Beer – Page 12 – mmm-yoso

Prague: Havelske Market, a walk along the Vltava River, and the Dancing House (Tančící dům)

July 26, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

So what does one do after a hearty and filling lunch accompanied with a liter of beer? Well, think about what we'd be having for dinner of course!

Actually, we had quite a bit of leftovers and decided to drop a place we passed early in the morning.

So we decided to dodge the raindrops on the way back to the apartment and see what the place had to offer. Havelské Tržiště (Havel's Market) is the oldest market in Prague, dating back to the 13th century.

Two-thirds of the market stalls seem to be dedicated to souvenirs, which looked pretty inexpensive compared to other places. Stalls at the other end are dedicated to mostly fruit, with some vegetables.

We managed to find some good cherry tomatoes and lettuce for dinner.

Back at the apartment, we did most of our packing, we'd be headed out to our next stop in the morning. After a short nap we decided to take a nice walk along the Vltava River. I just love the buildings in Prague……there's no uniform nod to any one style, which makes each structure unique.

There are a couple of islands in the Vltava River, the largest being Slovanský ostrov. The island was gradually formed by deposits from mills in the area. It is a pretty good sized island.

There actually was an objective to all of this. The Missus wanted to see the building named the Dancing House (Tančící dům). This distinctive structure was designed by Vlado Milunić and a very familiar name – Frank Gehry. I've been to two Gehry designed structures, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA and the Experience Music Project in Seattle, so this made it a nice trio.

I guess it does kind of look like a couple dancing, thus the nickname, "Fred and Ginger". Perhaps tilting your head a bit brings a bit more life to the structure?

Well, maybe not…..

Having reached our destination, it was time to head back…..at this point, the Missus decided that we should have a last beer in Prague. So we found Minipivovar U Medvídků, a microbrewery owned by Budvar

The place was packed, so we decided to just grab a couple of beers to have after dinner.

The Oldgott Barique Ležak 13° seemed to be a higher alcohol version of the "half and half", half dark, half pilsner. The aroma was on the sweet side, but the beer was woody and bitter, not my favorite combination.

The X33 was basically a doppelbock, kind of funky, almost sour scent, foamy, but with a mild fruity initial taste.

Hm. We were still looking for something in the Czech Republic we liked. And we'd sure keep trying until we found it!

Prague: A little self catering and Wenceslas Square

July 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Cooking, Czech Republic, Markets & Grocers, Prague, Travel

We had intended on getting the the Charles Bridge from the Old Town Square but had ended up at the the Manesuv Bridge. As we headed down toward the Charles Bridge storm clouds could be seen above the Castle Quarter. Indeed, by the time we reached the very gothic Bridge Tower we could tell that it was going to start pouring. Umbrellas started opening and in a matter of a minute or two it started coming down….our little travel umbrella came in quite handy. As I started to walk toward the bridge, the Missus told me to wait, "let's go back to the apartment and save the bridge for early tomorrow morning…." So we turned around and crossed the street in front of the "Klementinum", the National Library.

We made our way down the side streets and suddenly ended up right in front of what became our major landmark and daily stop for us, the giant Tesco Department store.

After our heavy lunch, we decided to grab some head cheese, cheese, and makings for salad for dinner….and a couple of beers as well of course! The lower level of the department store houses a large supermarket with just about everything you would need.

Our apartment had a huge living and bedroom, plus a serviceable kitchen area. Our flat was on the third floor with a view of tiny Odburu Street below. We found the amount of "security" a bit over-the-top, the deadbolt on the door to the street was super heavy duty….it nearly broke your fingers to turn the key. Then, once in the building there was a security gate, which was heavy-duty, making me feel like we were headed into a super-max. The door had a knob lock, deadbolt, and alarm system. One can never be too secure I guess.

Nevertheless, the place was large, comfortable, and dealing with the folks at PVH Odburu was a joy. It was nice to be able to come back after a long day and hang out here. The location was great, not in tourist hell, but just a 15-20 minute walk from everywhere.

