I found this place on Yelp…and many of their reviewers indicated that it was “even better” than Billy’s Downtown Diner….and many made this place seem like the underdog of the local breakfast spots.  Always a fan of the underdog, I decided  I wouldn’t go with the crowd and I would nestle up to the cozy Blue Sky Cafe.

So, I drove the few hours from home to Bethlehem, targeting this old city as my first stop on a multi-day journey through Pennsylvania to Maryland.

Ok, well, I arrived at 9:45 or so, and I grabbed a meter in front of this little breakfast spot.  I was pleasantly surprised that there are only 6 people in the place that looks like it might seat 35 or so at full capacity….and what does this mean for this man on the move?  Nice quick breakfast!  Or…so I thought.

I was greeted promptly and was told I could sit anywhere (and I mean…anywhere!).  I had coffee ordered before I rested myself at my table and had a menu laid on the table before me.

I could get used to such pleasant, attentive service.  This place seems to really care about you.  And as I looked down, the grouping of napkins under my table leg convinced me. The people here are all about making your visit comfortable….but more on that later.

I had researched some food review websites, and I had planned on going with one of their signature dishes:  Banana Bourbon French Toast.  I decided to have it with chocolate chips (why go half way…right?) and of course, a side of bacon.

Some people, use “like” in conversation.  Some people use “ya know what I mean” … Well, my catch phrase is ” …and a side of bacon”.  It works for me…you should try it.

The anticipation for breakfast grew.  This french toast would be quite a change-up from what has become my usual (can you say egg beaters omelet, side of fruit …and sadly no bacon).  Then….at some point, a period of anticipation becomes a wait….and then it becomes a long waiting period….and finally becomes a “There are ONLY six people here, how-could-this-be-taking-so-long-wait“.

How do you know when things are REAL slow?  When you feed the meter with plenty of quarters and you STILL get one of these?

Ok…ok…maybe it will be worth the wait.  And maybe this is a shift change at the Blue Sky Cafe….but word to the wise, things can get slow….and obviously not just in the “busy” periods.

Ok — the food arrived — and it was very appealing to the eye!

First take, it appeared a little soupy, but hey, french toast looked firm, so it is obviously holding up to the swimming pool of bourbon sauce.  I dipped the fork in the sauce as a way of revving the taste buds.  Next reaction?  ”There’s bourbon in here”?  I didn’t get the taste of anything like that, really….just a “plate pond” of super sweet, syrup, with some melted chocolate co-mingling with it.

Well, there was SOME good news…they give you FIVE strips on your side of bacon — and while the bacon was pedestrian, it was nice to get five instead of the standard three pieces some places try to give you.  Yes….in case you are wondering, sometimes it’s the small things….more on that later.

In retrospect, the chocolate chips on this may have been a little much.  The dish is super sweet to begin with and I thought the chocolate-bourbon combo would give the taste buds a new adventure.  When the bourbon flavor, or any NEW flavor, failed to surface, it became a dessert – one that proved challenging to enjoy.

The best I can say on the main dish is the bananas were perfect, not too ripe, not falling apart and just right for the planned dish.  Secondly, the french toast does not succumb to the soupy sauce and it actually stood up to it and was the perfect base here.  But, while it would be good for a kid’s dessert, this “signature” dish didn’t accomplish anything for me.

So, in summary, coffee was average for diner type coffee.  Bacon was plentiful, cooked well, but otherwise unremarkable.  Banana Bourbon French Toast was a lacking dish for me.  Maybe others can find happiness in this swimming pool of sugar, but I’d rather pass on taking this swim!

Ok….but rather than closing on that note, let’s go back to the considerate people at the Blue Sky!  There’s a couple of unique ways they relay that they care about you….how they want you to feel loved and comforted.

First of all, my waitress, who was attentive once my slow wait for my food was over, was very good overall.  Only thing missing, perhaps, was her realization that a virtually empty restaurant might lead me to getting my food served more promptly.  She added a nice touch to my check, affixing a valentine’s sticker to make me feel loved.

The  next bit of hospitality is, well, to me…..a little creepy!

Not wanting to take all my coffee with me on the road, I hit the bathroom to make sure I was empty for the next leg of my journey (TMI??)

Ok, ok…..let’s see what you think of the photo below….any nominations for what I might find creepy in this photo?

(tick tock, tick tock…..there are no game show prizes, so shout out your answers…).

Could it be the top of the toilet being askew?  Could it be the can of Oust!?  While those are two fine tidbits….they don’t rate on the creepy meter!

