Our Trip to Pete's Place

Pete's Place

Today, we decided to take one of our mini-road trips. We went to the town of Krebs in southeastern Oklahoma near MacAlester to visit a restaurant called "Peter's Placw." It's an Italian style eatery that goes back to 1919. Pete worked in the mines that were around that part of Oklahoma till a mining accident crushed his legs. He started the restaurant and also started brewing "Choc Beer". Choc Beer at Pete's Place That created a problem.
Cat and I at Pete's Place

Oklahoma was the only state to come into the union with Prohibition as a part of its Constitution. Not till 1959 was alcohol legal in the state. So Pete's brewery was a bootleg orperation. The "Choc" in the beer's brand name comes from "Choctaw" the Indidn tribe who is supposed to have given Pete the receipe for his brew. With no government regulating its production, Pete was free to brew as he wished as long as the local authorities didn't step in. Choc Beer became famous for its strength as much as its quality.

Inside a Pete's Place

We very much enjoyed our meal there. Everyone at the eatery gets an individual dining room. The food is served family style. And Choc is a very good, and now legal, beverage to go along with it.

Display at Pete's Place

On our way there we stopped at The Grape Ranch near OkemahThe Grape Ranch They had a very good selection, we carried home a couple of bottles of their Country Rose.
They also make a "Festivus" wine though they had taken down their aluminum pole when we visited.

Inside The Grape Ranch

Cat and I tout Oklahoma wines. There are several quite good ones in our state. We serve Oklahoma wines at our parties and give them away as gifts. Oklahoma still has several archaic holdover laws that make being a vinter or brewer more of a challenge that it ought to be. For one, you still cannot buy wine in the supermarket and the only beer than can be bought has to be 3.2% alcohol or lower. But if you know how to find them, Oklahoma wine and beer is a real treat (used in moderation, of course).

Cat and I at The Grape Ranch