pras

I have never been let down by Vace.  Been going there for years.  Agree with the white onioin pizza.  Subs are also second to none (well, maybe Wegmans, but its very close and a different experience!).

I had the last one the other night--the offering from Bells.  I thought it was very good, probably my second favorite behind the Ninkasi, but a close second at that. 

I guess I will stick with Annadale Seafood!

Was hanging in Central Park on Saturday with my wife and daughter.  After taking our daughter on the carousel, the sky grew black and it started to thunder.  Next came small drops of rain.  Luckily my wife was smart and had umbrellas.  After a quick google search I determined that we were close to Carnegie Deli.  After a quick walk, we were seated immediately (I guess it was a good off time to get there).  We ordered our daughter her first egg cream (chocolate offcourse).  We told her she was getting a special drink.  After the first sip she was hooked (it was a little sweet for my taste).  I had a pastrami sandwich (what's the point of the floppy bread?) .  Daughter had a hot dog, wife egg salad sandwich.  We shared fries.  Other than the experience, the food was kind of a let down.  The fries were undercooked and the pastrami had almost no taste.  I have eaten at Carnegie in the past and this time it didn't live up to the hype.  For my money, I would much rather head to the LES and hit up Katz's.

To be honest, much of it was not that impressive.  I have seen some ratings which suggest bad bottles, but nothing was outright bad, just not that interesting.

I have been drinking my way through my Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 12 pack, and finally made it to the Sierra/Ninkasi Double Latte Stout.  Classified as a sweet stout, this beer is made with dark roasted malts, cold pressed coffee, and lactose.  It pours pitch black, with aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, coffee, and toffee.  The flavor is much of the same in the aroma.  Mouthfeel is silky (I attribute this to the lactose).  The beer is 7.6% abv, so not very high for the style, but still warming.  Glad I have 2 more bottles.  If you can somehow still find a beer camp sampler, get it, and savor this bottle.  One of the best beers I have had in a very long time.

I can only speak for myself, but I'd say it's about a wash.

If PETER CHANG was moving in there, then yes, *that* would be exciting; another Peter Chang restaurant moving in there barely inspires me to even go. Yes, he'll be there at first, and it will be wonderful, but six months in?

Fair enough!  Good point.  It will be in a sea of very good Chineese restaraunts, including Sichuan Jin River in eye-sight.

Peter Chang is moving in there.  "Taste of Saigon should be gone by November when Chang's team will take over the space and begin renovations.  [Chang's partner] hopes to open the 80-seat restaurant by January, if everything proceeds smoothly."

Isn't the more interesting part of this story that Peter Chang is moving there?

Yes. The bartender later confirmed that this was the regular IPA I had ordered, not the "Enjoy By."

Don't fret, Stone IPA is still one of the darn best IPAs around!  Enjoy By on the other hand is a whole different experience.  Also around recently is Ruinten.  If you see the Ruinten in a bottle or on tap, by all means, please try it.  You will not be disappointed.

Agreed. Also, I've had it on draft now a couple times. The cans are actually quite a bit better oddly enough.

 Interesting.  I had it on tap, and the guy I was with, had it in a can as well and thought the tap was more sour.  I am always for more sour.  Bring it on!

Good news, I was able to score a beer camp 12-pack in Mt. Airy.  A very nice person I work with got it for me!  I guess its still around if you hunt it down.

Has anyone who has been to Katz's in New York (or other similar establishments) wondered what the point of the flimsy bread is when put up with close to a pound of meat?  I still cannot figure it out.  One of the wonders of the world.

So in my hunt for Beer Camp, someone had a very good theory regarding the short supply in the area and it makes alot of sense.  The Beer Camp festival stops in Philadelphia this weekend.  For this reason, they shifted the supply up north to Philly.  This person was told that in a week or two the DC area will receive a large shipment.  Here's to hoping this theory/intel is correct.

