RunawayJim.org

This post may end up long, but I’m bunching a whole bunch of topics into this single post.

ResNet is about a whole lot more than simply attending presentations and dealing with work-related stuff. It’s about making connections, meeting new people, seeing old friends. It’s about volunteering and helping out. This post covers the stuff that the other 2 didn’t. It covers all the stuff that happens at ResNet that happens outside the actual conference.

I’ll start by saying how ResNet is one big family. Everyone is friends at ResNet. If you weren’t friends with people there, you most certainly are now. I met up with some people I had met over the past 5 years of being part of this great organization. I also made some new friends.

I’ll admit it. The stuff that happens outside the conference can get a little crazy. As someone once described it, it’s like a bunch of college IT folks pretending we’re in college again. That is true to a certain degree, though usually things don’t get quite as crazy as they may have when we were in college. So to complete this thought, some beer is involved. And since beer is involved, I have to comment on the local beer I got to try.

The best of the local stuff was most definitely from Surly. I was able to drink the Furious and Bender on tap. Bender is described as a brown ale, but I’d call it more of a porter. It’s a very tasty beer. Furious is one of the best and most balanced IPAs I have ever tried. I brought some Bender, Coffee Bender, and Bitter Brewer back with me. I also got to drink some Summit, though it was only the Extra Pale Ale, which is just a pale ale. It was good, but got boring after a while. I tried some Schell’s, but I don’t remember what it was. It was pretty pale, but still pretty good. I think it was an adjunct lager of some sort. I also tried a couple New Belgium – the 1554, Mighty Arrow, and Fat Tire. The 1554 was very good. The other 2 weren’t anything special. I stuck mainly with Surly for most of the trip. Needless to say, if you’re in Minnesota, drink as much Surly as you can. The stuff is awesome.

One of the evenings brought about some shots of Jagermeister. Now, I’ll admit it. I love Jagermeister. I haven’t had the stuff since college. I’m also not one to normally do shots of anything. This was a fun way to end a night (after the lights in the bar came back on). In fact, the waitress even did a shot with us.

We tried a couple different bars in town. St. Cloud is a small place with not much to do but drink it seems. In fact, I counted no less than 3 shops selling bongs and other smoking devices along the main strip downtown. There were also a ton of bars. The first bar we tried was MC’s Dugout. It was a strange place where beer was not the drink of choice by most of the locals. In fact, they were all (including the bearded, pierced, tattooed, burly men) drinking what I would call “girly” drinks. They were pink and orange in color and served in curvaceous glasses. I later learned that those drinks are pretty high in alcohol and called a Hairy Buffalo. The second bar was The White Horse. This place had the best beer selection in town. The problem was that it didn’t seem to have any air conditioning. We were literally sweating just sitting there. The live music that was ridiculously loud didn’t help either. I would have loved to stay at this bar, but the atmosphere just wasn’t conducive to a bunch of people wanting to drink and chat. We ended up at the bar where we would return a few times, Tavern on Germain (aka The Tav). It provided us with lots of great beer (they had Surly on tap, which was all I needed) and a great jukebox (all I have to say is there was a biting incident while Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy” was playing). We were all worried about being on a dry campus, but the downtown area wasn’t far and the beer flowed like the Mississippi in town.

The town is pretty small, but it’s nicely setup in a grid (at least the downtown and surrounding areas are). It’s pretty walkable, but if you didn’t want to walk, there’s regular bus service (though I didn’t try it). It was about a 10-15 minute walk from the campus to the downtown area. Part of the problem was that the main road through town was under construction and you couldn’t easily get across it. The downtown area is pretty small, confined to a 5-6 block strip that’s only a couple blocks wide. Towards the outskirts, it looks like most suburbs with lots of strip malls and parking lots.

On the half day, I went to the Mall of America with a bunch of people. All I’ll say about that is that it’s a mall, just a really big mall. The only thing that sets it apart from any other mall is the amusement park in the middle, complete with roller coasters. The outside is about as inviting as any other suburban mall and the mall part has the same stuff, just more of it. It had some extra sit down type restaurants, but besides that, it’s still a mall.