How about…

#1) While I don’t show a closeup (in case it has some personal meaning to the place), there is a photo of a guy on the wall, behind the toilet, either watching you pee or worse, behind you….and by the way, he’s playing the drums.  Now, he might be someone’s relative, and I want to be respectful in case….but does his picture need to be behind the toilet?  I don’t even want to think about why it is there.

#2) Well, I’m sure this next item might be seen as courteous by some, but really….?  A magazine rack of reading materials in a restaurant bathroom????  This, to me, is creepville!  I mean, do you really have a lot of people who use that john and think….I wish I could blow out this bathroom while reading some magazine….?

Curious what they offer for your “visit”?  I’m sorry, but I did NOT flip through to see what they had for variety.  I could only see what was the first periodical:  “Parachutist Magazine”.

Ok – I laughed out loud.  I hope the SIX people in the restaurant couldn’t hear me.  I mean seriously??

And how did I interpret this?

You’re sitting on the restaurant john, decide to read something…and you reach for Parachutist Magazine?  All this while your breakfast parachutes into the toilet???

Sorry for the visual….it was the only thing I could think of for the next hour or so as I headed towards Hershey.

And…the next time you read a group of reviews saying this place is better than “X”, or just as good as “X”, maybe they are really telling you who the standard-bearer is!  “X” is the measuring stick for a reason.  Next time in Bethlehem, I’ll try “X” (Billy’s Downtown Diner”).

So, in closing, …breakfast here was not so great, but Blue Sky Cafe certainly made me feel “comforted”.

This being my second trip in three months, not much was new for me at the Brewery.  A friend had me look into availability of their recently released Hellhound (they call them occasional rarities), but distribution (even there) is extremely limited).

I sampled some Hellhound as well as some Black and Blue (brewed with blueberries and blackberries).  Both were very good, and very different from each other.  Hellhound, flavor through its bitterness profile, while the Black and Blue barked out sweetness that stated “….bring me to a patio, on a warm day….and lament when my capsule is empty!”.

I picked up a couple of bottles and made my way out to Rehobeth Beach, DE — home of their brewpub, where most of their beers are available on tap, not something you can say for beer joints around Massachusetts.

At the Brew Pub, I bellied up and ordered a Hellhound on draft, while perusing their menu.  This menu is a little more straightforward than the exotic goodness I have seen at the Victory BrewPub in Downington, PA, but many pleasing choices, nonetheless.

I opted for the indulgence burger, which is described on the menu as “piled high with one of our beer battered onion rings, melted cheddar, and bacon crumbles”, and then they add “consider yourself challenged!”.  Ha!  Lay it on me!!

Burger was decent, my choice of rosemary focaccia bread may have contributed to a bit of a dry finish to the burger.

Onion rings were very good, for a non-hand-dipped variety.  They were very large and tasty.

Accompanying this nice burger was my current Dogfish favorite, Burton Baton.  A beer to savor, a beer to swish around your mouth so that no part of the mouth is left out of the fun.  This party in your mouth is always over too soon!

This lunch rates as a “very good”, but, let’s face it, PB & J, served with these beers may warrant mention in Bon Appetit magazine.

First up was Brown Angel Double Brown Ale — a little lighter than I expected, but an easy drinking beer that all three tasters enjoyed!

We chased away the Brown Sugar with a taste of Eagle Claw Fist, an Imperial Amber Ale.  Given my affinity for Amber Ales, I was excited to finally try this.  It was very good, with all three tasters approving of it.  I can’t claim that I wanted a second, but if someone served this to me, I’d instantly think that person was a “good shit”…. 

Lastly, for this brief pregame tasting was the beer everyone WANTS to love, mostly because of the cool name — Tramp Stamp, which is a Belgian India Pale Ale.  While Terry and I enjoyed it, Brendan pooh-pooh’d this choice and could not even finish his beer.

Off to the “Yard” to see the Red Sox take on “Buck” Showalter’s Orioles.

Nice Sox win, which they all are, but avoiding a sweep to the O’s was an essential thing for this early season.

In fact, it called for some celebrating with the local birds…

And who knew there were so many Oriole Birds over the years??  On a mural on our way out, I had to snap a photo of all the local birds.  Somewhere in that list, are the Orioles of old, the ones who don’t finish near the bottom of the AL East.

Well, a good night comes to an end — the last night of age 42 — I know, I know…I don’t look a day over…..(insert a low prime number here)…

Ok, ok, enough of the daydreaming….so how best to spend a day doing many of the things you enjoy?  How about starting off with a crazy good breakfast place, with great food and excellent service?

