Tröegs is one of my favorite breweries. Their Troegenator Doublebock is in my top 5 of best beers ever. It came no surprise to me when I poured this Nugget Nectar that a shift in my standings was due.
The Nugget Nectar is listed as a red ale so don’t let the intense hops aroma fool you. Before that may scare you away the aroma isn’t overpowering. It poured a good head that was slightly fluffy. Unfortunately it was gone very fast. Nectar has a medium amber color to it instead of a darker red (the picture doesn’t do the hue justice). The body? Ohhhhhhh sweet jesus was it sinful. I’m going as far as to say that I would take this over my beloved Dogfish Head 90 minute. The finish was smooth and didn’t hang around for awhile.
Buy it now. Seriously. Stop what you’re doing and buy a 6pack.
Saw this Philly jersey at the Pens/Flyers game yesterday. After last year’s sweep (8-0) of the Flyers it’s good to see that the rivalry is back on and they’re finally showing up for a season.
With the win the Pens are in first by 3 points over the Devils and 4 over the Flyers. For you non-point system sports fans that breaks down to 1.5 and 2 games respectfully. Overall standings in the Eastern Conference have the Pens in 2nd place and only 3 points behind the Ottawa Senators.
Get your playoff beards started. Only 1.5 months left to go!
Last night Lushie and I had every intention of doing dinner and a movie. In the end, one out of two wasn’t bad.
We headed down to the Waterfront for dinner at the Rock Bottom brewpub. We try to make it there once to twice a year but living in the north, this isn’t one of the closest places to go out but it’s worth the drive to get away for a little bit.
We arrived to a 1 hour wait which we didn’t mind and expected. For starters, the bartenders were anything but desirable. I have a Mug Club membership and the bartender actually refused to give me the club mug and rate! His reason “Come back later, I’m busy.” Yeah busy talking to the cougar at the end of the bar. Not just a bad move to a customer but a customer that does beer reviews.
The service was heading downhill but turned out completely redeemed by Jesse who was hands down the coolest server I’ve ever had. He knew every detail of the menu from which beer to order with which dish and based on a series of questions made great selections for a meal. He also apologized for the bartenders and hooked me up with plenty of Mug Club beverages. Now for the goods.
The Food
Lushie threw a curveball and for the first time in recent memory ordered a non fish meal. She had the 8oz. sirloin and I had the Texas steak. Both meats cooked to the point of absolute perfection that I was able to cut it with a butter knife. Juicy, spicy with a side of garlic buttery fluffy mashed taters. Yup, heaven.
The Beer
I really want to put faith in chains like this but the best I can say is “its a good representation of the style” and leave it at that. Body on both the stout and brown were light. It looked like the styles and even carried a partial aroma but I think Michelob makes better mistakes. This wasn’t me being pissy about the bartender either, the beer was average and I think it’s because the brewmaster is stuck with what corporate has him brew.
The Dessert
What you see pictured above with me is the single best piece of carrot cake we have ever had. Moist, sweet and mmm yeah. I’m not a big dessert person so I don’t know exactly the best way to explain it than heaven. Not just a tiny sliver either but a 2 layered wonder.
Overall
If you’re looking for good value for your buck and great food this is a smart choice. If you’re going for the beer (and you’re experienced) try not to have high expectations. Oh yeah and try to get Jesse as your server.
I know you’re expecting a video but starting today until Good Friday, every Friday will be a review of fast food fish for those of us who have no choice. Well, I have a choice, I could eat pasta or soup but then I couldn’t bitch about having to eat fish and where’s the fun in that?
The cajun wasn’t overpowering and added a nice spice kick. The shredded lettuce was a nice touch but it couldn’t cover the fishy taste to me which I don’t care for. It did flake nicely and the crust wasn’t hard to bite through. A slice of cheese might have made up for the fishy taste or another head of lettuce. Did I mention the strong fishy taste? I know this is the first place that I’ve visited but I was impressed the fillet looked like a real piece of fish and not a processed square.