While there, I did get to try some of the local cuisine. We ate at a Thai restaurant downtown one night. I enjoyed my meal and the waitress was really nice. It’s called Sawadtee (I found it amusing because we have one in Providence called Sawaddee). We also had some local foods. One of the lunches in the cafeteria had a dish known locally as Tater Tot Hot Dish. It’s a casserole with some kind of meat, some gravy, some peas and corn (maybe carrots, too) and tater tots. It was interesting and pretty enjoyable. We also had pickles-on-a-stick, which were really good. Apparently, they have lots of food on a stick in the Midwest. The last of the Midwestern food I had was at the airport. I tried some fried cheese curds, which were a lot like mozzarella sticks, just not as stringy.

This ends my reporting on this year’s ResNet Symposium. It was a lot of fun and I learned a whole lot and made lots of new friends. I can’t wait to see everyone next year in Bellingham, WA.

While my claim might be a little dreamy, I have never had a Pasta y Fagioli that I have liked better, even at the best of Italian restaurants. The only thing I can come up with is that the restaurants are making a peasant’s dish too classy. The dish is meant to be simple and easy to make with few ingredients. After all, in English, it just means “Pasta and Beans”.

The recipe that follows has been handed down to me from my mother. It’s the same way my paternal grandparents made it (oddly enough, my father doesn’t know the recipe). This is the same recipe that has been my favorite meal since I was pretty young. Being that this is one of those handed down recipes, there’s a lot of improvisation (the garlic, oregano, and basil were my additions).

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti (I use Barilla)
4 8 oz cans of Hunts Tomato Sauce (the plain one)
1 can of cannellini (white kidney) beans (brands very. I prefer Sclafani. Progresso is no good)
1 medium size yellow onion
6 cloves of Garlic (if you don’t like garlic, use less, if you do, use more)
Olive oil (I use extra virgin, but it’s just what I have in the cabinet)
Oregano (dried flakes)
Basil (dried flakes)

Chop the garlic and onion. Add some olive oil to the bottom of a pot. I usually use a 3 qt pot, but it gets filled pretty close to the rim. Cook the garlic, but don’t burn it. Add some more olive oil and then add the onion and sauté until the onion is translucent. I generally end up with a lot of olive oil in the pot to the point where it’s nearly covering all the onion (I like olive oil). I let it get hot and add the tomato sauce and cannellini beans (including the “bean juice”). After each can of tomato sauce is added, I carefully fill the empty can with water, making sure to mix the excess sauce in, and add that to the pot. I usually rinse the bean can just enough to get some water in it and mixed with the excess “bean juice” and add that to the pot as well. I then add the oregano and basil to taste. You can also probably add salt and/or pepper if you want, but I generally don’t. Let the whole thing come to a brief boil, stirring pretty regularly, and then let it simmer covered.

While the sauce is getting hot, I get the water going for the spaghetti. While I’m waiting for it to come to a boil, I break the spaghetti up into small pieces (about 1-2 inches in length). It’s a lot of work, but it makes eating this a lot easier. By the time I’m done, the water is ready. Cook the spaghetti according to the package. I generally stir the spaghetti with the same utensil used for the sauce. In fact, I’ll add a small amount of the sauce to the spaghetti water (you’ll understand soon enough). When the spaghetti is done, pour about 1-2 quarts of the water used to cook it into something to save it (again, you’ll understand by the end of this), then strain as usual. Add the spaghetti back to the pot and then dump in the sauce and stir it up. The consistency should be almost stew-like. Cover the pot and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. This allows the spaghetti to soak up the flavors from the sauce.

Serve it in soup bowls or pasta bowls. I usually add a good amount of grated parmesan or romano (or a mix of the 2) cheese to it and mix it in. It’s best eaten with a good crusty Italian bread for dipping.

This recipe makes a lot. I don’t know the exact number of servings, but I always end up with a lot leftover. This is where that water you saved comes in. I add the leftovers to a container for the fridge. But usually by the time I do it, it has thicken up quite a bit. I add some of that water (which already has a lot of the flavors mixed in) to loosen it up a bit. If you add too much of the water, it will be bland. If you don’t add enough, it will be really thick.

