Banned in Boston?

Beer served in a plastic cup at the Sam Adams Bar & Grill at Merchantsauto.com Stadium, Manchester, NH

You’ve probably heard the story about a man being killed by a shard of glass from a beer mug, as the result of a bar fight at the Landsdowne Pub in Boston.  Now, this bar is serving all drinks in plastic cups.  I don’t know what this bar is like, because I’ve never been there, but this is probably a good idea.

But now, according to an article on BeerAdvocate.com, the Boston licensing board is considering banning glass containers in ALL of the city’s bars.

It’s one thing to drink beer from plastic cups at a baseball game or other sporting event.    In addition to eliminating the risk of drunken fans throwing glass containers at players on the field, or at other fans in the stands, there are other practical reasons.  The cost of breakage would go through the roof, and make ballpark beer even more expensive than it already it.  And then they’d have to worry about washing all those glasses that don’t get broken.

Even at the Sam Adams Bar & Grill, which is located inside the NH Fisher Cats’ ballpark in Manchester, all drinks are served in plastic or paper cups.  This place has a really nice mahogany bar and all, and looks like the sort of place where you’d not expect your beer to be served in a plastic cup.  But they also allow people to take drinks out of the place and into the seating area of the ballpark.  They can’t watch every single person the whole time, so plastic all around makes the most sense.

On the other hand, I would not want to go into a nice beer bar and have my beer served in a plastic cup.  Different styles of beer are supposed to be served in different kinds of glassware; something they can’t do if they were forced to use only plastic.  Rather than give you a lesson on proper beer glassware, here’s a basic article about it from BeerAdvocate.com.  Many beer lovers have assorted glassware in their homes (we have a good collection), and we expect bartenders at better beer bars to know what beer goes in what glass.

The banning of glass would hurt these businesses.  Who is going to pay top dollar for a fine beer dinner, when all of the brews are served in plastic cups?  Beer geeks will simply go to places outside of Boston, the people who plan the beer dinners will have them at other restaurants, etc.

Also, at these higher-end establishments, people are less likely to get so drunk that they get into fights.  There is a huge difference between “beer geeks” like us, and people who go into some dive bar to get drunk on Bud Light or some other cheap, mass-produced swill.  Beer geeks enjoy the flavor of beer, we don’t drink to get so drunk that we can’t taste anything.  We’ve grown way beyond the college days of keggers and cases upon cases of Natty Light.

Those who drink to get drunk do not only not care what their beer is served in, they also do not care what beer they drink, as long as it’s cheap and there is plenty of it.  So the places that cater to such a clientele should, by all means, eliminate serving anything in glass.  But they should also be paying more attention to patrons who’ve had too much, and shut them off as necessary.  This not just because of potential bar fights, but for the safety of the general public.  You would not want someone to get so drunk that they cannot safely drive home.  Even the better beer bars should be paying attention; they would not likely serve somebody endless glasses of some 9.0% ABV double IPA.  As much as I personally love beers like this, I might have one serving at the beer bar, and then switch over to something with a lower ABV (alcohol by volume).

Hopefully, the owners of beer bars and brewpubs in Boston will speak out against this stupid law, and it will never be passed.  Let the bar and restaurant owners decide what to do, according to what would be best for them.  But don’t put people out of business over an issue which is not applicable to their establishment.

St. Baldrick’s Day!

My husband Mike, at Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill, July 2010

Have you ever heard of St. Baldrick’s Day?  It is an annual event that is usually held at around the halfway point to the next St. Patrick’s Day.  Volunteers have their heads shaved in public to show support for kids with cancer who lose their hair due to chemo, and to raise money for childhood cancer research.

This year, my husband Mike will be participating in a St. Baldrick’s Day event, as a shavee.  As you can see, he doesn’t have much hair to begin with, but he’ll be growing it out for the event.

He is a part of Team Last Call, who will be getting “buzzed” at the Wild Rover Celtic Festival, to be held on Sunday, September 12, at the Wild Rover Pub in Manchester, NH.  The event also includes a 5K road race, which benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  And of course, there is the entertainment, many great bands and dance groups will be performing.

Admission to the event is free, but you have to buy your own food and beer at the event if you want any.  And hopefully, you will want to make donations to the charities involved.  Parking is free in the garage across the street from the Rover.  For more info, visit the event page.  They had the first annual Celtic Fest last year, and it was a lot of fun.  It looks to be bigger and better this year!

If you can’t make it to the event in person, you can always donate to Mike’s cause online, at his official St. Baldrick’s page.  There will be pictures of all head-shavings posted, so you’ll be able to see who really got shaved!  Thanks in advance!

Passport – A Craft Beer & Culinary World Tour

I heard about this for the first time on Facebook…don’t know why I’ve not heard of it last year, as we are members of Strawbery Banke Museum.  Don’t know why this was never announced in the member newsletter.  But that’s okay, we know about it now, tickets have been bought.

Passport is an event that will be held on the grounds of Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH, on September 25.  It will feature fine craft beers from New Hampshire and other parts of New England, paired with foods from some of Portsmouth’s best restaurants.  Please watch the video below to get an idea of what to expect.