Of course, this leads me to my favorite breakfast place of all time – Miss Shirley’s.  I always enjoy the food at Miss Shirley’s, and while it will never be considered  “cheap eats”, I always feel like I got my money’s worth.

One thing I try to do here is to get something different each time.  This is very tough to do once I recall the items I have had in the past (Breakfast Trio of Sliders, Pumpkin Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast are two that come to mind).  Today, the choice between savory breakfast and sweet breakfast was easy when I spotted something called Cinnamon Danish Pancakes on their unbelievable menu.  I hope the photos below relay the delicious discs as I experienced them.

My first thoughts were — “Wow, are you kidding me?”…”These look to good to eat” – But, yes, I somehow found a way to dive in.

As I knifed my way through, I somehow felt like I was desecrating a work of art…but, yes, I got over that guilt as well, to start doing the whole fork-to-mouth routine!  In the words of some…”Yes, They’re Real and They’re Spectacular“!

My only hesitancy during this orgy of flavor was whether I do my regular bath of butter over the top and around the edges of my pancakes.  I seriously worried if the butter would somehow hide one of the ingredients in this symphony!  Well, butter was added and I think it made for a good marriage.

Yeh, I got coffee and a side of bacon (yawn, so what) but these only served as a nice compliment when I took my snout out of this melange of cinnamon, butter, sugar and, of course, LOVE!  Yeh, I said it — I could taste the love.

Happy Birthday to me, Miss Shirley, you always make me feel like I am treating myself right!

One such place, was Victory Brewing in Downington, PA.

Last time around, I only imbibed with one of their beers, a Golden Monkey, and moved on to other places for chow.  This time, I promised myself, try the food, relax, try a couple more of their beers to see what else they had to offer.  I was well rewarded for this plan.

I was greeted warmly from the bartender and offered a beer menu and a food menu — can you say “yes, please” and “yes, please”?

I usually try to order a beer that I haven’t had before and I followed that plan and jumped on a Hop Wallop!

Wallop my taste buds, it did, as my mouth became overjoyed at the transition from Starbucks coffee to Hop Wallop.  I was pleased with my choice off of the  craft beer menu, one that had some wonderful options.  Check out their main beer menu here – what would you have ordered?

I narrowed the food choices down to two sandwiches (The Prime and the Dietrich) and an entree (I never saw a Reuben Meatloaf on a menu before, so it made it to the final cut…..my version of American Idol).

In the end, my weakness for a Reuben overwhelmed the other choices and I went with the Dietrich.  (much of my spare time is spent searching  the countryside for the best reuben….if life was a series of lobster rolls, reuben sandwiches and chicken salad sandwiches….I could consider giving up steak…but I digress).

This reuben was top-notch!

A delicious home-made pastrami, served with fingerling potato fries, both of which made me long for having this place in my neighborhood.  The serving was more than enough!  In fact, I  couldn’t even finish the whole plate…. even if that meant, just leaving a few pickles.

Wanting to try one more beverage before I left, I tried the summer seasonal, a Whirlwind Witbier.  This beer was ok, but I think after a hop wallop, many of the lighter beers mind as well have been a bottle of poland springs water.

It was time to get back on the road, down to Baltimore, to settle in to watch the Bruins in game 7 against the Canadiens.  My Baltimore buddy Brendan O’Brien and I watched a the action from a couple of bars in Canton.

First up, was Loonies, but the small TV screen size challenged our eyesight, reminding us too much how much older we are (well, for Brendan anyways).  These old men needed large screens, damn it!!!  Luckily, a few spots up the street, we found great TV’s and good beer at an old dancing haunt of ours (I vaguely remember a dancing trance of Shakira music, which certainly convinced me that night that ~Hips Don’t Lie~), the Claddagh.  A Bruins win and a few Raging Bitches (the beer, not the locals) were a good way to end this day.

Davis Square is chock full of great shopping and dining nuggets and Redbones is certainly one of the landmarks of this hip area.

Seated as we walked in, one can’t help but notice that this place is more about the substance and less on the style — don’t let the close tables and bare bones comfort fool you, the people here from the kitchen to the wait staff clearly love what they do and they do their best to make this foray into southern BBQ a truly enjoyable experience.

I had waffled all day between pork ribs and beef ribs….the last time I did this, I took the indecisive route and went with the BBQ Belt, which is  “A taste of the South, featuring Memphis, Texas & Arkansas Ribs & Sliced Brisket. Served w/ beans, cole slaw & sauce”.  Now…I KNOW I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I have been trying to make more definitive choices in life…and why not make one here?