I’m still perfecting this each time I make it. I have yet to have a brand of beans besides Sclafani that meets my approval. Sclafani may not be available in all parts of the country (I can get it in RI or CT). You can try making it with 2 15 oz cans of the tomato sauce (always use the plain Hunts). I’ve made it really bland. I’ve made it overpowering. It all comes down to the spices. Now, the one thing I can’t remember (which is why I said you can add it if you want) is if my mother used salt and/or pepper in the sauce. That might be why it sometimes comes out bland. Though, on that same note, I’ve had it be absolutely fantastic without adding that stuff. I do salt the pasta water (adding a good amount of salt after it’s boiling, but before adding the pasta).

If you try this or make some changes, let me know what you think in the comments. I really don’t care what anyone says. This will always be the world’s best Pasta y Fagioli to me. Enjoy!

So, now you know the reason why I held off on my review of Portsmouth Brewery.  I extended my vacation by a day and went up to Portsmouth for Kate the Great on Monday with a bunch of other beer geeks from RI.  In fact, I was the designated driver of a 12 passenger van.  I’m sure the question on anyone’s mind who hasn’t tried Kate the Great is “How is it?”  Well… it’s awesome, but I’ll get to more on that later.

The final day of the Maine trip, we drove back from the Olde Saco Inn.  Since we had a huge breakfast, none of us were hungry for a while.  We decided it’d be a good idea to stop for lunch in Portsmouth, since it was already 2:00.  We figured the Portsmouth Brewery would be the best place… and it was.  We had to wait a little bit for a table, but it was worth the wait.  Our hunger had crept up to us by then.  We had a great waitress.  The food was excellent.  I had a chicken pesto sandwich with tortillas and salsa rather than fries.  I was all fried out by then.  I tried their Flanders Red with my lunch.  The beer was great (though some disliked it on Monday, I still thought it was excellent).  It was a bit tart and a little musty.  Apparently, it’s not infected, but rather utilizes a sour mash to get that flavor.  I still thought it was really good.  Everyone else got their Oatmeal Stout, which is also excellent.

Anyway, back to Kate the Great Day… We got up bright and early and met at 6:00 to head up to Portsmouth that morning.  We arrived around 8:30 to find that they had already started handing out calendar dates.  They use page-a-day calendars as their numbers for the beer and call everyone up a month at a time.  It actually worked out really smoothly and there weren’t any problems.  By the time we had arrived, they were up to the beginning of July.  We knew we would get our bottles because they released 900 bottles and there was a 2 bottle limit per person.  After we got our bottles, we headed to the Friendly Toast for some breakfast.  The place had no idea what was coming.  They had 1 waiter on and a line of people out the door.  They ended up calling in more and things started to calm down a bit.  I had french toast, which was huge, and pretty good, but nothing overly special (the breakfast at Julian’s is much better).

Once we were nicely stuffed with food, which many of us failed to finish due to the sheer quantity, we headed out and wandered around Portsmouth while we waited for the brewery to open at 11:30.  Around 11, we got in line outside the brewery and waited for the doors to open.  As soon as we made it to the door, we headed to the downstairs bar, which I had no idea existed, and sat ourselves down right at the bar.  It worked out great as a bunch of people we knew who had heckled us for waiting in line were without seats.

We hung out, chatted with various people, drank some beer, and killed some time before 1:14 when they tapped Kate.  They had some great beers on, including their Oatmeal Stout dry-hopped with Columbus hops on cask, which we killed and was followed by their Dubbled dry-hopped with Saaz hops on cask.  Both were excellent.  Being the designated driver, I drank mostly water throughout the day.

As 1:14 arrived, the place went nuts, the bartenders went crazy filling glasses, and we were the first to get to try Kate the Great.  The beer is a very thick black imperial stout.  It has a lot of chocolate flavor to it, similar to, but not quite the same as, Southern Tier Choklat.  There are some roasted undertones, a little coffee bitterness, some fruitiness, and a slight alcoholic warming.  The beer, according to the bartender, is about 12.5% ABV.  It drank like it had 9%.  It was very heavy and I’m not sure I could have drunk more than one of them if I wanted to.  While the party was going on, we all eventually got up and bought our 2 bottles and kept chatting with other beer geeks from RI and CT and all over New England and some from around the country.