The Lenten special was 1 sammich, an order of my favorite curly fries and a medium drink. For around $5 that’s not too bad.
Grade: B+
No it’s not what you think. I’ve been fighting the flu so each morning is usually greeted with the pain of what I remember hangovers to be. That’s right, I don’t get hangovers anymore. In fact not since mid 90′s I believe. Cocky? naw. Superhuman? could be. Being the seasoned vet I know what to mix and when to put on the breaks.
Enough about that, let’s talk abut that toner on my head. At least that’s what an old coworker of mine used to always say. I admit that I’m not the most devout catholic these days. In fact ever since my Dad passed in 06 I really havent thought about it. I go when my wife wants me to go with her and last night was actually my doing. I know that my dad would have kicked my ass if I missed Ash Wednesday.
I think one of the biggest issues I have with the Pittsburgh diocese are the lines for designating which parish you can be a member of. The church we went to last night is 5 minutes from our front door. Because I live on the other side of this certain road, I am supposed to drive 25 minutes in the other direction. Think I’m going to do that? um, no. I’m trying to get back into going to church and now you’re going to tell me go somewhere completely out of my way? haha yeah OK.
Will I continue going to this church? Probably, I kinda dig it. Do I care that I don’t belong to a parish? No, not really. Will I stop being Fr. Spoon? Hell no. If you can’t differentiate him and me, you have other issues you need to address.
On the plus side I ate at my first Long John Silvers last night. Remember, I’m not a big seafood person so I always avoided this place. It wasn’t too bad. I had these buttered lobster bites that were quite tasty and a shrimp platter. Since it’s lent I should review a different fast food fish every Friday. *ugh* or maybe not.
Last week I brought you the Brother David’s Belgian-style Double Ale. This week we meet his bigger and older brother, the Triple Abbey Style Ale.
A Triple basically means that it uses three times the malt than that a Trappist. Alcohol level is generally from 8% to 12% and the lighter body comes from the use of Belgian candy sugar. At 10% ABV this Triple surprised me at first as it poured and carried the aroma of an IPA and little to no head. Initial taste was that of a Granny Smith apple but after a few more I was in a hoppy grape world. Hoppy grape? Yeah, hoppy grape. I know, odd eh?
Unlike the double, this one didn’t overpower my palette and left me with a floral vibe like that of a Stone Vertical Epic. There was wax on this one also(but gold) so I had to break out the foil cutter once again. No special design on the cap so feel free to tear it apart.
Brother David, you have balanced out your score with me as I give this a thumbs up.
mmm 10% is making me feel a little warm inside. I think it’s time for my favorite chair.
6 more weeks of winter according to the Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, Punxsutawney Phil, during his yearly bitter morning appearance. Currently his record is 97-14 for predicting 6 more weeks of winter which is usually a safe bet in Pennsylvania as most of the state is frozen until April. 30 freakin thousand people. May not seem like much to you but consider that Punxsutawney’s population is only 6100.
I make numerous trips to Punxy a year and each time I make the wife stop by the groundhog zoo to say hi to Phil. Summertime brings the Groundhog festival which is always a favorite of mine as I love small town festivals. I was never a big Phil fan until I moved to Pittsburgh but as I got older I started to appreciate the german tradition. Honestly with as much tension as there is in the world today with the political correctness, racism, soccer moms, war and social issues; it’s nice to be able to kick back on a frigid morning in PA to forget about it for a few hours and raise a pint.
I’m in the mood for some groundhog cookies. I may have to give The Mert a call to send some down.
Since tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year, Groundhog Day, I thought it only fitting to post this montage from the 1993 classic Groundhog’s Day. If you’ve never seen it, Phil (Bill Murray) is a weatherman from Pittsburgh who is in Punxy covering the groundhog event but when a snowstorm delays returning home Phil wakes up reliving Groundhog’s day over and over again until he gets it “right”.
C’mon, buddy. Case Western High. I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing!
