A new spot in my new home town: Lumberyard Tavern & Grill - Encinitas, CA

So, a little tired of hotel food, Giorgio and I decided to get out and wander around.  I wanted to go check out the downtown Encinitas area , it's a little beach town with shops and restaurants a block or so from the beach.  It was very appealing coming from Dallas, a city littered with good eats.

We were trying to decide between Sushi and this Lumberyard Tavern that jumped out at us last minute across the parking lot.  Giorgio wanted ribs and it appeared to be my kinda place so we went on in.  We decided to take a seat at the bar, great draft selection, a lot of local brews...I went with a good 'ol IPA, Big Eye IPA to be exact, by Ballast Point Brewing.  Very good I might say.

For dinner I ordered a Pulled Pork Sandwich, with a classic Carolina Bar b Que sauce with my choice of a side.  I decided on sweet potato .  The sandwich arrived piping hot the fries as well.  Nice simple presentation.  The meat was well tossed in sauce much more so than it looks, but not over-ly drenched - just right, like the third porridge in Goldilocks and the three bears.  It had a little kick to it the kind that adds flavor.  Bun was hot and soft, pork was moist.

The fries were not quite sweet enough, they were dusted in sea salt which added nice flavor but not the sweet potato fries I was looking for.  Overall I would give the dish an 8.  Definitely worth going back.  Service from the bartender was good and atmosphere was awesome, right up my alley.  Lots of flat screens, lots of wood, beachy style, and a very relaxed feel.  Definitely somewhere to go watch football or have a couple beers after work.  I was very pleased to find such a great place so close to our new place, maybe 3 miles max.  If you live in North County or live in SD but want to do something different I'd say its worth the drive.

Cool Beach Town_Great selection_Great flavor

Stone Brewing Co: Beer is Proof God Wants Us to be Happy

So, Sol and I had a tough week, Sol - apartment hunting and me working long days.  It was Friday, our first Friday back in Cali.  We found a place to live so we were pretty excited about that.  We had an amazing seafood buffet with unlimited crab claws, crab legs, shrimp, lobster and it also had Prime Rib.  Yes - it was good, check that GREAT.  But this blog is about a wonderful world of beer at Stone Brewing Company.

Now I would hope that those of you reading this have at the very least heard of Stone IPA.  It is one of the most popular beers in the country and it is gaining popularity every day.  After some research on the world wide web I found out that Stone had a restaurant on its premises, it's called - Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens.  So our decision on where to go was settled.  Unfortunately, the last time I lived in San Diego I didn't have an appreciation for beer, so five days into my residency this time, I wasn't going to make the same mistake as last time. 

I seized the opportunity and off we went to Escondido, "top of the food chain", as a good friend of mine always says.  All we wanted was a couple of good beers and we went to the right place, the only problem was, they had more than a couple good beers.  This beer list was unbelievable, I thought I knew beer...this place belittled me.  The picture to the right is page two of their beer list and they are all craft beers that are unheard of.  SO - how did we choose?  Well we stuck with the Stone beers since we were at their Brewery. 

The first beer I had, courtesy of a recommendation from Mr. Ken DeMello Jr. was: Arrogant Bastard.  Some of my more loyal readers might think this sounds familiar.  That's because I briefly gave a shout out to Stone and Arrogant Bastard in my Flying Dog Blog.  The truth is, I hadn't yet tried it, but with that kind of name, how bad could it be?  I mean really.  So I gave it a go - and I realized quickly where it got its name.  It really jumps out of the glass and on to you palate in hurry, as if it's saying, "Yea, I'm hoppy, I'm tasty and I'm just a damn good beer".  As much as I like the flagship Stone IPA I think Arrogant Bastard might edge it out in a race.  It was a very dark ruby red, almost brown color, unfortunately you can't see very well in the picture.  Finished that one - NEXT

The next beer to flow down the dark abyss that is my throat was Ruination (ruin-nation) IPA by Stone.  It was amber in color although the flash from my Droid made it look a wee bit gold.  It smelled sweet and had a hint of berries, not at all what I expected.  It also had a flowery aroma to it.  I was kind of surprised, the reason I chose it was because I heard quite a few people order it as we sat at the bar.  I took a sip and....there you go, that's why it was so popular.  It didn't taste like your typical IPA, slightly hoppy but kind of sweet.  A very good beer I might say, maybe better than the previously heralded Arrogant Bastard.  As a side note, these IPA's are not for the people whose favorite beer end in: -light or start with Bud, Miller, Coors or have a number in it e.g. MGD 64 or Bud Select 55.  These beers are not for pounding or shot-gunning.  And they definitely do not belong in a beer bong....well....that might be fun to try.  This beer for example is 7.7% which means its already about twice the alcohol content as a regular beer.  Sip it, enjoy it, and relish in the flavors and aroma.

I have to admit I made a mistake during this interaction.  With probably 50+ beers on tap and maybe 100+ by the bottle I picked for myself.  DOH!  You know the bartender is trained like a freaking sommelier and you choose your own beer???  Not sure what I was thinking, maybe I was so excited to say bastard I forgot that you should always ask the person pouring what they recommend.  So half way through my Ruination, I asked Glen what he liked that day.   He poured me a taster of "Sublimely Self-Righteous" a double back IPA.  Geez Lou-eeze.  Knowing that I couldn't have another beer and still drive home safe, I started kicking my own ass - that beer was so good.  Hands down better the the two I tried before it.  Don't ask me what a double black IPA is or tasted like just know it was fokin' amazing!  

Seriously - what a great trip.  To top it off we took a glance at the food menu knowing that they cook with beer.  Some highlights were: 

-Beer Cheese Soup

-Beer Cheese Mac and Cheese

-Beer Braised Ribs

-IPA fried mashed potato balls

-Smoked Porter Brownie

I could go on forever.  Needless to say we will be going back to eat and pair beer with food and there will be another blog coming.. PEACE

Amazing Beer_Awesome Architecture_Amazing Beer

Philly Cheesesteak Wrap @ the Gansevoort in Miami

On our last day in Miami we decided to hit Plunge at the Gansevoort Hotel on South Beach.  As you can see to the left it was a long narrow pool, what you can't really see is that it was on the roof of the hotel about 30 stories up.  The view was amazing and it was a great way to spend our last day.  There were soft white chusions in thatch chairs lining the pool.  But you couldn't sit in them unless you ordered a bottle.  Bottle service EVERYWHERE.

The night before was a little rough so I wasn't feeling too good before we arrived.  Needless to say I got in the pool and didn't get out for a long time.  After about an hour I finally succumbed to the fact that I needed to eat something even though I didn't necessarily want to.  As I looked over the menu one thing jumped off of the page at me, "Philly Cheesesteak Wrap".  It was different, it should be greasy, and it was blogable.  Done.

It was fantastic.  Light, fresh and heavy enough.  It came with two skewers of fresh fruit rather than fries which I was totally okay with.  It was rather enjoyable and not something I would ever even imagine.  It could have been that anything would have been good with the I was feeling but as far as i'm concerned, good stuff.

Also, I didn't get to enjoy it but STK was in the Gansevoort - so money!!!