By 3:30, it was time for more food.  I ordered the steak and cheese, which was phenomenal.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had a steak and cheese sub that was this good.  It was juicy, full of flavor, and completely hit the spot.  I washed it down with their Dirty Blonde Ale, as I was looking for something a bit lighter.  The beer was an excellent blonde ale with a nice flavor and finish, but not heavy.  The others ended up getting food and as things started to wind down, we decided it was time to head out.  We made it back to RI around 7:00, but decided to head to Julian’s because they had Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien on tap, an expensive beer and supposedly the most expensive keg ever purchased in RI.  That beer was also excellent, though in quite a different manner.  It had a nice vinous quality to it and tasted like a cross between a gueuze, a Flanders red, and a biere de garde.  At 15% ABV, it was strong, but the alcohol stayed hidden.  The beer also changed quite a bit as it warmed up.  It was a nice finish to a great day.

If you’re in New England and driving along 95, stop by the Portsmouth Brewery.  It’s easy to find and the food and beer make it worth a stop.  Portsmouth is a cool little town.  It reminded me quite a bit of a smaller version of Burlington, VT.  If you were at Kate the Great Day and got your 2 bottles, here’s a little tip.  One of the guys in our group was chatting with Tod Mott, the brewer.  He suggested you set the beer down for a year before opening it.  That’s likely what I’ll do, though it will be very tempting to open.  It’s a really good stout, deserving of the hype, and, in my opinion, the #1 spot on BA.  Westvleteren 12 isn’t quite as deserving.

No vacation would be worthwhile without beer involved.  So, since we had 4 beer geeks in the car, there were a few stops.

Gritty McDuff’s Brewpub, Freeport, ME

On our ride up to Sunday River, we stopped in Freeport to visit the flagship LL Bean retail store(s).  Since it was lunchtime, we decided to stop into Gritty’s Brewpub just down the street.  The place is big and pretty open.  There are 2 halves, one with a bigger bar than the other (it’s got the casks).  The side we sat in had the smaller bar with just some taps and regular drinks.  The tables were mostly picnic style tables, kind of like a German bar.  The food was excellent.  I had a burger that was fantastic.  The others in our group also really enjoyed their food.  They had their IPA and Scottish Ale on cask.  I got the IPA, Susan got the Scottish.  The IPA was awesome, but the Scottish was way off.  They also had the Black Fly Stout on nitro, which was also excellent.  We stopped by the gift shop, picked up a mini-keg of the stout and got some t-shirts.

Sunday River Brewing Co., Bethel, ME

At the end (or beginning, depending on which way you’re going) of Sunday River Rd. is the Sunday River Brewing Co.  This brewpub used to be owned by Stone Coast, before they went out of business.  It’s now the only place you can still get fresh Stone Coast beer, and what good beer it is.  I had the Alt and the IPA (still the good old 420 IPA).  Others in the group got the Red, which was also very good.  Their food is excellent.  They do a great BBQ and their house-made pastrami is awesome.  It’s also really cheap.  Pints are normally $3.50, but on Wednesdays from 3-7, they’re just $1.50.  If you’re in the area, SRBC is a “don’t miss”.

Shipyard Brewhaus, Whitecap Lodge, Sunday River Resort, Newry, ME

While this isn’t an actual brewpub or brewery, Shipyard has a bar at the Sunday River resort.  It serves beers other than Shipyard.  It’s a little on the pricey side with regards to the food, which is pretty good, but nothing special.  However, they have pretty much every Shipyard beer available (with the exception of the Pugsley’s Signature Series).  The beer is good, and pretty cheap.  Pitchers were just $15.  They had the Brown Ale, which is a special one, and it’s a good one.  They also had their Bluefin Stout, which was also excellent.  If you’re at Sunday River, you should stop by the Shipyard Brewhaus at Whitecap Lodge for some beer (though you can skip the food here).