We've come to enjoy apartments when traveling, this one had a washer/dryer as well. Of course, we tried to take full advantage of the kitchen.

This was a nice, light, and satisfying dinner. Of course the Missus had to have Her cabbage. Later, on our return trip to Prague we found a decent specialty shop down the street with a better selection of charcuterie and cheese.

Having just been in Brussels, the beer in Prague had been a bit too "light" for our tastes. Though I bought this as sort of a novelty…..

I saw this and knowing the history just had to check it out. No, it's not who you think it is. You may think that Budweiser is an "All-American" beer, but there's been a fight over then name for 108 years. Anyway, České Budějovice (aka Budweis) is actually a city in the Czech Republic. You can imagine what an ugly trademark war has been taking place. I'm not sure you even know that Anheuser-Busch is actually owned by a Belgian Company, InBev. Well, whatever, this "Premier Select" was actually pretty good….it was in fact, the best beer we had in Prague our first time around. Light, but not "lightweight", mildly hoppy, with a sweet finish.

Dinner done, but with a good stretch of daylight still in front of us the Missus decided that She wanted to walk around a bit. The skies had cleared up a bit, so we headed out.

The Missus wanted to go back to Wenceslas Square, which is more like a boulevard that stretches from the National Museum to Na Prikope which basically borders the New Town and the Old Town.

It's a lively place, full of tourists and locals alike.

We loved the varying architecture, each building was unique, like snowflakes. Like the Art Nouveau Hotel Europa.

With all this historic architecture, it's easy to forget that "Czechoslovakia" was a Communist, single party government until 1989. From November to December of 1989, the event called the Velvet Revolution took place, with demonstrations and strikes leading to a transition from single party rule to a parliamentary republic. According to what I read, crowds of hundreds of thousands gathered here when it seemed that a new age was at hand.

It was on the balcony of Number 36 that Václav Havel and Alexander Dubček made their appearance signaling an end to single party rule.

We soon realized there's so much history here, that if/when we're back in the future, we'd look into getting a private guide and do this right.

There's a statue of Saint Wenceslas….yes it's Wenceslas I, aka "Good King Wenceslas". Which stands across the street from the National Museum, which was closed for renovation during our stay.

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Darkness started to fall as we headed back down the square. We paused to listen to the really talented guy playing what I believe is a Cimbalom. This dude was really good; he was jamming to the standard "Autumn Leaves" and doing some pretty good improvisation. The Missus thought it funny that I could recognize the music being played by street musicians and small bands.

There was one more place the Missus wanted to check out before heading back….yep, Old Town Square.

Though the crowds had thinned, there were still a good number of people milling about.

We then headed back and settled in for a nice night.

The place had great wifi, so I went ahead and did a post, and opened up the two beers I had gotten earlier at Tesco.

I really didn't care for either. Did you notice the "degree" values on the beer? No, it doesn't mean percentage of alcohol, rather, it's a percentage on the Balling Scale measuring the sugars in the wort before fermentation. There is an indirect correlation to alcohol content; a 12 degree beer will be stronger than a 10 degree beer, but the alcohol content of a 10 degree is about 3.5%.

We'd had a pretty busy day which led to a wonderful night of sleep. Which was good since the Missus had a busy day aplnned for us!

Thanks for reading!

Brussels: Shopping for dinner, “Chinatown?”, Pierre Marcolini, and Moeder Lambic

June 7, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgium, Brussels, Chocolate, Markets & Grocers, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

Lunch had been a wonderful, but pretty rich meal. Since we had an apartment, we decided to self cater dinner and dropped by a couple of the nearby shops.

Some nice cheese from the cheese shop, tomatoes, head cheese and prosciutto from the nice gourmet shop on Rue St Catherine. There's a good sized Delhaize Supermarket on Anspach where we picked up greens for a salad……we just needed some greens after all of this. And beer of course……

And so we headed back to the apartment with dinner all set. It would be nice to relax since we'd bee flying to Prague in the morning.

