edenman

I find the Integrity to be a lot hoppier, much more pronounced grapefruit than the richer style of the Brutal.

Cool, that's what I was looking for...will have to check it out. I tend not to be the biggest fan of the excessively piney/grapefruity hops, but it's worth a try. And any excuse to get out to Rustico is a good excuse.

Just a warning...said Lawnmower Light cask was dry-hopped. Further investigation is necessary to see if the standard distillery, er, brewery bottling is as useful.

fwiw, I don't believe Lawnmower Light is bottled...it's generally only been available at the Rehoboth pub, although I imagine you can get it at Gaithersburg (and events like the Rustico thing).

Rustico's Rogue tap is currently Integrity IPA

Anybody had this? how does it compare to brutal bitter?

He also owns a second brewery right off the Belgian coast called Brouweij Dropp Anker.

Is it bad that I immediately went "really? I've never heard of that brewery"...It wasn't until I was typing in "Dropp Anker" that I got it. rocks: 1. me: 0.

Staying in La Conner, about an hour and 45 minutes north of Seattle, for meetings. Quaint former fishinng and agriculture town. Still a lot of agriculture (had a fantastic nectarine this morning) but not much fishing. Shifting towards tourism. Had a great meal of dungeness crab cakes and butternut squash soup at the La Conner Brewing Company. Apart from an 8:45 last call, a good night. Others enjoyed smoked salmon quesadilla, pizzas, and shrimp tacos.

Only stopped in for a little bit at that brewpub, but I really really enjoyed their pale ale (and a couple oyster shooters). It's a good bit off the beaten path, but if you're already detouring off to that side of Hwy 5, it's definitely worth a trip.

Count me in for s'mores. My other contributions are going to be healthy, raw alternatives to the gluttony that is being offered.

I'll be there (+2), and I will be providing some gluttony to be named later.

Ooh's and Aah's is the perfect pre-9:30 Club Dinner Spot!

Some blackened catfish and some rice with gravy makes all that standing at the club bearable!

(Plus it helps provide a nice "base" for all of the beer you'll consume at the show! )

I just got back from doing this exact sequence...dinner at O/As before walking over to 930. I wasn't starving (and I didn't want to carry my foam container around at the show while it got cold) so I just ordered 3 sides...mac n cheese (very good, but not my favorite), yams (very good), and potato salad. The potato salad was the highlight for me...moderately spicy, excellent dressing to bring it all together. All told $10.50, which isn't exactly super-cheap, but those three sides were a large meal in themselves. Next time I'm headed to 9:30 club, I'll be fasting all day long so I can put away an entire meat+2sides...I guess I could make a special trip and actually take home the leftovers, but what's the fun in that?

What Jacques said.

My only quibble - $2.75 for a soda at the bar. That's a hefty price to go along with a $9 sandwich. So it's $12 if you order water, $15+ if you want a soft drink. Grrrr.

We were suprised by the $2.75 sodas too. Definitely just doing water next time, and with the fish & chips I had being as good as it was, there definitely will be a next time.

They definitely like the "sticks" ambience, from the ceiling down to the placemat made of reeds.

I'll be at Kolumbia today but talking shop with work folks. will try to stop by and say hey when i'm out my way out (we're going at 11:45)

There's talk on the Newbie HH thread about meeting for lunch tomorrow at Restaurnt Kolumbia (18th and K). Is anyone else game?

Nice. I literally just handed one of my officemates their lunch pamphlet and said "we should go here tomorrow". We'll see if they actually come, but I'm game either way. The fish and chips...might need to be done.

Medium-sized crowd--xcanuck, agm, NotQuickDraw, DanielK, cucas87, CrescentFresh, Black Sheep, JPW, Monique DC, Xochitl, myself. Brilliant charcuterie and refreshing Hook-and-Ladders! Supplemental happy hour at PS7's was well fooded and wined and then I offed to the obligatory Corduroy nightcap (with special guest Kats Fukushima!)

and me!

the charcuterie was great (kielbasa!), and PS7's bar menu was excellent (soup shooters! donuts! foie gras!).

We opened the 95 Samuel Adams Triple Bock last night at the Circle Bistro dinner.

That was a stunning drink. Very complex. When we first opened the bottle, the nose was all plum. It definitely smelled like it was going to be syrupy.

That faded off somewhat. Once it had a chance to settle in the glass, the syrupy sweetness mostly faded. The initial nose was very chocolatey, but gave way to plum and some surprising spiciness. It definitely lingered on the palate, and was really meant for sipping like port.

I don't remember the ones I drank in 96/97 being nearly this complex. They were strong and sweet, but nothing like this. If they're still brewing this, get some and put it aside for aging.

My notes on ratebeer for this beer: "Aroma from the bottle is all caramel. Aroma from the glass is chocolate, hint of soy, some spice. The flavor evolves as it warms up, going from figs to a true port wine back to chocolate and settling with a little flavor i like to call "happiness". Just simply fantastic."

Thanks again to you for bringing this...it was a treat. Sadly, it was only made in '94, '95, and '97, so no chance to find any recently brewed.

Friday is by far the busiest day. Also, don't go there expecting to taste Harlan Estate or Araujo.

I have no idea what either of those are, so I don't think I'll be let down I never drink wine, so any excuse like this where I can start to make minor inroads of wine knowledge...

The chef is a guy named Jamie Stachowski and he has agreed to do some special things for us.

Did he say anything in particular? Or should we just leave it a mystery? Also, anybody know how their beer selection and/or happy hour deals are?