Yeah, too bad the Maryland grocery stores (for the most part) around here don't carry beer.  I hit up this one store tonight, and they had 4-12 packs.  I took 2 to the counter and the guy refused to sell them to me because he was going to return them because he was mad he wasn't sent more.  I told him I would buy all 4 on the spot and he still refused.  Maybe I will hit up the shoppers up the street that sells beer.  They usually get good allocations.

This is a real longshot, but does anyone know who still has the 12-pack of sierra nevada beer camp in stock?

That would be me.

I would be down as well and can dig something out to share.

So I was staying in Long Island this past weekend for a wedding and lo and behold my wife and daughter fell asleep early on Saturday, so I ventured out to see if I could find some Captain Lawrence sours.  I stumbled into a store in West Hempstead with had a very nice selection, but no Captain Lawrence.  I did however find a real gem--Anchorage Brewing White IPA spiked with Brett.  The bonus was that this bottle was from 2012.  They had 4 (I should have bought all of them).  The guy asked me about it and I explained that it would probably be very funky as it has been sitting for 2 years.  I got it back to the hotel, chilled it on ice for a little, took the cage off and the cork popped out with a large bang.  This thing was so funky it would make George Clinton blush.  Very high carbonation, with a strong brett aroma.  This brett predominated the taste as well with some hop bitterness (although not much as would be expected given the age), and also some spiciness (I am guessing from the coriander).  Next time I go back, I need to hit this store up and see what other gems are lurking.

The Bruery Flimishmish--Had the opportunity to have a glass of this yesterday.  Barrel aged belgian sour, fermented on apricots.  This was another revelatory beer for me.  Too bad there is about zero chance I will get to enjoy this again.  The aroma of California style dried apricots comes across in the nose along with a good dose of funk.  When you take the first sip, the acidity of the beer brings the apricots to the forefront.  This fruit does not overpower the beer however.  The acidity and the fruit really play off of each other.  To top it off, the oak comes through as well, adding in another layer of complexity.  My friend was able to get a bottle of this because he is party of the Bruery's reserve club (he goes through a real mess to get the beers--has them shipped to his sister in San Diego, who in turn ships them here).  The effort to get the beer is well worth the result. 

I hope this opens the flood gates!

Don't get me wrong, the Wild/sour category is certainly my top choice right now.  I really enjoy sours (lambic, stuff that sits in wine barrels), and I really dig stuff with brett, but I think wilds really should be a separate category.  The funk from a true brett beer is in my opinion totally different than a sour.

Went here for dinner tonight after having read good things here at DR.  Everyone was happy.  Wife, daughter, and me.  Daughter (3 year old) had the kid pizza and she ate almost the whole thing.  Wife and I split a Margheretia and Papi.  Both were cooked perfectly, nice amount of char, chewy the way it should be.  Ingredients in balance, etc.  What I like about the pizza here  is that you don't feel gross after devouring a pizza.  Will definitely put this place into our rotation.

What killed Cozy is that they owed $180,000 in taxes:  http://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/economy_and_business/cozy-owes-about-in-state-federal-taxes/article_c409aa5a-266d-5a23-ab04-7b4228f1b46a.html

Why are wilds classified in the same category as sours.  I am talking brett beers which aren't really sour at all.  Brett character is certainly not sour.  Any thoughts?

Was Tom's First Bite today.  He seemed to like it and I would echo his sentiments.  My wife and I were there a few weeks ago.  We thought the staff was gracious and the food was pretty good.  I had a grilled octopus special.  It was tender and flavorful.  Accompanied by nice roasted potatoes and asparagus.  Very enjoyable.  Will surely hit it up again.

This did not do it for me.  The raspberry is there but I also sense a medicinal quality that is off-putting.  It's also too syrupy for me.  I've had the New Glarus raspberry offering before which I remember to be cleaner with a more genuine raspberry flavor, so maybe I'm spoiled by that.

I agree 100%.  This had a medicinal quality for me as well.  Didn't do it for me.