Pork ribs…beef ribs…?  Pork ribs…Beef ribs…?  Fully leaning towards pork ribs…I had made my decision…and when the server asked what I was going to have…I told him proudly….”Brisket!”….Damn those delicious ribs!  Brisket!!!!

So — this poor guy says “small or large?”.

Do I look like someone who orders small things?  Coffee…beer…button down oxfords…I am a guy that usually takes the biggest size of anything.  So, large dinner plate of brisket.

My dining partner went with the Buffalo Shrimp…., so I was out of luck if I had hopes of trying some of their pork.

We had also decided to try some fried pickles and fried jalapenos, served with a side of ranch dressing/sauce.

These fried nuggets of love were good, with a nice batter coating the outside.  The jalapenos gave some spice to the palate, but were tame on the Scoville meter.

The micro brew list here has gained its own, separate, distinguished reputation.  It is well deserved!  They had quite a sampling of items not seen at most restaurants.  I went with a Pretty Things Jack d’Or, which was very tasty, lighter than expected.  I’d like to try another one sometime, perhaps with a few degrees chillier to make my full assessment.  In an effort not to overpower my food, I backed off the deeper, fuller varieties and went with a lighter standby, Allagash White for a second pint.  Nice, clean, consistent Maine brew.

I sampled the Buffalo Shrimp which was very tasty.  The coating had a light crunch to it, which was so welcomed!  Some buffalo shrimp have a coating that is like a wet fried paste, but this version seemed to give it a full, fried coat, and the buffalo sauce did not break down the crunchy batter!  These were very good — but on to the BBQ, I mean, this IS a BBQ joint after all!

My serving was huge — I guess I did order large — but this was one massive grouping of delicious, tender, love… This “sliced, slowly smoked, tender brisket” was as great as one would hope!  I also used their “hot” sauce on the side, which was very tasty, but again, not very hot — I think they could increase the heat on the sauce.

The brisket left no reservations about my choice to skip the ribs.  It was accompanies with plump, hot baked beans which were better than most.  The cole slaw was fresh and plentiful, but lacked a little mayo in my mind.  Yes — this could be my Hellman’s addiction talking -

I left full of food and full of appreciation for the food, beverages and service at Redbones –

I’ll be back — just don’t make me choose between the pork or the beef….

I was there in time for a brunch, but I thought I would just do a quicker hitter — a couple (few?) beers and a small bite was more what I needed on this day.

First up, I ordered a Racer 5 IPA and a menu (which meant a lunch menu, a beer menu and a specials/brunch menu).

At this point, there was a minute when I saw some Mahi Mahi tacos on the menu, and was tempted to switch it up, but when the bartender told me they were not available until dinner, it made my mind up for me….today was going to be a burger and beer place — will do some Mexican here the next time.

It took me some time to make up my mind, so it was time for a second beer — which was going to be a Stone Arrogant Bastard (approriately named, huh?….I can hear you…).  Beers were very cold and the service was prompt.  The bartender was very helpful in telling me what was good, what beer seems to be getting some buzz and what was “just tapped”.

I chose to go with the Sante Fe version of their regular beef burger.  This adds slices of fresh avacado, chipotle pepper sauce and pepperjack cheese, all served with pickles and a choice of fries, onion rings….and (white noise)…I mean it’s always going to be onion rings or fries, right?  (disclaimer — ok, maybe cole slaw with some summery fried fish)

The burger was tasty and firm.  Now, I say firm, because I thought it was unusually firm.  It was not overcooked, but I think the cook may have sat on the patties to make them so firm.  So, the nit-picker in me prefers a burger that isn’t so hockey-puck firm.  The burger had a nice beef taste.  And while we are talking firm….the avacado was a little firm as well.  The chipotle sauce was more of a pepper tasting sauce, rather than a smokey chipotle.  The pepperjack was semi mild with this burger.  The onion rings appeared to be those pre-cut variety which can be tasty (and these were!), but I sit here as a fan of obivously homemade onion rings.  If these were homemade, I was fooled.  As far as cookie cutter onion rings go — these were very good.

Third and final beer for the day was Anderson Valley Imperial Amber — which came from a “fresh” keg.  The beer tasted like it lacked a little bit of the CO2, which left me, and the beer, a little flat.

In summary, service was very good, menus are great and varied, food was decent and the beers were almost perfect.  This time around they get a 4.5 out of five “Bucks”.  But, I’ll be back….soon.

