Harpoon Brewery

Posted on October 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

The middle of our Freedom Trail walk was highlighted by an awesome lunch at Neptune Oyster. That only kept us excited for a short while. After eating, we still hurried through our tour, because we had beer waiting for us.

It’s this way! This is the real trail to freedom!

The brewing schedule from the day before. Smells hoppy to me!

Some of the bottled offerings.

Their bar, where they educate people on their brews and get people drunk.

Michelle patiently waiting to get some brews.

Some more of their offerings.

Tasting some great beers.

Everyone crowded around to get their share.

The kettle closest to you is a steam jacketed kettle.

Michelle, learning the brewing process.

Cans from beers around the world.

Harpoon Brewery has a great set of brews that they offer, from their standard brews, their UFO’s (unfiltered offerings), to their Leviathan Series (big beers). It’s a shame that they don’t distribute west of the Mississippi River. Everyone should check this brewery out if they get the chance. Fortunately, I have my cousin shipping some beer I bought over to me. Now if I could just get him to actually ship it to me. I’m afraid it might all be consumed. Damn, college kids.

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Now a break from trip posts for something nerdy.

Posted on October 23, 2011 | 1 Comment

I’d try to explain BlizzCon, but I really don’t understand the culture behind video games. The line for soft serve was doubled back, and there was no line for beer. Like I said, I don’t get it.

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Neptune Oyster

Posted on October 21, 2011 | 1 Comment

Remember when we planned our Freedom Trail tour around an eating spot? Most of my idea seem good up front, but then they tend to unravel as the lack of planning becomes apparently. Not this one. It was absolutely a brilliant plan, even in hindsight.

We found it. A little store front on a small street houses one of the best known seafood joints in the city.

Peering through the window. Oh, this is going to be good.

The raw bar menu on display on the mirror.

These little things are like oyster crackers. They’re hard in texture, probably great for clam chowder.

A great selection of beers.

Ordering from the raw bar.

Some oysters and clams from various local waterways.

A lobster roll. This is freaking incredible. The meat is in huge chunks, not shredded little bits mixed with imitation crab like you might find on the west coast.

I feel like I could spend a week in Boston just trying the different lobster rolls and clam chowder. Next time I may just do that.

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Freeeeeeeeeeeeedom!

Posted on October 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Since it was our first time in Boston, we had to follow the Freedom Trail around the city and get ourselves a little history lesson.

That’s enough history for one day. If I had to do that all over again, I probably would’ve done a guided tour to get more historical reference to what we were seeing, but let’s face it. We weren’t really that interested in the Freedom Trail. I planned the route around a lunch stop for seafood and a stop at a brewery. Yay, America!

 

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First Meal in Boston

Posted on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

After Chicago Michelle and I figured we were already half way across the country and decided to travel to the East Coast. Not wanting to do New York like we normally do, we decided on Boston. We got to our hotel pretty late, but being in The Back Bay, there were plenty of food options.

Boston is known for its New American style of food. There are places on practically every block serving this style of cuisine. We chose The Salty Pig for our first grub spot.

Prosciutto, Speck, Hard Gouda, Fig Jam, Chianti Jelly.

Mushroom Pizza, Topped with a Farm Egg.

Granted we were pretty hungry after travelling, but I really enjoyed this place. They’ve got a small rotation of beers that are pretty good, and their staff is super friendly, even after I brought up the Red Sox end of the regular season implosion.

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Can’t leave Chicago without getting diarrhea at least once.

Posted on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment

Michelle’s first trip to White Castle.

Wow, laxatives by the case! Woot!

It takes about a dozen of these little burgers to get full. This was merely a snack.

The Double Cheeseburger.

Chicken Sandwich.

I never understood the insane need for In-N-Out that people get when they come back to the west coast, but I really don’t get why people like White Castle. They taste like the microwavable burgers I used to eat in junior high. Maybe it’s not going to make your innards evacuate, but they’re pretty mediocre. I guess the moral of the story is, stay off drugs. They make you do dumb things like want to go to White Castle.

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And then I went to Michigan

Posted on October 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

The reason we went to Chicago in the first place was because I had work in Michigan like I do almsot every year. I bid Michelle farewell and drove three hours west into the heart of Michigan.

At least the beds were comfy. Have you ever tried a Sleep Number Bed? It’s interesting. It sort of reminds me of a hospital bed but without having to have your butt showing out the back of your gown.

This is what I did for two days. It was school all over again.

It wasn’t all work though. 1964, The Beatles tribute band!

You can see that they’re pretty good. Ringo actually drums like Ringo and Paul is actually left handed.

There was one very bright spot to my visit to Michigan though. I found out that Bell’s Brewery is twenty miles outside of where I visit, and they have a second brand that resides in the city of Kalamazoo, MI where I stay every time I’m out there. Here I am with a taster. I think the tasting board is Lake Michigan or one of the other Great Lakes.

As you can see, they’re known for their stouts, and they are good at them. Their Two Hearted IPA and dry hopped lager Quinannan Falls are great beers too.

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Some Other Random Shots of Chicago

Posted on October 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Here I am underneath Marilyn Monroe’s giant crotch. As you can see, I am terrified.

Guess who’s an American Girl?

At The Second City for some laughs.

Look at us! We don’t get any of the Midwest jokes! Still funny.

The view from our table on the top of The Hancock Observatory.

What you’re looking at here is a load of crap. This is the view from the women’s restroom at the top of the Hancock Observatory. Michelle came out and told me, “You’ve got to see the view from the bathroom!” I went into the men’s restroom right next to the women’s restroom. I saw a tile wall. This is discrimination of the highest kind, the kind against me.

That was Chicago for me, and then I headed to Michigan for work.

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Deep Dish Pizza: Meh.

Posted on October 18, 2011 | 1 Comment

There is a constant war going on between the people, who love their pizza in the New York style versus the people who love deep dish pizza. To me this is like arguing whether you want to get a treat or kicked in the groin. I’m not a fan of deep dish pizza, and I remember disliking it a lot the last time I was in Chicago. Since Michelle had never tried deep dish pizza in Chicago, I figured why not give it another shot.

We decided to try our deep dish pies at the birth place of the deep dish pizza.

I have to say I did not hate the deep dish pizza this time around. It was flavorful, and the crust was crisp throughout each bite. The down side to these pizzas is that there are times you get a mouthful of almost nothing but tomato sauce. Also in order to get the pie crisp, it takes a lot of oil, which you can really taste in certain bites as the oil probably pooled to that one spot in the pan.

Still, Pizzeria Uno had other things going for it like a nice Bloody Mary.

Also, Goose Island beers make everything a little better. Honker’s Ale on the left. 312 on the right.

I’m still a fan of New York Style pizza over Chicago Style, but I won’t go as far as to say I hate the deep dish pie now. Each type of pizza has its place. Chicago deep dish’s place just won’t be my stomach if I’m given the choice.

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Chicago Architecture

Posted on October 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

Chicago’s Architecture Tour was pretty fun. I absolutely do not remember which architect designed which building or why the buildings were designed the way they were, but it was really cool to see all the different styles of building mashed up together in such a small area. I will tell you one thing though. It gets cold on the river, especially for two people from Southern California.

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