Funny thing, I hadn't even heard of a "Chinatown" in Brussels, but then we passed a short strip of Chinese restaurants and markets right across the Stock Exchange Building (the Bourse), so of course we had to check at least on of the markets out…..man, it was sticker shock.

Try almost 17 Euros for a small bag of frozen Jiaozi…..

The Asian vegetables seemed pretty scarce and did not look in very good shape as well…..

The Missus couldn't help but laugh when She saw this……

Man, it would be tough if we lived here……

We also checked out the menus and offerings of some of the Chinese Restaurants on the street…..

And decided to stop after seeing the 6,80 Euro ($9.25) price for 4 pieces of Shiu Mai…..then of course those places that serve Chinese-Vietnamese-Thai-Sushi……

We headed back to the apartment and took our usual afternoon nap, awakening a short while later. It was time for us to shake off our grogginess. The sun was out and wasn't scheduled to set until almost 10pm, so we headed back to Place Poelaert and the Upper Town.

We passed by several sections of Brussels' midievel city wall and Eglise Notre Dame a la Chappelle, which is Brussels' oldest existing church.

We got to the Marolles neighborhood and took the elevator up to Place Poelaert. All the rain and dreary weather had been chased away, it was now a bright and sunny afternoon. Too bad we were leaving the next morning.

The view from here when the sky is clear is quite nice. You get to appreciate Brussels….

We strolled around the Upper Town area, antique and designer shops, and some interesting cafes and restaurants as well. Love Joel Robuchon, not sure about his sushi though…..

My MIL loves chocolate….we were in Belgium, so we decided to get her a collection of chocolate from our travels….but not just ordinary stuff…i.e. Godiva, Neuhaus, Leonidas….no we'd try and get her a variety with a little meaning, not just the usual tourist stuff. It just so happens that Pierre Marcolini's flagship store was right along our path back to the apartment.

Winner of the 1995 World Cup of Pastry and known as a master chocolatier, this would be a good start for my MIL's collection. The variety of flavors and chocolates of various regions made this quite an interesting experience for us, which would suite us well later on.

The shop actually looks more like a fine jewelry shop, boutique, or gallery than a chocolate shop. So we made our first purchases for my MIL here.

I think it was a nice start…..

The day was so bright and beautiful, folks were out and about, the cafes (the beer cafes) seem to be doing great business with folks enjoying the weather. It was a perfect chance to check out the Fontainas location of the legendary Brussels' beer bar Moeder Lambic.

The Missus and I immediately loved the place….there are no airs…what few tourists who came in and stared in awe at the beer list of unfamiliar and familiar brews were treated graciously and there was harmony with the locals….who seemed to appreciate the fact that folks were making the effort to find the place…which isn't hard, but like Le Fin de Siècle, you pretty much either just run into the place or have to seek it out.

It's easy to just stare off into space at the listing of beers familiar and unfamiliar. The Servers were really nice with the 2 parties of tourists we saw….

The Missus and I, knowing how analysis-paralysis would be, just went for it. She ordered a Gueuze Tilquin and I a De Ranke Guldenberg.

We've had Tilquin here in the states, but this was a bit different; you could make a out a bit more fruitiness, though it was still pretty funky and puckery-dry. The Guldenberg was a nice tripel, a bit more hoppy than what I expected, with almost the feel of a boozy saison. A very nice beer. This place should be on any list if you're in the area and enjoy beer. We'd go to the original location of the Moeder Lambic on our way back, which we laso loved.

Moeder Lambic
Place Fontainas 8
Brussels, Belgium

It was a beautiful afternoon. On the way back to the apartment we passed a bar that had a street musician playing an electric violin, I wish I recorded it…….he started playing as we passed…I recognized the music right away. I Love Rock and Roll…..a Joan Jett classic! It seems like all the places we visited (in both the Czech Republic and Belgium) loved American and English music…whether rap, death metal (Moeder Lambic in St Gilles), Jazz, or good 'old Rock n' Roll. Honestly, I think it might be our greatest export. As the violinist hit the chorus, the entire street broke out and sang with unbridled joy and spirit:

"I love rock and roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby
I love rock and roll
So come and take your time and dance with me….."