And now… last but most certainly not least… (in fact, I saved the best for last)…

Ebenezer’s Pub, Lovell, ME

Note: I’m going to include a review of an inn here as well, because it’s necessary to spend a night if you plan on visiting Ebenezer’s.

The last night of our trip, we stayed at the Olde Saco Inn in Fryeburg, ME.  The inn is off Rt. 5, but way back in the woods.  In fact, the street wasn’t found on my GPS, probably because it’s really just a driveway for the inn.  The inn is gorgeous and the innkeepers are super nice and friendly.  They were very welcoming and accommodating.  The rooms were nice.  There was a huge fireplace in the middle of the first floor, which kept the whole place nice and warm and smelled fantastic.  They were baking cookies when we arrived.  The morning after, we woke up to the great smell of maple and bacon.  Since breakfast was included, we also got a huge meal.  It was well worth the cost.  It should also be noted that they run a shuttle service in conjunction with Ebenezer’s.  You drive to Ebenezer’s, drink a lot of great beer, someone from Ebenezer’s will drive you back to the inn, the next morning, the innkeeper will bring you back to get your car.

Now onto the stuff you wanted to know… Ebenezer’s!

Ebenezer’s Pub is a small restaurant and bar also set back in the woods (apparently, it’s on a golf course, but in the middle of the winter, you can’t see anything but white).  A lot of their business was snowmobilers, for whom they kept the heat down (my only complaint as it was quite chilly in there).  It was packed when we arrived, so we ordered some beer and waited for a table (Susan wasn’t able to sit at a bar height table because of her knee).  The tap list looks like you’re at a bar in Belgium that also serves a few American craft beers.  It ranged from the common Stella Artois (which I doubt he carries often) to the rare Black Albert and Cantillon St. Lamvinus.  In fact, the only non-craft beer on the list was Stella.  He did have bottles of Bud and Corona, probably to keep him in business.  Most of the people in there were drinking something other than the great draft beers they had.  After we ordered food, one of the waitresses started talking to us and bringing us samples of some of the great beers on tap, including Black Albert and a couple Cantillon lambics.  We drank a lot of beer, more from samples than actual orders.  They had Samichlaus Helles on draft as well as a 2004 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine.  Both were excellent.  The 4 Cantillons I had (2006 Framboise, 2006 Kriek, Rose Gambrinus, and St. Lamvinus) were excellent, though not quite as sour as they are from the bottle.  The Black Albert was simply amazing.  It was a little light in body, but the flavor was awesome.  The bartender had also brought us a bunch of samples.  The staff couldn’t have been better.

Ebenezer’s is a must visit for anyone who loves beer.  While they may not have the most taps or the biggest bottle list, they make up for it 10 times over with their staff.  We didn’t even get to meet the owner, Chris.

This doesn’t include all the beer we drank at the condo (Shipyard Export Ale, Geary’s Pale Ale, Geary’s HSA, Sebago Frye’s Leap IPA, Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, and more…).  It also doesn’t include the stop we made for lunch at the Portsmouth Brewery on our drive home.  I’ll write more about that next as it’ll include a bit more than just that lunch stop.

It probably isn’t fair to be reviewing this one on the heels of the Nikki’s Beer Dinner from last month as that was a tough one to beat.  The Stouts and Porters Dinner at Julian’s on Sunday night was a great time and they did top it one way – entertainment.

In the middle of the dinner, they had a bunch of people from a Chinese dance school come in and do a little thing with a lion that ate and regurgitated some lettuce.  It was accompanied by drumming.  It was really fun and bought a nice new dimension to the dinner.  In addition, Brian from Julian’s also attempted to wear a different color ruffled tux shirt with each introduction for the courses.  Anyway, on to the review.

The first course found us drinking Buffalo Belgian Stout.  I had tried this once before from the bottle at a warmer temp and it was quite enjoyable.  It wasn’t nearly as good off the tap, unfortunately.  It was served with chestnuts and cranberries, which actually paired quite nicely.