This last item on their itinerary caused some wheels to start turning….notably, Mr. Third Wheel — that would be me (I can play third wheel, fifth wheel and can even maybe max out as a seventh wheel, with the best of them!) — was now entertaining the idea of joining them.

Chuck seemed to think it would be a great idea to have this beer novice in tow as he and Anne made their way through Portland Maine.

I hemmed, I hawed….for a couple weeks really.

I finally decided I had to be a part of some beer research in the greater Portland area.  I kept my decision to myself, opting to join Chuck and Anne midway through their Saturday.  I figured giving them much of the first day to travel without a third wheel was the least I could do. 

I started my day by opting to check out Portsmouth New Hampshire on my way up the coast.  I have been here a handful of times, but never with checking out some beer as a major reason.  I walked through the streets, upset with the nice weather and my bad timing, which created a long line at some places that I would have checked out (Portsmouth Brewery, Gaslight Co.).

I opted for Ri Ra, an Irish place right at the juncture of many of the streets in the center.  Very nice place, roomy, but kind of lacking a warmth you might get from a cozier spot.

First decision?  A man needs to have a beverage while perusing a lunch menu – right?  I examined the beers on tap, which, in general, seemed to be a little “safe”, not venturing too far from mainstream selections.

For my first beer, I decided to check out the Switchback Ale (from Vermont), which was nice, but nothing to beg for a second pint.  It was cold, and it was served promptly, so no real complaint with the Switchback…I just would decide to move on.

Time to check out the menu.

I dialed in on the sandwiches.  Trying to expand my horizons a bit, I passed over what I would normally get and I jumped on the Guinness Short Rib Melt.

It was served with nice thin onion rings, a side of horseradish sauce and the skinniest pickle I have ever seen!  Hey, it IS an Irish place, maybe small/skinny pickles are the norm…

The sauce was very mild, which may be fine for some, but I looked forward to the sharpness a horseradish can provide.  The short rib chunks were decent, on the tender side, but the flavor didn’t sing much.  The size of the sandwich was my only major complaint — it is served on something resembling a “slider” bun.

I would give the onion rings a thumbs up, beer selection thumb sideways and the sandwich a thumbs down after thinking long and hard about it.  In general, like the pickle, this stop was a little too skinny on taste for me.

During my trip to Ri Ra, I “checked in” on Facebook.  No sooner had I put the cell phone down that my friend Sally responded to the post that her and her husband Digger were right down the street and would buy me a beer if I happened to find them.  So, off to the bottom floor bar at the Gaslight I went.  Enjoyed a black and blue (Guinness and Blueberry beer) with them and chatted up all things Woburn, York Maine and Yeungling.  Lots of laughs in a quick visit with them!  Hope to have a beer again with them sometime — but off I went — directing the truck north up the coast.

Next stop was a quick side trip to pick up something I would likely need sometime around midnight.  Thinking a (quite a) few beers will be in my future, I imagine a bite of some yummy bread might be a good midnight snack.  This required a stop at When Pigs Fly Bread Company in Kittery Maine.  This regular spot provides me a real problem — making a decision.  I usually choose a savory bread and a sweet choice as well.  This enables one to have bread for a meal followed by the oh-so-loved dessert known as …more bread.

I grabbed a loaf of sicilian green olive and hot cherry pepper and a loaf of banana cashew turtle.  Because I had planned ahead, I packed all the essentials….clothes, toiletries and of course, a stick of butter.  The stick of butter now had it’s pairing for sometime around midnight in Portland Maine.

Back on the road, I zipped to a beer bar recommended by a guy I follow on Twitter – Brian — you can follow him at @SeacoastBevLab !  His first recommendation was the Dancing Bear — so I did set the GPS for the Dancing Bear and made my way to a parking spot near the bar.  It was at this juncture that I received a text from Chuck and Anne (who still did not know if I remained back in Woburn or decided to join them).  “Will be at the Dancing Bear in three minutes” was the message — which I found kind of creepy — were they tailing me?  Was I being punked, Maine-craft-beer style?  It actually turned out to be a coincidence -

So, the secret was out — Mr. Third Wheel was in da house!  Well, in da Bar!

Chuck and Anne joined me a few minutes after I bellied up to the bar.

Now, the only issue with these places that have +50 bars on tap is making a decision.  Hey!  I used to have trouble at the 99 deciding between Blue Moon and Killian’s…..wow….the OLD Beer Days….

The resolution these places offer is give you an opportunity to order a flight of beers — a sample, served on a beer paddle.  That was the route I took, ordering some ambers, some IPA’s and a brown ale.