It was just the cherry on top of the sundae for us…..ending a very nice afternoon.

We returned to the apartment we were staying at smiling. Like most of these type of units we've stayed at; there's no lift, the stairs can be narrow and somewhat steep. We were rewarded in that this was a single unit above a a gallery that was closed the two days we were staying there. There was also a wonderful, older cat named "Sushi", mellow and sweet, he was a good ambassador for the place. The bedroom and bathroom was on one floor with a kitchen nook above.

It was a nice place to make a quick breakfast, or do a quick post, like I did, or have a nice little dinner, like we did on this evening.

With of course, some beer…….most stores sell singles here; and those Belgian's go for less than 2 Euros a piece, so how could we resist?

The Missus prepped a quick breakfast for us, we'd be heading out early for our next stop…..Prague and the Czech Republic…..

Brussels: Morning at Grand Place, Upper Town, and Viva M’Boma

June 6, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Brussels, Travel

Morning's are our favorite time when we travel. We're usually early birds, so we get going fairly early to check out the the sights in the peace and quiet. Speaking of peace, as much as we found amusement in Manneken Pis, we kinda enjoyed "Manneken Peace" a lot as well. This street art is about a block from MP, just around the corner from where we were staying.

Wanting to see Grand Place in the morning, we headed back up the three blocks. A pleasant walk without the crowds and the smells of waffles in the air.

The buildings of Grand Place looked so stately at this time of the morning.

The most impressive building is easily the Town Hall (photo right) with its 300 foot tall tower. It's quite difficult to capture the entire building in a single shot. The photo above is of the "Maison du Roi" or King's House, which is also called the "Broodhuis" in Flemish since buildings in this spot served both as a bread market and an administrative building for the rulers of the House of Hapsburg. This structure was built in 1890 and now houses the City Museum.

Each of the guild houses surrounding the square has it's own statue crowning its roof. Many of the buildings are named by the statue or some detail or decoration on the building. This is probably how people found these buildings before the advent of the address. On the bottom right of the photo below, you can see a swan above the doorway. This place is known as the Swan House. All of these places have a place in history. In 1847 – 1848, this building contained a bar, which was the place where Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx met and drafted the Communist Manifesto.

We had pretty good timing. Just as we were leaving delivery and sanitation trucks invaded the peace and quiet of Grand Place. We headed back to the apartment and had some tea and planned our morning walk. After checking out some of the markets in the area we headed uphill and a few streets later we were staring at the Palace of Justice and the Infantry Memorial.

We turned and headed down the rather busy Rue de la Regence at a leisurely pace until we came to one of my favorite little parks in Brussels; the Place du Petit Sablon. There are 48 columns surrounding the park. Each one is topped with a statue which represent the ancient craftsmen of Belgium.

Within the park there are 10 larger statues of Belgium's great thinkers of the era. I was surprised that I actually knew some of these; especially Gerardus Mercator, the great cartographer whose Mercator Projection revolutionized accurate navigation in its time allowing for "true direction" calculations. I'd read about some of these folks over the years but have to sheepishly admit, I didn't know they were Flemish/Belgian.

The garden itself is quite beautiful and peaceful, a nice oasis to relax and recharge; even on a overcast and drizzly morning.

The two fellows adopting the rather Shakespearean pose above the fountain in the park are Lamoral, Count of Egmont and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, simply known in Belgian history as "Egmond en Hoorne", who stood against the Spanish Inquisition and rule. Both were executed; beheaded on June 5th 1568 in front of the Town Hall in Grand Place. One of the events that sparked the Eighty Years War which eventually led to an independent Dutch Republic.

Across the street from Place du Petit Sablon resides the very gothic looking Notre Dame du Sablon which took about 149 years to build. Along with the wonderful stained glass, there is a small wooden statue of Mary, a copy of the original which was destroyed by Protestants that had healing powers. In 1348, the statue was located in Antwerp, it spoke to a woman named Beatrix. It instructed her to take it….she snatched the statue, boarded a boat, and headed to Brussels. When a crowd of Antwerpen citizens tried to stop her; the statue froze them in their tracks! The statue arrived to great fanfare in Brussels and this church was built in its honor…..you'll see several images of boats around the church.