The second course was a salad served with Avery The Czar.  The beer was awesome.  It was the first time I had tried it.  I found it a little odd that the strongest beer, at 12.2%, was served with the salad.  It had a lot of depth to the flavor with some dark fruit and anise.  The salad was greens, golden beets, herb encrusted pistachios, and crispy sweet potatoes.  It paired alright with the beer.  Neither over-powered the other, but I didn’t find them overly complimentary.  However, I also didn’t find them to be so opposite that they went poorly together.

The third course is honestly slipping my mind right now.  The beer was a whiskey barrel aged Ten FIDY from Oskar Blues.  This was quite tasty and added a nice dimension to the Ten FIDY without giving it a strong whiskey/bourbon flavor as happens too often when beers are aged in those types of barrels.

Following that was an intermezzo.  Again, the food is slipping my mind.  The beer was Great Divide’s Oak Aged Espresso Yeti.  This is easily one of my new favorite beers.  I managed to try some of this at Track 84 on Thursday.  It’s very tasty and has quite a bit of depth to the flavor.  The espresso is muted enough that it’s not overpowering, but strong enough to really complement the other flavors of the Oak Aged Yeti.  If you can find this, you need to try this beer.

Now onto the main course.  As with all the Julian’s beer dinners, there were 2 options.  Luckily, this time Susan and I picked different options.  I opted for the crab corn butternut squash ravioli, which came with an oak aged Smuttynose Robust Porter.  It turns out that this is actually called “JD” Oak Aged Robust Porter, the JD presumably standing for Jack Daniels.  Boy was that beer strong with the whiskey flavor.  Luckily, some of that flavor died off as the beer warmed, bringing out more of the porter flavors.  The regular Robust Porter is one of my favorite porters.  It’s very flavorful and has a great body.  This rendition of it wasn’t really up to my liking as I’m not big on strong whiskey flavors.  The meal was perfect, though, again, it wasn’t a perfect pairing.  If anything, the strong flavors of this beer took a little away from the food.  The other option was a roasted duck dish served with Hoppin’ Frog’s B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher, an oatmeal Russian imperial stout.  I found my dinner to be better and the beer to be different enough that I was really glad I chose what I did.

Finally, we made it to dessert, which was also a choice of 2 options.  I opted for a pumpkin creme caramel with a ginger cookie.  The beer was Meantime Coffee Porter.  This was the best pairing of the night.  The beer is excellent, and the dessert had just the right flavors.  It had a great consistency and the mix of pumpkin and ginger went well with the coffee flavored porter, which has a nice coffee flavor that is not overwhelming.  The other option was a float made with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout.  Again, I’m glad I chose what I did.  It was the better of the 2 options.

Overall, this wasn’t the best pairing, but the beers were fantastic and the evening, as always, was a ton of fun.  Many thanks to Brian, Mike, and the rest of the great staff at Julian’s.  I wish I remembered those other 2 dishes, but I just can’t.  If someone reading this remembers, feel free to post it in the comments.

Next month’s beer dinner is curated by JB Masters from Tigris Beverages.  I won’t be able to make this one or even the following one, which will be curated by Dave from Track 84.

Last night, after spending a couple hours at Nikki’s for the Thursday night beer tasting, I headed over to Cafe 412 at the suggestion of Mike (the beer guy and owner of Nikki’s).  I had known of the existence of this bar/restaurant, working for Providence College and all.  One of my former student employees, Jenny, had talked about this bar quite a bit as I believe she is friends with the owner.  So we headed over to this little bar on Douglas Ave and walked inside.  It was about 9:00 pm and the bar was completely empty.  It’s a small room with a U shaped bar and a couple of bar-height tables around the edge.  There’s a little nook with an ATM machine (that is “free”, in that they’ll take a dollar off your purchase for using it and paying the dollar fee) and a bathroom in the back corner.  In the middle of the bar are the taps and a row of bottles beneath displaying the beer.  There are 2 chalkboards hanging on the walls on either side of the bar displaying the beer list.  Behind the bar is a big reebar (sp?) rack to hold wine bottles with a neat arch made of tab handles for various beers.

