Wright Haile, Walter Griggs, Shara Lanel, J.S. Lee, Lee Rice, Bill Roberson, Douglass Walter and Richard Wenzel) it was off to Mekong for an early dinner. After all, I had been up since FOUR this morning; insomnia kind of sucks!

One of my favorite, most unassuming, easy to get along with waitstaff in Richmond is Thui (or Tooey) from Mekong. I know I am probably spelling it wrong but okay fine. She is familiar with us, daughter of the equally awesome Lian, who is brother to most the awesome An --a great great example of fine family restaurant. Thui without question took a photo with me doing the napstache. After some tasty beer, yes, the BEST beer taps in Richmond, hands down, we headed for the bar to chat with An for a bit. He has grown into his celebrity status wonderfully. A man that knows his customers, his staff, and his establishment, and runs the joint well. A good man. Cheers!

I'm gonna give this one a...

Thuistache!

The One Hundred and Forty Ninth...

Number One Hundred and Forty Nine:

Mekong Restaurant, Dinner, Claypot Tofu

Double date with Mark and Janet this evening. Fun times at Mekong, king of beer lists and great atmosphere. Tofu plates all around, Lemongrass tofu, two tofu noodle bowls and a claypot tofu. Dang fine stuff and company! Hey, here is the beer on draft list, well a sample of it:

Draftstache?

The One Hundred and Thirty Fifth...

Number One Hundred and Thirty Five:

Mekong, Dinner, Claypot Chicken

Gina had been craving noodles from Mekong all this week while at work, Lisa just happened to mention Mekong for dinner tonight as a suggestion. On the fly we combined the two with some beers thrown in the mix by the illustrious An and his brother Liem. The Richmond Spiders I am sure were not enjoying the ass beating they were getting the middle of their game as I took this photo, right before the half. It didn't matter very much to us, however, with conversation revolving around the Picasso Exhibit among odd and sods.

The One Hundred and Second...

Number One Hundred Two:






Mekong, Lunch, Claypot Tofu







We met Mark and Janet for some nice lunch fun. Mekong on a Sunday afternoon is completely different than Mekong on a Friday night. It was serene with families, many of the children playing various percussion with chopsticks and silverware. Perhaps that is what inspired Mark to come up with a new musical instrument; the fortune in the fortune cookie! When rapidly pulled in and out, it makes a clever popping sound. It was vastly amusing! Here is vid of Mark and Janet rocking out to some fortune.


A Fortune Tune perhaps? Hilarious nonetheless!

The Forty-First...

Number Forty-One:



Mekong, Dinner Event, Winter Solstache

So how could I NOT go to this event? I believe it might be the second annual one, and there's a big trophy involved. The event requires a moustache for some good free beer; An's gift to the beer drinking community really, and very very awesome. There was also a contest involved for various best of styles. I did not enter, but I knew I had to do a special napstache. Why not use the leftover cocktail napkins from the house and bring 'em? E., R. and I went, saw more people there, just crazy fun with an excellent beer selection as usual. Our friend R. won the best Chevron category! ...which meant a really cool beer mug with Winter Solstache and a mock stache etching on it. Yeah!
This is me and my good pal An, solstachin' with the best of them!

Solstache!

The Thirty-Ninth...

Number Thirty-Nine:



Mekong Restaurant, Lunch, Claypot Chicken

After last night's party, drinking plenty of tasty fancy pants beer, we had a lunch date with one of L.'s Girl Scout friends from WAY back who was visiting the States from Holland. "Doots" and I have become friends via Facebook, talking about our love of beer! Before she planned on coming to the States (she is originally from here), we worked out that she would bring me some beer from there and I would send her back with some in return. Travel regulation only allows less than 3 liters (or something nutty like that) so it REALLY limits us beer lovers! She chose two from what looks to be a great place called Brouwerij de Molen or Brewery the Mill in English. I gave her a bunch more, thinking she and her family would definitely partake of them while here, then take the rest home; A Legend Barleywine, A Sierra Nevada 30 Grand Cru and a few others. Doots had an entourage with her which was great: her husband, her two teenage children, and her sister and her sister's boyfriend (both local here in town). So, where do we take them for good food and a great beer selection? MEKONG!

We spent the afternoon there, eating, drinking and having a great time. Lien was even kind enough to give them two Mekong 15th Anniversary pint glasses to take back with them! I was hoping Doots would be up for a double Naptstache photo, being the perfect moment, but even BETTER, everyone at the table was up for the participation! YAY!

Groupstache!

Great time and I look forward to maybe one day visiting Holland! :-)

The Nineteenth...

Number Nineteen:






Mekong, Lunch, Tofu Curry







It was kind of awkward getting this one done. There were a couple of well dressed older white dudes having a lunch meeting at the table next to us, at the table across from us there some young couple fondling each other and looking around to see if people were watching them fondle each other, and another couple with their back to us; the dude at this table burped real loud at one point, so I guess he had his own deal to worry about. Anyway, tried a different angle with this one. It looks like the Napstache could strike at any moment, like a cobra! Cobrastache!

The Fourteenth...

Number Fourteen:



Mekong, Dinner, Spicy Crispy Chicken / Ginger Chicken, Beer

Hands down, one of our favorite places in Richmond, but you probably already know that if you know me. Delicious food, THE best beer selection and the staff is awesome. An, Liem, Ka, they all make you feel right at home. So, here it is, the first of perhaps many Mekongstaches!