After this short visit we headed down (up?) the street, past the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which ended with us staring at the Royal Palace.

We actually enjoyed the view looking down from the Mont de Arts Steps which started across the street from the Royal Palace.

After this it was window shopping in the areas surrounding Grand Place, then off to the neighborhood of St Catherine for lunch. Initially, I thought we'd grab unch at the very popular Nordzee Seafood Bar, but the Missus was interested in something more substantial….I knew just the place.

Located close to where Rue St Catherine become Rue de Flandre, a street full of cafes and shops, in the former location of a butcher shop resides "Long Live my Grandmother", the very well known and recommended Viva M'Boma, which was described as a shop that creates dishes from all parts of the animal except the "squeeks…moo's….and baaa's".

We were seated right at the front window….we had arrived right when they opened.

The biggest dilemma for us was what to order……the veal kidneys? Horse steak? Steak tartare…..Lamb tongues???

The one thing we did know was that we'd be having some beer….though we were still showing a bit of restraint at this point, it was just one, the 1882 Gueuze Girardin (white label).

Funky to the nose, typical gueuze flavor, the finish mildly dry.

I love head cheese, so we had to start with the "Homemade Pressed Pork Head", which was the best head cheese (and we had quite a bit) on our trip.

The mustard vinaigrette was such a nice foil for the porky goodness…….I finished every little crumb of meat on the plate.

The Missus went with the Pot au feu with Veal Cheeks, Oxtail, and Marrow.

The Missus marveled at how each different cut had retained its own flavor….each different from the other The flavors just popped in the very clean well prepared broth. I loved the perfectly rendered bone marrow. It was just the perfect texture of meltingly globby. It's not the under roasted piece of pencil erasure that is the norm here in San Diego.

I really enjoyed my Veal Sweetbreads in Mustard Sauce.

While the mashed potatoes were velvety smooth, they were a bit too much of a "butter wonderland" for me. Those fantastically steamed, firm yet creamy sweetbreads were just plain delici-yoso! The mustard sauce added just the right amount of ooomph to conteract the rather rich texture of the sweetbreads. You got a nice, slightly metallic finish that seemed pleasant. Even the Missus, who is not a big fan of sweetbreads just loved this.

This was a wonderful lunch stop for us. The service was professional without being stuffy….our server had a sense of humor and was quite efficient. We'll gladly return whenever we're in Brussels again.

Viva M'Boma
Rue de Flandre 17
Brussels, Belgium

After lunch it was time for some shopping….we'd be self-catering dinner, then a nap of course!

Thanks for reading!

Brussels: Grand Place, t’ Kelderke, and Le Fin de Siècle

June 5, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Belgian Cuisine and Restaurants, Belgium, Brussels, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

I'm not sure exactly when the Missus and I decided on Belgium as a destination, but somewhere after the New Year, the Missus's love of Belgian brews ignited, and airfare to Brussels seemed reasonable…Prague had always been in the picture, but Belgium, well, that decision was a rather late one.

Which is how we found ourselves in a terrible line at passport control. Honestly, it wasn't even a line at all, just a mass of people in a hallway, more of a cattle pen perhaps, for what seemed a distinctively unorganized entry to the "Capital of the European Union". We basically stood an hour and half in a huge blob of people before making it the actual line for passport control and customs. The folks here are very friendly and nice though. You also seem to have to walk through the entire airport to get to baggage claim (luckily we only had carry-on). It was a slam dunk from there. We found that public transportation in Brussels, like most big cities in Europe is an absolute joy. Down to the lower level and the Express Train to Brussels Centraal Station. The folks at the apartment we were staying at, above an art gallery just a few blocks from the station, perfectly situated for us, gave us impeccable instructions. Within a few minutes we had the keys, gotten some good tips on the area, had climbed up the rather narrow stairway, showered, and were on our way.