The beer selection last night was pretty impressive, especially considering this is a college bar.  They had the following on draft:

• Allagash White
• Stone Ruination
• St. Bernardus Abt 12
• Victory Prima Pils
• Ipswich Ale
• Rogue Dead Guy Ale
• Left Hand Milk Stout
• Flying Dog In Heat Wheat
• North Coast Red Seal Ale
• Thirsty Dog Hoppus Maximus

In addition to that, they also had one tap that wasn’t being used.  Their bottle list was a little less impressive, though the standouts were Haverhill Leatherlips IPA and Whittier White, Long Trail Double Bag, Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, Thirsty Dog Siberian Night, and Left Hand Sawtooth Ale.  There were probably about 25-30 bottled beers in total.   The beer was served colder than what would be ideal, but with a little time, it warmed up.  The Abt 12 was served in a St. Bernardus chalice, which was a nice touch.

Our waitress, Audrey, was fantastic.  She didn’t know a whole lot about the beers, but she seemed very willing to learn, and had informed us she was planning a trip to Nikki’s to mix her own 6 pack this weekend.  We also ordered some food.  I had heard their pizzas are really good.  Those who told me weren’t lying.  It’s a grilled flatbread pizza.  I got a margarita (fresh tomato and basil) on their whole wheat crust.  It was awesome, rivaling Bob and Timmy’s (though this was a little different from Bob and Timmy’s grilled pizza).  Everyone else also seemed to enjoy their meals (I don’t remember what people got, other than Susan who got nachos that looked fantastic).  We left around 11:30 and there were still only a few other people in the place.  I’m going to assume that because they actually card, it’s not a big hot spot for the students.

If you’re looking for a great low key bar in Providence that serves great food, Cafe 412 is worth a visit.  The beer selection, while not over-the-top, is great, the food is awesome, and the service is fantastic.  Check it out, have a beer or two, and enjoy their awesome prices (my pint of Ruination was $4 and the Abt 12 was $5).  Chatting with the waitress, it sounded like the owner wasn’t too sure how much longer he’d be able to carry some of the beers because they’re not big sellers and because of their high price.  We actually suggested to her that the owner should raise his prices on some of these beers (Ruination usually goes for $5-6 for a 10-12 oz. pour and Abt 12 is usually around $7-8 for a smaller pour as they filled it above the fill line on the glass).  I’ll definitely be going back, especially if I end up moving back to the neighborhood.

I know I’ve written about Julian’s before, but I had to write about them again.  Susan and I went there for dinner last week.  We wanted to go for a walk, but didn’t want to cook.  Julian’s had some healthy stuff on their summer menu, so we stopped in for dinner before going for a walk.  Susan got the tuna steak (ew because it’s rare, though she likes that kind of thing) and I got their mussels special, which was awesome.  Anyway, that’s not why I’m writing (though the food was excellent and certainly healthy).  I’m writing because they had a freaking keg of freaking oak-aged freaking 120 Minute IPA on tap.  Yeah… it was freaking awesome.  Susan ordered it while I got the Avril, which was also on tap.  That restaurant is full of surprises and totally worth your time.  The Avril was fantastic on tap (often saisons are not very good on tap, but this one was) and the 120 was phenomenal, though I would have preferred it as a dessert beer because it was so sweet (it’s on the sweet side to begin with and the oak aging added a sweet vanilla note to it).  So we got the beers with the highest ABV and the lowest ABV that night.

Go to Julian’s.  Drink lots of good beer.  Eat lots of awesome food.

Visit their MySpace page for updated food and drink/beer menus.

Tonight, Susan and I decided to try something new for dinner and ended up at Tina’s Jamaican Caribbean Restaurant in the middle of Providence’s Little Italy (which is actually simply becoming the dining district with all the great food of various ethnicity).  I had heard their food was good, but it’s always empty.  I think they do a lot of take out business.  The waitress was really nice.  We started by splitting the coco bread (bread made with coconut milk) and a beef patty.  They were both excellent.  I ordered the curried goat and Susan got the curried chicken.  Both meals came with vegetables (which was cabbage and peppers and some other stuff), rice and peas (peas are actually red kidney beans), and fried plantains (which were quite delicious).  Both our meals were excellent.  The chicken and goat were so tender, there was no need for a knife.  I had never had goat before, but it was like a greasier lamb.  It peeled right off the bone and was very tasty.