The Kolumbia thread, for others like me, who had to look it up.

Regardless of the answers to above questions, I'm gonna try to turn up.

SEPTEMBER 25-29, 2006

10 WINES FOR $10 WITH LUNCH

Anybody going next week? I'm going on monday and this is my first experience at the DC restaurant. I've had really good experiences in Chicago and assume the setup will be similar.

I'm trying to rally some folks from the office to head over...does anybody know if it's just a mob scene? should we try to go on like wed/thurs instead of friday?

Just got back from a great meal at Hank's, which I've been meaning to try for quite some time since I live quite near it. Split a dozen oysters to start...Emerald Cove (incredible), Chef Creek (a very close 2nd) and Kusshi (not as much to my taste, but still quite good). North Coast's Red Seal in bottles was the only beer I was remotely excited about trying, sadly. Good, but a single IPA or interesting dark beer might be a good idea...I guess it maybe not be that big of beer-nerd area, though, so maybe their approach is more fiscally sound. For entree I had the oyster po-boy...pretty good, but the roll was soggy by the time it got to me (I think maybe from contact with the slaw, which was pretty good but not great). However, I got to taste the short ribs (monday and tuesday's meat + 2 sides special), and they were really great. Slow-braised to fall-apart tender, and glazed with the perfect amount of molasses-based sauce...just the right level of sweetness. The sides were good: the onion rings were fantastic (right at the perfect level of saltiness), and the green beans had a nice level of toasted sesame flavor, but the polenta didn't really do it for me. Anyway, it was an overall quite good meal, and quite price-appropriate for how stuffed I am right now.

mmm.....Emerald Cove...

It would be sad to pour those fine brews down the sink, wouldn't it? Give them to me. Let me save you the heartache and I'll take care of it for you.

Option 1: I'll fight CrescentFresh for them.

Option 2: Just bring them on thursday and all will be forgiven.

For the record, a '94 samichlaus is probably just as drinkable as an '04 samichlaus: the syrupyness probably hasn't lost anything noticable by my humble palate.

And I've never had the triple bock but I assume anything that claims 17.5% will age quite well, even in the cabinet. And even if it's brewed by Sam Adams (they make some damn fine seasonals, but that Lager....</shudder>)

Mind if I sit with you? I'll bring a few bottles, too...

Sounds like a deal We'll see what comes out of the cellar (read: closet) on thursday.

Too early to talk BYOB? Specifically: is it ok for me to bring beer, as I'm not much of a wine person? I can bring a couple of 750ml bottles if that will make it less of a faux pas. Or is corkage strictly a wine privilege?

It's not that big a deal if I can't, but I had to ask

Are you people really up at 9 am on a Sunday? Seriously? Voluntarily? When most normal people are stuck with head down the toilet? Don't think I ever woke up before 9 am on Sunday voluntarily. Oh goody.

I'm with Nadya on this one. If we're proposing adding an extra hour, it should be to stay open til 2pm, so I have a chance of making it on any given hungover Sunday.

I didn't make it yesterday (and can't today), but the news from a co-worker wasn't great: cold sandwich, bread wasn't up to par. He said that Roberto wasn't at hand either (he could have just been away for the time that he was in line, though).

Probably just away briefly...he was there both yesterday and today when I was there. The bread this week wasn't as good as last weeks, but still not bad. And my pork shoulder was plenty warm both times (although today an officemate reported the meatball sandwich could've been hotter). Another possible factor: I went early both times, around 11:50-12.

Sure, and most likely in excruciating detail. I'll even take pictures!

Here are the processing instructions we were looking at last night: click. Our tree is a chestnut oak (I think, or it could be a basket oak, or a hybrid between the two) and is supposed to produce acorns with a lower tannin content than some of the other oaks.

Watch it, buddy. Texas A&M -- Class of '90.

Ha, knew I was gonna step on somebody's toes with that crack. How is squirrel?

rwtye announced yesterday evening that we should collect all the acorns that have been raining down on our house and use them in a side dish this year at Thanksgiving.

I’m not sure if this idea is merely a side-effect of his not getting enough REM sleep because of the constant "thud, roll, roll, roll, plunk... thud, roll, roll, roll, plunk... thud..." of the acorns hitting the roof above our bedroom for the last three nights. Or, if it is some sort of karmic payback for the tree dropping a limb on our car during the last storm. But, whatever the origin, I see acorn processing in my immediate future.

Anyone here attempted such an endeavor? Helpful hints? Recipes?

No personal experience, but...

found a recipe for acorn pancakes here, but that same page has recipes for racoons and squirrels, so ymmv (see the url: this is why i didn't go to A&M like many of my friends).

In general, acorn flour seems to be the main thing they're useful for, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort to do the processing yourself. Let us know how it goes if you try it.

For what it's worth Cadbury has factories in the US and England and Ireland among others. Their best chocolate is made in Ireland and no, british candy does not get angry when it is called irish because they were not occupied by the irish for 600 years. You asked....

Nice. Yea, I was going off the fact that the company was started in Birmingham, in Britain...I see now that they have a pretty substantial factory in Ireland, among others. Cathal....now that wouldn't be an Irish name, now would it?

Ahem.....Irish, not British.

For what it's worth, at least some of the merch (what the original post was referring to) is definitely British...they have cadbury flake bars, which are British. I didn't study the rest of the offerings, but decent odds British stuff is at least a substantial portion, if not all.

Does British candy get angry if you call it Irish?

open this tuesday and wednesday til 1:30 (just the grill).

"really, this is the last time....i promise....maybe?"