We were but three blocks from what became our landmark……

The famous Manneken Pis. You know how they say, "you can't miss it"? Well, in this case, you could miss it if not for the crowds that surround this tiny statue of a little boy peeing…..

The only other constant in the area is the cloying smell of waffles and chocolate, so thick that you can almost see it.

In spite of all the tourists, we quickly noticed that the pace here was quite laid back, unlike Rome, things were low stress, no hard sell, seemingly no scams…..

Grand Place, the former central market square, UNESCO Heritage site, the heart of Brussels, is just a few blocks from Manneken Pis. Also known as Grote Markt in bilingual Belgium, it is indeed a grand sight, even as the clouds rolled in and drops of rain started pouring down.

With the rain falling, it seemed like a good time to get something to eat. Both the Missus and I were starving after our long flight(s). We had been for warned about the "restaurant row" on Rue de Bouchers, by guides, online, and even the folks at the apartment. However, we didn't want to be slogging around, a bit groggy from lack of sleep (I can't sleep on flights), in a city we weren't familiar with. Enter t'Kelderke, located in Grand Place. Yes, it's a tourist restaurant of sorts, downstairs in the cellar right on Grand Place.

I really came to enjoy this type of cellar restaurant. I think there's something rather comforting and cozy, in spite of the darkness…..

Our Server was a rather nice fellow, not overly friendly, but amicable……

Hey, we were in Belgium, right? So it was time for a beer. Not much on the list here, so we started with a Grimbergen Tripel. Kind of light for a tripel, mild citrus tones, not very boozy, and fairly thin tongue feel.

Much like the restaurant itself, it was agreeable, nothing that would challenge you in any way.

The Missus started with the Carbonnade Flamande, the classic Belgian Beef and Beer stew.

And stoemp of course. The stew was ok, the flavor beefy but a bit too sweet, the beef also had a decent flavor, but several pieces were much too tough and fairly dry. The stoemp tasted of too much parsley.

I ordered a Horse Steak medium….which was cooked to a perfect medium.

While the frites were something that could have out of a bag with SYSCO on it; definitely not up to what I would consider Belgian standards, the horse was pretty good. Perhaps not the most gamey, nor sweet horse I've had, more like a powerful grass fed beef sirloin. The Missus absolutely loved it. The Server recommended a mushroom sauce which was served on the side. It had a nice flavor, perhaps a bit heavy on the butter, but not bad.

One thing we quickly noticed, which was a recurring theme was that things weren't overly salted….a nice change of pace from what we're used too.

Overall, a decent meal in a very high tourist area.

T'Kelderke
Grand' Place 15
Brussels, Belgium

By the time we worked our way back up to daylight, the rain had long passed and things had dried up a bit. Before we headed back to the apartment for a nap we headed out the other end of Grand Place and to the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert. Built in 1847, this place claims to be the oldest operating shopping mall in Europe.

I really loved the neo-classical design which bestowed a sense of elegance to the glass covered arcade. You really expect great works of art to be lining the walls instead of windows to various chocolate shops and cafes.

We then headed through Rue de Bouchers, wall to wall restaurants waiting for tourists and past the Church of St Nicholas.

Running right into the huge building known as the Bourse – The Stock Exchange Building. Here's a photo of the front form across busy Boulevard Anspach.

Funny thing, we'd just arrived and in the matter of minutes had seen most of lower town sights!

We headed back to the apartment and took a well earned nap. In spite of the rather heavy lunch (and beer), we awoke hungry. We headed on out, walking past all the places we passed before. You notice much more the second, and third time around. Near MP there's this mural of Tintin, the world famous cartoon created by Brussels born cartoonist Hergé.

The Missus and I really enjoyed the murals and street art of Belgium.

Crossing Anspach and past what we call "Brussel's Chinatown" (more in a later post), we got the area known as St Catherine. We really enjoyed the vibe of this area, which seemed even more laid back. The area is dotted with cafes, restaurants, food shops, and such.