The only thing I didn’t like was sorrel, which is like a berry wine with rose petals (it’s not alcoholic).  The rose petals added too much perfuminess to it that made it a bit unbearable, but it still tasted good.  We both left very satisfied and Susan even took some home.  I think we’ll be going back there again.  It’s definitely worth a visit.  Don’t let the lack of customers deter you, the food is awesome.

After we left the Folk Festival on Saturday, we headed to Middletown to get dinner at Coddington Brewing.  I had heard it was good.  The interior feels like a cheap family restaurant, like a Chelo’s or Gregg’s.  The waitstaff also seemed like people who would work at one of those.  Our waitress didn’t seem all that interested in serving us.  I ordered their IPA, an English style IPA.  It was actually quite tasty.  It has a nice hops flavor, but a really nice malt profile as well.  Neither was overpowering and it was quite drinkable.  Susan got their Nut Brown, which was similar to Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown.  It had a nice roasted nutty character.  We both got fried seafood.  I had scallops and Susan got fish and chips.  I wasn’t as impressed by the food.  The fries were nothing special, though the scallops were cooked well.  Susan really liked the fish and chips.  They were lightly coated and not overly greasy.  We then headed home.  I think that one trip was enough, though some of the other menu items looked really good (we didn’t want to spend a lot or overeat and fall asleep driving back to Providence).

I have now been to RI’s 4 brewpubs (Trinity Brewhouse and Union Station in Providence and Mohegan Cafe on Block Island are the other 3).  Trinity is still my all around favorite, though the beer at Coddington was solid.  I wasn’t impressed by the atmosphere at Coddington.  Union Station’s beer tends to be watered down, and Mohegan Cafe was just OK (though I’d go back there again if I find myself on the island).

Susan and I decided to check out Doherty’s East Ave. Irish Pub last night after hearing about it from some our beer buddies and reading some of the reviews on BA.  All I have to say is “Wow!”  The place is very unassuming… well, not true.  It’s very assuming.  It looks like a dive sports bar that serves nothing but light beer (though the big “Firkin Wednesdays” sign on the back of the building kind of gives it away).  The inside has all sorts of random stuff on the walls from sports stuff (lots of Red Sox crap) to beer stuff to music stuff, as well as a bunch of local stuff.  In front is the bar area, which was packed with people.  The back has a bunch of tables and is more like a restaurant (and quieter), though there was a projector showing the Mets game last night.

The beer menu is the placemat.  The front has a list of what’s on tap (looked to be 30-40 taps), along with their firkin tapping schedule.  On either side is the new stuff (bottles and draft) and the stuff that’s almost gone (again, bottles and draft).  I thought that was a nice touch.  The back had the bottle list, which I would put at over 100.  The majority of the beer was craft beer.  In fact, aside from a few bigger imports (like Guinness), the draft beer was all craft beer.  I ordered a Rogue Imperial IPA and Susan got the summer Odd Notion from Magic Hat (the grapefruit sour ale we tried at the brewery).

The food menu was impressive and had a wide range of stuff from traditional pub fare to some interesting pasta dishes and a bunch of wraps.  I ordered the Rasta Pasta, which was basically a Caribbean-style pasta dish with jerk chicken and a chipotle sauce.  It had quite the kick.  Susan got the Pasta Jordan, which was basically a Bolognese style pasta dish.  Both came with garlic bread.  The portions were huge, but the food was excellent.  While we were waiting for the food, the waitress brought us some corn muffins, which were also really good.

If you’re in the Providence-Pawtucket area, check out Doherty’s.  It’s worth a stop and, in my opinion, the best beer bar in the state.  Even if they don’t have all the Belgian beers that Track 84 does, they got the food (and I’m biased towards the crazy American beers anyway).