As part of our mission here at Why Daddy Drinks to revel in the humorous lunacy that is fatherhood, and to promote the drinking of quality beverages, we bring you our weekly segment highlighting something that should be in your glass. This is The Drink Of The Weekend.

The day I am writing this is Feb. 18. And there are many celebrities born on this day, including:

–John Travolta

–Cybill Shepherd

–Matt Dillon

–Vanna White (Letter turning is hard work, you know)

–Dr. Dre

–Yoko Ono (She has even less talent than Vanna)

–Molly Ringwald, Hollywood’s Sweetheart of the mid-to-late 80s, who was born on Feb. 18,1968.

And Molly’s birthdate and year just happens to coincide with mine. We are both 46, and a long way from “Sixteen Candles”.

Now, if Molly were here, I would insist on us marking our co-birthdays with a drink. And that drink is the Joe Smash.

With my birthday occurring on a Tuesday this year, my mom flew down from Seattle to spend the weekend with us. My wife, The Thoroughly Awesome Ms. Crums, and I managed to get a babysitter to watch our daughters, five-year-old Maddo and three-year-old Little Sis, and along with my mom, we all took the night off at a local Oakland restaurant, Mua.

Mua is located in what was once a huge autobody warehouse, and now, it is a huge restaurant offering up “modern American fusion bar food”. You can look up the menu here. Try the lamb cheeks and the mussels.

But what really makes Mua stand out is its bar. Like the restaurant itself, the bar is huge. And the selections are very plentiful, whether you want a beer, a glass of wine, a straight up standard cocktail like a martini, or if you go with something you have never heard of.

If you want to see Mua reviewed on the local version of the show “Check Please!” go here.

And in my case, that was the Joe Smash.

I don’t usually get drinks that have crazy names trying to be original. If I see something on the menu called a Murderer’s Row, you can bet that I’m going to order whatever IPA is on tap, instead. But this night, something about the Joe Smash appealed to me: Ketel One vodka. I’m not much of a vodka drinker, but maybe because it was a new place on a rare night out, when I read the drink recipe of Ketel One, Cointreau, mint, lemon and red grapes, I decided to give it a shot.

About 15 minutes later, just as we got the first of our appetizers, I ordered another one. And if you are ever in Oakland, you should stop by Mua and order two right from the start. Or just swing by your local grocery store and booze shop and get the fixin’s to make your own. No sense in waiting until your birthday.