I found the Sebago Runabout, North Coast Red Seal and Rogue Yellow Snow to be average, kind of allowing my taste buds to sleepwalk through the first few samples.  What’s the tip people always give you…Don’t eat yellow snow?  Yeh – I wouldn’t drink it either! 

It turned out that the last two choices were good ones as they served as a good way to wake up the taste buds.  The Jockamo IPA and Turbodog Brown Ale both made the beer flight worth it!  I also loved that I ended on a high, tasty note.  Food?  Wasn’t gonna bother mentioning, I mean, you are here for the beer right?  Well, let me ask you this – does the following item look like something out of a kitchen or possibly something found at the bottom of a swimming pool?

Yeh — I thought so — I don’t even remember what the sauce was.  But I tried to dress this baby up!  This WAS a boneless finger, jerk style.  Well, I look at it this way…I was wrong to leave the beer only diet.  It was a sign…”drink more beer”

After the trip to the Bear, I went to check in at my hotel while the lovebirds (Chuck and Anne) went to a light dinner down near their hotel.

My hotel was the Eastland Park Hotel – not a bad place at all  — running about $60 on priceline (included the fees and taxes).  People online claimed the bathroom was small — and it was — but if that is the biggest complaint, I think the place has served as a decent place to rest your head…and of course, your butter.

While waiting to resume my third wheel duties, I ventured out to Gritty McDuff’s Portland Brew Pub.  They have their own brews and I decided to sample a few while waiting for my partners in crime.

I spent an hour or more at Gritty’s – I decided to try three different brews.

I chose a Red Claws first — a nice, mild amber ale — this provided no surprises to my palate.  Batting second, a “Pub Style”, which is described as a Pale Ale with a nice hop finish — it was nice, but again, a little lighter on the hops than what I have been enjoying of late.  Last up at Grittys was an “21″ IPA — which was very tasty — I could get used to the “21″ —

Grittys is worth a visit — no idea what the food is like here.  Beer WAS food for this portion of the trip.

Met up with Chuck and Anne and we went to what was going to be the last place scheduled on this trip — a beer nirvana of sorts — a place that both Chuck and I had been recommended to visit.  The place is Novare Res Bier Cafe — a place, we found, as dark and comforting as the stouts we were about to let splash down our throats!

When coming to places like this, you think to yourself, why do I drink average beer?  Why do I settle?  Be Picky!  Demand the best of your beer, and the rest of your life will fall in place (ok, ok, I am overdoing it here, but I’m leaving that in!).

Lots of choices at this place, on draught (draft?) and in the bottle.  Lots of hard to find beer here.

First off for me was a Beer Geek Breakfast Stout – from Germany – very tasty!  This was a great experiment because I don’t usually get too excited about stouts, but I decided to try this after I sampled a taste provided by the bartender.  He couldn’t have been more attentive and helpful with the beer offerings.

I decided the night had to start coming to a close, which meant I had to start thinking about leaving — but such good beer here!  Ok Ok – one more I decided, and offered a taste of Marshall Wharf’s Russian Imperial Stout — I was sold — I KNEW this would be my beer dessert, of sorts.  Rich, Dark and Tasty!

I savored the last of the beer and possibly the last of the night with Chuck and Anne – a few more sips and I would be on my way back uptown to my hotel.

I finished this tasty one and decided this dark, great chapter had to come to a close.  Cheers to Novare Res Bief Cafe!!!

Off I went, making my way along Commercial Street, passing many places that could have put an exclamation mark on the night — But I was good — I was responsible….

Until — I saw Three Dollar Dewey’s — a place recommended to me by my friend Sally and her husband Digger.  I decided this was “beer karma” — a sort of excuse to have another “last one” –

I think I promised to have some sort of Cherry Bomb (Guinness and Cherry Wheat?), but decided to grab something “hoppier” to end the night – Victory Hop Devil – a recent offering in the beer tasting I had with friends.

I closed the night by walking (straight) back to the hotel, fully knowing my friends — bread and butter — were waiting for me.

I decided two small slices of olive/hot pepper with butter would do the trick –

The bread was delicious, as always, and offered my belly something that didn’t have a hoppiness component.

And so, the quick shot up the coast to Portland came to a close with a restful sleep and a uneventful ride back to Woburn in the morning.

All and all, Portland’s beer scene proved to be well worth the trip — something like this is fast becoming my “bread and butter”!

Some of these beers were picked up along the roadways of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware during my recent beer trip.