Just south of the area on a rather non-descript street is a place I really wanted to check out.

Not much of a sign to speak of, communal seating, the menu is written on a chalkboard (in French – but I heard the Servers explain the dishes in English to some folks), nice selection of beer (served at the perfect temp), this is the type of no-nonsense places I love….though if you'd move this to San Diego it would be full of hipsters and called a Gastropub. And it would make a killing. The prices are right, the service can be on the brusque side…..until they understood that we really appreciated the food and drink. You don't hesitate here….you spot an opening and you go for it.

Decisiveness wins the day here. If they are busy feel free to walk up to the bar and politely order your beer; which in my case was a Trappistes Rochefort 10, a wonderful brown quadrupel with a slight raisin and a wonderful, smooth, tongue coating texture. Man, now this was a beer to sit and savor. As you can tell, I was really starting to get into this.

The Missus ordered what might be Her favorite Gueze of the trip; a Mort Subite. This seemed to have the right combination of a mild fruitiness along with all the sour attributes of a Gueze without being too dry. Something interesting we found was that folks were somewhat surprised that the Missus, a woman, enjoyed sours.

Of course we ate……this time I ordered the Carbonnade Flamande(made with Chimay) which we both really enjoyed. The beef was perfectly cooked, very tender, but not falling apart. The flavor was a nice beefy, with a balanced sweet and savory thing going for it.

The Missus just had to order the Sausage and Stoemp.

Without a doubt the best Stoemp I've ever had. The Missus really enjoyed this, especially the sauce, which I believe was also made with beer, mustard, and probably beef stock.

This was one of our favorite meals of the trip….

The price at 34 Euros ($45) we thought was very reasonable.

Le Fin de Siècle
Rue des Chartreux 9
Brussels, Belgium

After dinner we walked around a bit, enjoying the public art.

We stopped by a Carrefour Express and picked up a couple more bottles……just for a nightcap, right?

The Belle-vue Gueuze was very basic, not too sour, middle of the road, with nothing that really stood out.

The Brugge Tripel was quite effervescent for a tripel. Kind of boozy, with some mild fruit. Not the nice texture that I like in a tripel, but not bad.

Yes, we were having a heck of a time….can't you tell?

I realize this was a long one. If you hung around 'til the end, I thank you for reading!

COMC: Blind Lady Ale House and Ballast Point Tasting Room and Kitchen (Little Italy)

January 17, 2014 mmm-yoso Beer, Gastropub, Pubs and Pub Grub

Just a real quick C(learing) O(ut the) M(emory) C(ard) post on this very warm Friday…….couldn't you use a cold one to start off the weekend? Isn't it Happy Hour time yet?

As with all my COMC posts…keeping the verbiage to a minimum. Have a great weekend!

Blind Lady Ale House:

To make it short and sweet, we enjoy the food at Tiger! Tiger!, We prefer the beer selection at BLAH.

The folks at both places have always been great.

Our favorite item on the menu is the Charcuterie Plate……we're fond of the Country Style Pate's

Once one of the kitchen staff came out to talk about making sauerkraut with the Missus. They chatted for like 15 minutes about it! You gotta love that.

The Missus is now hooked on Craft Beer and it basically started here with a glass of Three Philosophers. Crazy…..

The Missus loves the vibe here so much, that She decided we should stop in on New Year's Eve. That says a lot, doesn't it?

The folks here know their beer, know how to pour it, and they seem to take really good care of it. Drop by and you'll see.

Blind Lady Ale House
3416 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

Ballast Point Tasting Room and Kitchen:

Met my good buddy Candice here.

I was shocked at how busy the place was..on a weekday!

There's a good sized tasting area…where, well, you can taste of course!

Specialty Brewer Colby Chandler is here, so you'll always find something interesting.

When I visited, it was Brewpub area that was really busy.

The pretty straight-forward pub grub was pretty good.