If you can’t see the video here, try going to the Passport website and see it there.  Seeing this video definitely makes me all the more excited to go.  It’s clearly not a mob scene, as those Phantom Gourmet Food Festivals are, and you get more than a little teeny-tiny cup sized portion, also a hallmark of the Phantom Gourmet festivals!  The grounds of Strawbery Banke are gorgeous, and the weather should be lovely at the end of September.  It’s certainly a lot more fun than attending an SEM Chicago event, and certainly nicer than that Phantom Gourmet crap!

We decided to splurge and get the VIP tickets, which include a special reception with the brewmasters, and tastings of beer and food not included in the regular event.  And a VIP goodie bag, too!  VIP tickets are $85 per person and are very limited.  If you don’t want to spend that much, general admission tickets, to the regular event only, are $45 until August 15; after that they’ll be $60.

The VIP reception goes from 4-5PM, the regular event runs from 5-9PM.  All proceeds go to benefit Strawbery Banke and New Hampshire Public Television; both excellent causes and well worth supporting.  For more information and to buy tickets, go HERE.

Cheers!

Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill

This restaurant opened to great hype – if you live in New England and have never heard of Jerry Remy’s, you must be living under a rock or something.  Or at least spending all of your internet time reading and/or writing diet pill reviews.

Located on Boylston Street near Fenway Park, this restaurant is indeed owned by legendary Red Sox TV announcer Jerry Remy.  And on days when the Sox aren’t playing, you just may see him in the restaurant.

We had been wanting to try this place, but wanted to wait until all of the opening hype had died down a bit.  Even so, we knew it would be busy and crowded whenever a Red Sox game is going on.

Then I heard that Jerry would be hosting his annual All-Star Party at his restaurant, in past years, it has been held inside Fenway Park.  We decided to go, as this would give us a good way to check the place out for the first time, without having to wait a zillion years for a table or seats at the bar.

This is a really nice place.  The focal point of it are the “Screen Monsters”, two ginormous TVs that hang over the bar.  One of these TVs alone is bigger than our bed, that’s how big they are.  There are also smaller TVs all around the place, so that no matter where you sit, you will be able to see the game.  They even have TVs in the restrooms so you won’t miss a play – the ladies room has three TVs in it.

Since our ticket for the event included a buffet, we did not look at or order off the regular menu.  But if the offerings on the buffet are anything like the regular menu food, you’re in for a treat, it was excellent.  Note:  they do NOT have a buffet all the time, this was just for this special event.  Buffet offerings included pulled pork sliders, beef sliders, St. Louis style ribs, assorted styles of wings, assorted quesadillas, a tuna platter (with FRESH tuna cooked rare, not the canned stuff), and assorted vegetables and salads.

If you enjoy good beer, this is a great place, as they have many fine selections in bottles and on tap.  Most of the craft brews on tap are from local breweries, but they have some from other places, as well.

Jerry has an interesting marketing plan that I’ve never seen before.  For $500, you can purchase a “season pass”, to either all Red Sox home games, or all away games.  The home game plan is currently sold out for this year.  The season pass not only bumps you to the front of a line and guarantees you a table with no waiting, but also comes with a $25 food credit and a free beer, ON EACH VISIT.  A lot of people  dissed this idea, saying it was a rip-off.  But think about it – if you have Red Sox season tickets and come to all the games, and eat at Remy’s before the games, that’s a lot of free beers and twenty-five dollarses!  It will pay for itself after just 25 visits!  They also have other packages for other Boston sports.

You do not have to sign up for this to eat at the restaurant, of course.  And it’s really only worth it if you are a die-hard who goes to Fenway a lot.  So it’s not something I would sign up for.  But the fact that many people have, prove that the idea is a success.

We liked the place and will definitely be back.

Bob’s Clam Hut to be Featured on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives

Yes!  It’s true!  Guy Fieri and the crew from the hit Food Network show, Diners, Drive-ins & Dives were recently in Kittery, Maine, taping at Bob’s Clam Hut!  Complete with his little red convertible!  And there is photographic proof – I snagged this pic from Bob’s Facebook page, you can see the entire album from the taping HERE.  And here’s a local news story.

Bob’s is the quintessential New England clam shack.  First opened in 1956, it has grown quite a bit over the years.  It now includes an indoor dining room, which is heated, so Bob’s is open year-round.  You can visit their website to see pictures of how the restaurant has changed over the years.

This is the sort of place where you place your order at the window, look for a place to sit, and then wait for your number to be called, and you pick up your food at another window.  A fixture at Bob’s is “Lillian’s Window” – Lillian has been taking orders at the Clam Hut since 1986, and is a beloved presence there.  She’s a very sweet lady, she has served us many times over the years.

Naturally, you go to Bob’s mostly for their famous fried clams.  Fried seafood can be tricky, if you overcook it by as much as a minute or two, you end up something with the texture and chewability of rubber bands.  But Bob’s gets it right; their fried clams, as well as other fried seafood, are always cooked to perfection.

Bob’s also makes a fine lobster roll, which came in second in NECN’s viewer-voted “Baby You’re The Best” poll for Best Lobster Roll.  They also recently took first place “Judge’s Choice” at the Prescott Park Chowder Festival in nearby Portsmouth, NH, for their classic New England clam chowder.  If you’re not in the area to sample this chowder for yourself, fear not.  The recipe is posted on Bob’s website.

No word yet on when the DDD episode featuring Bob’s will air…so keep an eye out for it!