In devising a system that I thought would work well, I offered up the sweeter or less bitter beers first and moved up the hoppy bitterness scale before taking a step back with a delicious mellow porter.  I think this order was important with the huge hops content in the second two thirds of the samples.  Let’s face it, some of the tasters (me included) may have thought “hops” was what I exhibited playing high school back in the day.

The 16 beers that we sampled, from 8 different states, in order, were:

• Allagash White Ale (ME)
• Southampton Publick House Double White Ale (NY)
• Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat (MA)
• Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin’ Ale (CA)
• Heavy Seas Small Craft Advisory Uber Pils (MD)
• Founders Brewing Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale (MI)
• Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA (MD)
• Founders Brewing Centennial IPA (MI)
• New England Brewing Sea Hag IPA (CT)
• Victory Brewing Hop Devil Ale (PA)
• Bell’s Brewery Two Hearted Ale (MI)
• Founders Brewing Red’s Rye PA (MI)
• Troegs HopBack Amber Ale (PA)
• Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale (CA)
• Troegs Nugget Nectar Imperial Amber Ale (PA)
• Founders Brewing Porter (MI)

The tasters for the night have had their names partially changed to protect them from getting a hard time from hops lovers throughout the greater Woburn region.  The tasters were:

• Buckbites (moderator and taster)
• P Dots
• S Dots
• S Cal
• D Cal
• T Fic
• E Fic

In their most sober state, E Fic and D Cal are shown gearing up for the first tastes of the evening.

Individuals were provided some information that was culled from the Internet, paired with scoring sheets I prepared.   Individual packets included:

• The Art of Tasting
• Descriptions of the Varieties of Beer to be Tasted
• Scoring sheets, which provided names of beer and free form text areas (no numerical ratings were used for this group).

Some, like S Cal, took time out of the excitement to study up on the pre-tasting information.

Beer types to be tasted were:

• Witbier (Wheat Beer)
• American Pale Ale
• American Double / Imperial Pilsner
• Scotch Ale
• Belgian Style IPA
• American IPA
• Rye Beer
• American Amber / Red Ale
• American Porter

Information on the types of beer was researched through Beer Advocate.

The chef for the night (S Dots), doubling as beer taster #3 (but chef #1), provided lots of tasty delights, with highlights being buffalo chicken dip with celery and nacho chips, roasted red potatoes with a delicious horseradish chive sour cream sauce, crab cakes with lemon dill sauce and these wonderful beef crostini with sage whipped cream.  All of these were top notch and I am not word-worthy enough to describe how delish they were!  Bravo chef!

Below are the tasting note summaries.  I have also included a subjective ranking of 1 through 5 beers – 5 being the best rating and 1 being the worst rating.

Beer #1 – Allagash White Ale -

Spicy
Lemon
Could use lemon
Not a fan of aftertaste
Fizzy
Unsure
Modest aroma
Spicy
Light & Refreshing
Dark Yellow Color
Cloudy
Summery

Beer #2 – Southampton Double White

Fruity
Not liking aftertaste
Bad smell
Light
Very clear
Light head
Slightly more bitter than Allagash
Lots of bubbles
Stinky
Fizzy

Beer #3 – Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat

Pleasing scent
Lightish
Sweet smell
Bananas
Caramel
Alcohol-y
Light, but nice body
Good color
Don’t like it
Bitter
Dig this!
Could drink a whole one

Beer #4 – Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin Ale

Lemony
Citrus
Berry
Tart
Lousy
Berryish
Fruity
Bitter
Dry
Cherry
Hops
Didn’t like finish

Beer #5 – Heavy Seas Small Craft Advisory – Uber Pils

Fizzy
Bitter
Clovey
Smells like beer
Good, bitter though
Don’t like after taste

Beer #6 – Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale

Thick
Syrup-y
Can’t drink a whole one
G-nasty
Coffee
Strong
Malty
Peppery
Smoky

Beer #7 – Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA

Fruity Aroma
I comb my tongue with my teeth
Tastes like detergent
Like an IPA with a white ale finish
Hoppy
Fruity
Like It!