As we were finishing up, Colby, who I know from our Beer Week dinners at Ba Ren and Sab E Lee Santee, came over and said someone wanted to meet us. This is where I get really uncomfortable….I like to keep a very, very, low profile. Anyway, that handsome dude manning the kitchen here is Travis Clifford, whom you might know from his blog Travis Like Food. No wonder we haven't had a post in forever! Like most of the food bloggers I've met, Travis is a very nice, down to earth guy, even though he likes those JIB stoner tacos! (JJK) So if you drop by, make sure you say hello. I gotta get back here again soon.

Ballast Point Tasting Room and Kitchen
2215 India St
San Diego, CA 92101

Madison – Sprecher’s Restaurant and Pub

December 10, 2010 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Beer, Madison, Wisconsin, Pubs and Pub Grub, Travel

*** Sprecher's has closed

In an email before my trip to Madison, Cathy reminded me to be careful, since it seemed that there was always something happening on every other trip we've taken….. Earthquake before our trip to Peru, riots before our trip to Thailand, and of course, having to fly through an eerie Mexico City Airport on the way back from Guatemala right when the 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic broke. Between those trips we visited Vietnam/Cambodia, I travelled to Madison, and of course our trip to China. So I guess I was due……..

It wasn't anything too bad, just the strongest storm ever recorded in the Midwest. The rain and 60-70mph winds discouraged me from driving, so we decided to stick close to the hotel. A couple of those restaurants on my list would just have to wait until next time. Still, I really didn't see myself going all the way to Madison and eating at Denny's. On my first evening in Madison, during my drive back to the hotel, I noticed a pretty busy looking restaurant/bar, and the folks exiting looked local, not like folks from all the hotels in the area. The name of the place was Sprecher's, which I later found out is the same as that of a very well known Milwaukee County Brewery of the same name. According to the story, Sprecher Brewery was founded by Randal Sprecher who is originally from….. California. Sprecher had a degree in oceanography, but was unable to pursue a career in that field due to a little problem…… he got seasick! Don't know if it's true, but it's a nice story.

After making our way from the freezing parking lot we entered the dining area which looked like a Bavarian themed Rock Bottom, or something of the sort. The menu really didn't thrill me much either with items like Thai Lettuce Wraps, Crab Cakes, Seared Tuna, and Cajun Pasta on the menu. Until I found a couple of items more befitting of a place called Sprecher's.

The beer list was a bit more interesting. And I noticed that "tasters" were offered at three for $4.50 and six for $9. So I thought I'd go for the six, after all, I had envisioned 2-3 ounce pours…. but what I received seemed to be much larger than that.

Our server, named Anna was a joy…. efficient and cheerful, I had her choose my six beers, which she had arranged for me, from light to dark. She had also taken the time to list each beer in order by hand. Anna told me that they used to have print-outs for folks ordering the sampler but stopped doing that a while ago, she thought I'd like to know and remember what I was drinking.

This is the El Rey, a very effervescent Mexican Ale. My favorite was the Abbey, slightly fruity, perhaps edging on the sweet, but I enjoyed it.

If you've read my previous posts on Madison, you'll have a pretty good idea of what I was having as a starter….. it's Deep Fried Cheese Curds ($7) of course!

As Fried Cheese Curds go, these were just ok. Not even close in flavor or texture to those at the Old Fashioned, but serviceable. More gooey and stringy then other versions I've had.

And just because I'm so predictable, of course I had the Sprecher's Brat with Beer Cheese Potatoes ($9):

This was just ok, and really tasted like concept brew pub food, being very corporate in presentation and flavor. The brat really didn't catch my attention, and it was covered with a load of flavors….whole grain mustard and sauerkraut I can take, but the caramelized onions with what seemed to be bacon was a bit much. I really couldn't taste much beeriness in the beer cheese potatoes, in fact it was pretty bland as a whole.

Perhaps in the end, the corporate chain-like food didn't impress me very much; but the service was excellent, the prices not bad, and I really enjoyed the company. It sure beat being out in the wind and the rain.

Sprecher's Restaurant & Pub
1265 John Q Hammons Road
Madison, WI 53717