So yea, I know, I fibbed. I haven’t been posting like I said I would be, but hopefully now since it’s getting nicer out & things are slowing down at work, you’ll be hearing more from me. But yea, what’s up?! Lots of things have been going on in my little world. Let’s play some catch up.
Not too long after my last post, I ran into my friend Jeremy. We’ve known each other forever, but he moved to NJ so I don’t get to see him very much. Well, he came back to the OC to visit, & brought some lovely brews for Sarah & I for Christmas. He brought us all Ommegang, the Hennepin, Three Philosophers, & Chocolate Indulgence. They were all really good, but I have to say that my favorite was the Hennepin.
In February we celebrated my birth! Born February 22nd, 1986, I turned 24 this year. The only thing that I knew I wanted to do for my birthday this year was go back to Massachusetts to see my Emma, & to drink more beer! Now, this sounds pretty simplistic. What you have to understand, is that it snows every year for my birthday. This year, it didn’t snow on the actual day, just the day we were supposed to leave for Massachusetts. & of course this couldn’t be a mild snow, it was like a Nor’easter. Orange County, NY got about 4 feet of snow. It was insane. That didn’t stop Sarah & I from grilling, though.
God bless our mini-Weber. So once it finally stopped snowing & we were able to shovel ourselves out, we finally set out to Massachusetts. It was so weird because as soon as you got out of Orange County there was practically no snow anywhere else. Just my luck. We basically just hung out when we went to Emma’s. We had to go back to the Amherst Brewing Company because I love that place. We also went & checked out the Northhampton Brewery. I got a burger & the Northhampton Pale Ale. I asked for barbeque sauce & got chili instead. It was weird. It was good but I like ABC better.
Also for my birthday, the lovely ladies that I work with enrolled me in the Beer of the Month club. Every month I get 12 beers; 4 different kinds, 3 of each beer. Nothing is more exciting then waking up & finding a box of beer on your front porch. The first month I received beers from Wild Goose & the Sprecher Brewing Company. From Wild Goose I got some IPA’s & some Brown Lagers. From Sprechers I got some Mai Bocks & Dunkel Weizens. I bet you can guess which was my favorite.
As I was typing this I actually got my second set of beers delivered. This time I got beers from the Farmington River Brewing Company & the Lakefront Brewery. From Farmington River there was some Brown Ales & Mahogany Ales. From the Lakefront Brewery I got their Riverwest Stein Beer & their new Wheat Monkey Ale. They look interesting, & I can’t wait to drink them.
As of late, my favorite thing to do is drive to New Jersey from the lovely food that they have to offer. I try to go at least once a month to a place I’ve either seen on TV (I watch a lot of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives, & Man Vs. Food,) or just random burger places. One of the first places we went to was the Country Pancake House in Ridgewood, NJ, which we saw on Man. Vs. Food. I know this doesn’t have to do with burgers or beers, but look at these pancakes!
Mine had cornmeal, bacon, ham, & cheese in them. They were amazing. We’ve gone back since then too. I got the potato pancakes the second time around. They were just as amazing. I’ve never seen so many different kinds of pancakes in my life. & it’s all really cheap! I love this place.
While in my travels in NJ, I’ve been searching for Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch EVERYWHERE. This then brought me to Bottle King, where I found this…
What is Bottle King thinking, putting Ed Hardy beer next to Flying Dog & Otter Creek? I was tempted to buy it, just to try it & since they didn’t have Raging Bitch, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Every time I go to NJ, Jeremy tells me about White Manna & how they have the best sliders ever. So after hearing about it so much, we decided that we needed to go. It’s located about an hour away in Hackensack, NJ, but it’s absolutely worth the drive. They really are the best sliders ever, located probably in the smallest “restaurant” I’ve ever seen. White Manna is amazing. I woke up the next morning still thinking about those little burgers. Our trip back will be sometime soon.
Although NJ will always have a large part of my heart, I think I might have found a new love; Connecticut. My cousin is getting married so we went out for her bridal shower. Most of my family lives in CT, so I don’t know why I don’t go there more often, but I think I will be now. CT has some of the best food I’ve probably ever had, especially their pizza. My uncle knows all about my food adventures, so he had a bunch of things set up by the time I got there. First thing on the agenda was mashed potato pizza from Bar in New Haven, CT. It was outrageous. I would have never thought to put potatoes on a pizza, but it was delicious. & right across the street from Bar is Louis Lunch, the birthplace of the burger. I was really upset because they were closed the days that I was in CT, but it didn’t stop me from being a tourist & taking a picture.
Now I wasn’t going to leave CT without a monumental burger, & I got one. We drove out to Meriden, CT to Ted’s for their world famous steamed cheeseburgers. This is another place that Adam Richman went to on Man Vs. Food. I’ve never had a steamed cheeseburger before so I had to see what it was all about. It was outstanding. Super cheesy, really flavorful. Probably one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. I think I need to try to find a steam box so I can make these myself.
As a side note, I’ve fallen in love. I’m in love with Samuel Adams Noble Pils. As big of a hop enthusiast as I am, this beer is just simply amazing. I’m sad that it’s about to disappear, but hopefully Sam Adams brings it back some day. Until then, I’m going to buy as much of it as I possibly can.
We recently went over to our friends’ house & they proceeded to tell us that they have never been to Cheeseburger in Paradise. This is not ok by me. So needless to say, we had to take them. It was cool though because I hadn’t been there yet in 2010. Now they plan on going at least once a month to CIP, in which I will inviting myself to every time.
& that’s really all I got for y’all. I have about 4 burger places lined up which I' will hopefully get to soon. We leave for Vermont in less then a month too! I seriously can’t wait. We’re going for 2 weeks this year, which means more time for more breweries. I want to drink Vermont dry. haha No, I won’t be greedy, but I do plan on making a dent. We’re also in the process of brewing a Pilsner. It should be perfect for the warmer weather. Good times, good brews, can’t wait!