Beer #8 – Founders Brewing Centennial IPA

Smells fruity
Strong
Spicy
Alcohol taste
IPA Hoppy
Lemon/citrus
Fruity

Beer #9 – New England Brewing Sea Hag IPA

I Like the Lady!
Ouch!
Fruity
Less hoppy IPA
No smell
Unlike other IPA’s

Beer #10 – Victory Brewing Hop Devil Ale

Yummy
Hops
Nice label
Like it, actually
Heavy flavor
Very good
Good
Fruity
Bisquit-like

Beer #11 – Bell’s Brewery Two Hearted Ale

Lemon
Very good
Didn’t like that one
Like a meadow
Flowery
Fruity

Beer #12 – Founders Brewing Red’s Rye PA

Hops
Grapefruit
Citrusy
No different than an IPA
Hoppy

Beer #13 – Tröegs HopBack Amber Ale

Very Good ***
Yummy
Good Color
Tasty
My favorite

Beer #14 – Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale

Not crazy about finish
I like this one a lot
Tasty
I like
More Hops
Complex

Beer #15 – Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Powerful aroma
Nasty
Like Feet
Lighter than the sister
Fizzy
Hops a lot
Smells Nasty!

And just a note, I had trouble with ‘da hops a couple months back, but I am now endorsing the stinky feet of the Nugget Nectar!!

Beer #16 – Founders Brewing Porter

Coffee
Chocolate Smell
Smokey
Syrup Appearance, but not as heavy tasting
Complex
Thinner than expected
Would try again

The crowd had their ups and downs, favorites and ones for which they were not wanting a second sip.

In general, the favorites of the night in no particular order were:

• Troegs HopBack Amber Ale
• Founders Porter
• Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat
• Heavy Seas Small Craft Advisory Uber Pils
• Bear Republic Red Rocket
• Victory Beer Hop Devil

Honorable mentions:  Which usually meant infatuation with the name and or label:

• Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale
• Raging Bitch Belgian Style IPA

Pleasant surprise:

• New England Brewery Sea Hag IPA — surprise at decent flavored IPA in a can.  This was the only beer that came in a can.

The food was great — the beer was interesting and the company was long overdue —

Until the next time — Cheers!

Had lunch recently at Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar and Grill — using a Groupon I had purchased months back.  As the deadline approached, I figured a Saturday lunch was as good a time as any to use the $35 I had in the Jerry Remy Bank.

We got there nice and early before any of the lunch rush and we took two seats at the bar.  We had the bar mostly to ourselves at this point.  The help were a little sleepy at the beginning, as there was no crowd to keep them moving.  There was a table watching a soccer match, a table screaming for Syracuse over Georgetown and a few stragglers like us.

The TV’s (they call them Screen Monsters) are great — I have been there at night and they are even better when no daytime glare creeps into the viewing equation.

The first thing you notice about the menu is the great variety, with some funky twists on some menu staples (a burger served on fried dough?).  Secondly, you will notice that this place is a little expensive.  The prices alone would make this restaurant a place where you would “pick your spots” when to go.  The Groupon lessened the pain of a steep bill.

Perusing the drink menu, I decided to grab a Racer IPA #5, from Bear Republic — deliciously cold, in a frosted pint glass!  Five stars!  Later, I took in the Harpoon Catamount Wheat and lastly, a Dogfish head 60 Minute IPA (a great standby!).  The only issue with the beers is the third beer came in a room temperature glass, so a stickler on beer temperature like me could at least bitch about something.

Moving onto the food menu, we decided on an appetizer of Onion Rings — I’ll eat onion rings ANYTIME, ANYPLACE….so, this was something that had to happen!  They are served in a tower, with chipotle aioli and ranch dressing.

The onion rings were tasty, with a slight oily gathering on the lower layers of rings.  Not TOO much, but enough to know the difference from the crisp, clean ones on the top and the bottom ones.

The sauces were pedestrian.  The chipotle had barely any bite.  I wanted more of the bite — this is Buck BITES after all — the more the bite, the more I am happy.  The ranch dressing was invisible to me — my rings don’t dance with the ranch…

I moved onto my entree — which was the Southie Burger.  The South Burger is a beef patty on Texas toast, with bacon, pastrami, mustard (I don’t normally have that on a burger), mayonnaise, swiss cheese (another non-favorite) and grilled onions.  Some of the chipotle aioli was on the side.

My dining partner got the chicken Caesar salad (yawn), which was reportedly decent, even if they skimped on the dressing on the side.

She chose the pomegranate margarita for her libation and enjoyed the pink yumminess.

Back to the Southie Burger….Despite the mustard and swiss cheese angles, this burger was juicy and delicious!  Even with the big texas toast, this juicy patty ended up on the plate, falling apart from it’s juicy accompaniments.

It came with a fried pickle, which was good — my first (you always remember your first).  I don’t know if I would order them as their own appetizer.  I mean, between onion rings and fried pickles, I’d never find myself in a pickle.

In conclusion — I’d say Jerry Remy’s place is definitely scored a HIT…..but I’d make arrangements for additional meal money in your next contract…..just sayin’