You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Beer’ tag.
We got a mailer promoting the new Buffalo Wild Wings (near the Wegman’s on 248) that opened just this past Monday. I love to indulge in some wings on occasion and wanted to check the place out while it’s still new and clean. The mailer mentioned something about “Wing Tuesdays,” and I wasn’t in the mood to cook so we figured the timing was right.
Well, the line was out out the door at 5:30. As I made my way to the host’s podium, I was already questioning if I was in the mood to wait for a table. It was a madhouse – tons of little kids, noise and chaos. I chalk a lot of it up to the newness of the staff and the novelty of a new restaurant. From an atmosphere standpoint, my first thought was that it was more like a cafeteria than a sports bar. Bright lighting and a high ceiling – with hints of yellow being the big interior design “idea.” I really wanted it to be cool. Too bad.
It turned out they had a table for two available near the bar so I didn’t get a chance to reconsider. Overall it was nothing too special. The wings were good but my wife’s meal was just OK. It was happy hour (weekdays 5-7) so the draft beers were half price. And “Wing Tuesday” means 45 cent wings. The basic rundown:
- Lots of draft beers
- Maybe 15 wing flavors (along with other typical sports bar food)
- Video trivia you can play remotely from your table in the bar area
- Lots of TVs
It’s probably a wild scene during big games in the fall – if that’s your thing. I doubt we’ll go back unless it’s on off-hours when the chaos is at a minimum. The beer selection is a plus, but there’s more satisfying food and atmosphere next door at Five Guys.
I wanted to squeeze a quick post in about The Promenade’s Asian fusion restaurant, Komé, before we head out to Bolete’s New England lobster bake. We grabbed dinner at Komé the other weekend just before seeing Inception at the Rave theater. This was our first visit – it was either too crowded or I wasn’t in a sushi mood the other times we considered it. We chose the dining room rather than hibachi since the sushi mood had struck us this night. The first thing I was excited to see was Hitachino Nest Ginger Brew on the drink menu. I first tried it on a recent business trip to Seattle and fell in love. It’s not too gingery and has a fair amount of citrus flavor. It’s also much lighter in body and flavor than the deep amber color and opacity might indicate.
My wife started with an assorted mushroom dish – served in a bubbling hot sour glaze. Really nice but a touch too salty.
I’d been talking about fried chicken earlier that day and coincidentally discovered “Fried Chicken” on the appetizer menu so I had to go for it. It was a sizable portion of cubed white meat served with flavored salt and curry powder. The flavors were all great but some of the chicken was pretty dry. Dark meat would work much better in this dish.
We moved on to a couple rolls – salmon and avocado for my wife and crispy salmon skin for me. Both very good and simply presented – nothing elaborate like Sogo. We considered trying the house-smoked salmon per the waiter’s recommendation but decided we were in salmon overload and would try it next time maybe.
Then mochi ice cream for dessert. We chose chocolate with strawberry mochi and coconut with dark chocolate mochi. If you’re unfamiliar with mochi, it’s a rice flour dough that’s wrapped around ice cream and then re-frozen together. Soft and chewy. I’m thinking of trying to make these at home some time soon.
Overall, we enjoyed the food, service and ambiance regardless of the few quibbles we had with the appetizers. Definitely try Komé. And see Inception!
We got together with a couple friends to attend the Jim Gaffigan show at Easton’s State Theater on Saturday night. It was a 9:30 show which gave us plenty of time to gorge ourselves at Ocean. Neither of our guests had ever eaten at Ocean so we thought it would be fun to start with an assortment of tapas. We ordered 5 of our faves starting with the filo wrapped goat cheese with pumpkin seeds and honey plus 2 plates of “hot wings.” The chicken bone handles have been replaced by skewers for some reason – not as unique but maybe aesthetically more appealing to some customers. Or maybe bones were just a pain in the ass for the chefs to deal with.
The we rocked a seafood triumvirate: calamari, tuna tartare, and lobster mac ‘n cheese. All great.
