Well, that was a fine weekend. Went to the farmer's market yesterday and got a nice haul (pea shoots, Italian sausage, chioggia beets, fresh mozzarella, eggplant, donut muffins, polenta bread, cherry tomatoes). Also got to see a bit of the chef challenge. Sort of a Durham Farmer's Market version of Iron Chef. They had chefs from Toast, Guglhupf and Four Square competing with the theme ingredient being squash. We didn't stay until the end (too damn hot) but based on the prep I got to see I was most interested in Four Square's offering. Okay, maybe that was cos they had a big pile o' bacon on the cutting board. In the afternoon, Sarah and I went over to Tobacco Road to watch USA v. Ghana. Our friend D. joined us. Tobacco Road was pretty cool place to watch the game. Huge crowd, lots of TVs, even someone with a vuvuzela. And the food was excellent. I had a pulled lamb pita and Sarah had a shrimp burger. Both good enough that we'd go back even if there wasn't a game we wanted to watch. D. had a Caesar salad but I didn't get a chance to ask him how it was. Later in the game (Sarah and I got there super early to make sure we'd get a table) we got a hummus and pimento cheese appetizer. Also good (altho retrospectively maybe a bit too much food in the middle of the afternoon). And they have several local beers on draught including Triangle, Sisters of the Moon and Aviator.
Too bad about the game, though. Going in, I thought USMNT had a chance against Ghana but wasn't sure they could pull off the win. And that's about what happened. All through this year's World Cup, they seemed to be giving up early goals, digging themselves a hole that they spent huge amounts of time chasing down goals.
Not surprised to see England lose to Germany this morning, altho I was surprised to see them get beat like a drum. Sorry to see Mexico go out, altho I expected that as well.
Tonight we had dinner with an old friend who I hadn't seen in (what) eight years. He was down the road in Charlotte for a family event and popped up (okay, one doesn't just pop up from Charlotte but it's a damn sight closer to Durham than RI) and we all had dinner at Watts Grocery. As usual, they didn't disappoint. New summer menu is on now and good reviews for the trout, frogmore stew, summer pasta,chilled red pepper soup, summer berry slump, lemon coconut chess pie.

It's linkage cleanup time. Can't remember where I read this but I think it sums up the Twilight experience about as concisely as possible: "the dreary tale of a dreary girl inexplicably adored by vampires and werewolves."
On a more serious note, I saw this AP story updating the PA school district spying on students' laptops. It probably hasn't escaped your notice that standards at the AP, shall we saw, have gone way downhill. The headline on the laptop story was further evidence of that: Report: No spying in Pa. school laptops case. One might wonder, as I did on seeing this, just where the info came from. Turns out it comes from "attorneys hired by the district." Cos they have zero conflict of interest and there's certainly no reason they'd have to paint a falsely positive of events involving THEIR CLIENTS.
The stupid, it burns...
Well, that's the kinda news that makes me want to reach for a tasty beverage. And here's a new option for the tasty beverage crowd: Godless Imperial Stout. It's a Danish beer and brewed in partnership with Denmark's Atheist Society, which receives a percentage from each sale.

Today in bizarro alcohol news: Dogfish Head makes chicha. Or tries to anyway. While I have to admire Calagione's commitment to detail and authenticity (and I love pretty much every Dogfish Head beer I've ever tried), I have to admit that I think the NYTimes reporter might be onto something when he calls this more of a stunt than an actual brewing technique.

And on the local front, it's World Beer Festival time again in Durham. Saturday, 10/3.

hooray beer!

Here's a couple of not-at-all-helpful suggestions for your next overdetermined and culturally fraught (shall we say) summit and the choice of tasty beverages to serve and/or enjoy.
Seriously, though, I do enjoy many of the offerings from Dogfish Head. I haven't really gotten much into their archeological brewing program, though. I've tried the Midas Touch and thought it was okay, but not something I'd want to have more than one of per night. Nor have I ever felt compelled to buy a second sixpack. Not likely to be the choice of the masses, but worth trying.
And speaking of not being the #1 choice o' the people, if you're looking for something different in a spring seasonal, check out Hanami Ale. From NH's Smuttynose Brewing, it just showed up on the shelves here recently and even though it's a spring beer (named for the Japanese cherry blossom festival), it's a good choice for these hot 'n hazy summer days. The cherry flavor is never overwhelming but acts as a tart undertone to the bitterness of the ale. Tasty! Plus it's from a small brewery with a goofy name, it's got marvelous (almost anime level) cute packaging, it violates the "no fruit in the beer" rule. In short it efficiently sends that message of cultural elitism and beer geekery that's just what everyone is looking for in their (shall we say) summits.

Also.

Great news for local beer lovers: Fullsteam has a home! I'm sure it'll be a while before they're up and brewing but still... very cool.
UNfortunately, I found out just now that I missed another brewery tour at Triangle this afternoon (so hard to keep up with things these days). Looks like the next one is 6/27. But there's an X % chance I'll be on the radio that day. I think the next one after that is 7/18.

Local brewery hits the big time! That's right, a really nice story on Duck Rabbit by the Atlantic. I wonder if it's in the print edition or only online. Anyway, good stuff. Duck Rabbit is probably my fave NC brewery. Because, as stated in the article, they focus on dark beers. I do have to agree with the Atlantic writer that their amber ale is not all that impressive. Not bad or anything but not in the same class as the darker brews. The brown ale is excellent. Tho that's about as dark a beer as I'll want to drink during the summer. Somehow, when it's 90+ degrees, stout just isn't the first thing I reach for. (aside: I've always wonder how Guinness, and stouts in general, got to be so popular in tropical-type countries. Was it just a legacy of empire combined with effective marketing?)
Once cooler weather returns, the stout and porter will get added back into the rotation. In the meantime it's all about pale ales, saisons, wheat beers, etc... which must be sourced elsewhere.

Let's kiss the working week goodbye with a little musical number. Found via Serious Eats, who summed it up nicely: "it's Friday and you know what that means: it's time to party like a bunch of drunk Lego men (and one chicken)"

Excellent New Yorker article on Dogfish Head and the extreme beer scene. Gives new meaning to the phrase "crazy about beer."

And the beer du jour is the Mendocino Imperial IPA. I love a good winter seasonal!

In this week's installment of HoD beer blogging, I'd like to plug away for St. Ambroise Pale Ale. From Montreal. A nice hoppy ale. Not overwhelming or life-changing but really really tasty.
Or if you like your beers a bit more on the extreme side you might wanna check out the Ruination IPA from Stone. It's not as insane as the hype on the bottle makes out but it's definitely a big hoppy monster, even compared to the glad hand with the hops you find in American micros like Dogfish. I might not ever drink another but I enjoyed the one I had. Up next from Stone, either the Oaked Arrogant Bastard or the Smoked Porter.