Our friends were still craving a bit more so we advised they split the burger and fries. One of the best burgers you’ll ever have. And I love their fresh cut fries.
Even after all the food and many beers (mostly Delirium Tremens), dessert was still beckoning to us. Crème brulée, cheesecake springrolls, and pear/cranberry cobbler with sweet cream ice cream. It was one course too many, really.
And the Gaffigan show was fantastic if you were curious. His set was maybe an hour and a half – 98% new material plus an encore of his infamous assault on Hot Pockets. Definitely check him out. But don’t let his tight jeans distract you from his continued paleness.
We finally motivated ourselves to try Sette Luna’s jazz brunch this past Sunday. We were there the night before for my dad’s birthday so we had a chance to peruse the brunch menu and get fired up for it. Turns out there’s no live jazz as i’d assumed – just over the sound system. Just rechecked the website and it seems they have live jazz on the patio in warmer weather. I couldn’t care less either way. I just wanted some food.
It was great that their full beer list was available. The whole cereal grain aspect of beer makes it such a logical pairing with breakfast. I kept it light though and went with the raspberry lambic. Was it fruity, you may be asking? Quite fruity! How can you tell!? They currently have a Blanche de Brussels on tap – light and lemony with a hint of honey – that would have been great too.
My wife had coffee and fresh squeezed OJ followed by fresh peach nectar. They also offer apricot.
The menu isn’t extensive. And there are a maybe a disproportionate number of dishes with smoked salmon. But you’ll find a unique array of options and Sette Luna’s twists on classic breakfast fare. I went with the Tuscan Benedict – poached eggs, pancetta, and swiss chard on a split muffin with homefries and roasted grapefruit.
My wife had 2 eggs over easy with roasted asparagus and shallots. And homefries and roasted grapefruit as well. The roasted citrus had a nice flavor, though it was a bit awkward to eat with a knife and fork. Could’ve requested a spoon I suppose.
They start serving at 10:30 am. Not much of a crowd by the time we left around noon – i definitely expected some post-church business. I’m sure it’s a different story when it’s not 30 degrees out.
The Easton zoning board just granted some exceptions to permit the plans for the Victory Brew Pub slated for downtown Easton to proceed. Seems it’s considered a “food processing” facility due to the brewing. And they want to put up a few more signs than typically permitted. Also sounds like we’ll have a new grocery store on 3rd St in late June.
Besides getting a lot of work done around the house – inside and out – we made yet another visit to Sette Luna and took my folks to Touch of Thai.
Sette Luna had the sidewalk tables available but there was a chill in the air and it looked like rain so we chose the dining room. Started off with a quartino of Sangiovese and a glass of Belgian blonde ale (Carmelita i think it’s called). Light and smooth with warm spice. For appetizers, my wife went with the blood orange salad and i had the wood oven shrimp over a bed of marinated white beans. Sette Luna’s shrimp are amazing – perfectly cooked, meaty and smoky.
For entrées, my wife had linguini with olives and anchovies, and i had the Norwegian salmon with white beans and spinach. Cooked medium-rare in their miracle oven, it was perfectly seasoned, smoky and moist.
Our server (Gabrielle – one of their best) told us about a dessert special – Nutella rice pudding with raisins and hazelnut brittle. Sold. They did forget to put the whipped cream on top, but Gabrielle fetched a bowl of it in a flash.Getting it on the side was perfect anyway since my wife doesn’t dig whipped cream, and it avoided being melted by the warm pudding. We usually share a dessert, but this is one case where we could have easily polished off 2 (or 5) servings. Hope they have it again. And that they make it bigger. 😉
I’ll post about our second visit to Touch of Thai within the next day or two. Spoiler alert: It was goooood.
Another busy week at the office so we weren’t in the mood to make a meal, but also didn’t want to shell out 100 bucks. My wife wanted Asian so we opted for Thai food at Phenom on Northampton St in Easton. We’ve eaten there 3 or 4 times – the last being about a year ago. The food is adequate – some things are very tasty and the portions are good – but the overall experience always leaves me a bit disappointed. The service could be more professional. For example, my wife ordered a mojito and the waitress returned with what looked like a shirley temple. She said they didn’t have any mint but that there was mint flavoring in the rum. Huh? And how do the crushed maraschino cherries make it taste more like a mojito?
The menu is way too extensive. Like one of those Chinese restaurant menus with 200 items. “I’ll have the L72 with a side of R12.” And the menu is physically cheap-looking with yellowing paper inside flimsy plastic sleeves. I could understand not spending dough on menus if they changed frequently, but I honestly don’t think anything has changed since they opened several years ago.
All that being said, it’s a relaxing place to grab a bite which is just what we wanted on Friday. We really needed it after circling downtown Easton for 15 minutes looking for a parking space – a topic for a separate post. That we couldn’t find a space upped our anxiety level cuz that meant all the restaurants were likely packed, and we were not in the mood to wait for a table. That fear subsided when we arrived to find a nearly empty Phenom. Not a good sign, but i just wanted food and a drink asap.
I usually get a bottle or two of Singha (a Thai lager). We started with a plate of crispy chicken wings with a sweet plum glaze. Very good. For our entrées, my wife got a curry dish and I had the pad thai with pork. I haven’t eaten enough Thai to judge how well Phenom’s preparations stack up, but everything tasted fine to us. We saved room for dessert as we were both in the mood for ice cream – ginger, coconut, maybe red bean? Nope. They only had vanilla. Check, please.
Just as we were finishing up, the jazz band, which had been taking a break, started a set. We’d noticed the instruments when we arrived but didn’t think to ask if there would be live music – too hungry to care i guess. I think they have music every Friday which is fun. Too bad there were only 10 people in the room to hear them. I really don’t get the lack of interest considering how packed the other restaurants probably were. You’d think there would be more than a little spillover? If Phenom could class up its act a bit and get the word out, they could easily be packed nightly. I see way worse restaurants with lines out the door. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Texas Roadhouse.
We do have to check out this other Thai place over on 2nd street. Saw some rave reviews online, but the place looks like it’s in a what used to be a residence. Sometimes it feels like your eating in a stranger’s living room. Low ceilings and paneling. Uck.
Cameras don’t work if their batteries aren’t charged (unless you have a disposable or your trusty camera obscura to capture your precious memories).
We just had a great meal at Sette Luna, and i was hoping it would be the first time i took pics for the blog. I was thrilled that i remembered the Canon on our way out the door, though it crossed my mind that the battery may not be charged. Not that we had time to charge it as we had called ahead for a table. I really have to do a post about “call ahead seating” at some point. I’d love to hear any opinions on it cuz we think it blowz.
When our appetizer came (Mozzarello al Forno – fantastic btw) i whipped out the camera, turned it on and went for the button that turns off the flash…CHANGE BATTERY PACK stared back at me with a slight smirk.
So no visual documentation. Sorry. Tomorrow night it’s Ocean and I swear i’ll have my shit together by then. Our entrées looked great, though you’ll have to take my word for it. I had the bianca pizza with goat cheese and beets topped with fresh arugula. My wife went with the linguini with clams – a little linguini and lots of clams. She said it was the perfect proportion. I went with one of several Belgian beers they have on draft. Smooth and citrusy with warm spice. My wife had a quartino of Nero d’Avola.
Another great experience at Sette Luna. My overall review will be up next week.
Just saw the news that a Victory Brewing Company pub will be popping up in downtown Easton. It would be great to see some nice options on that side of the square.
I gotsta have me some Golden Monkey.
Went to the movies last night up by Wegman’s (Coraline – it was great) and we needed a place close by for a quick drink and bite before the show. Red Robin is our default cuz it’s right there. Figured it would be cool – had decent burgers on past visits. Well, I don’t remember the place feelin like Showbiz Pizza. It was a damn circus. All the screaming and bright lights. And the manager was running around apologizing to every other table – not a good sign. We had some appetizers and I downed 22ozs of Blue Moon. Probably shoulda just hit the Wegman’s sushi bar. Next time.
The fork city 