Strange Brew Tavern, Manchester, NH

We’d heard about this place, but did not try it until over Memorial Day weekend.  Mostly because we’d heard that the place is packed to the gills 97% of the time, and were afraid it would be impossible to park there.  Depending how good you are at walking, it is within walking distance of MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, the Hilton Garden Inn, and definitely the Radisson.  We were staying that the HGI, and since it involved a walk uphill, we decided to drive.  There is on street parking, and a lot that looks to be owned by the city and metered the same way as on-street spaces.

You go here for the beer, they have umptillion beers on tap.  They have a sign outside, under 21 not admitted, at least not without a parent.  So if you are of the set who needs acnepril, fuhgeddaboutit! This is definitely an adults-only sort of place.

They have so much beer on tap and in bottles, that they have a separate beer menu.  It took longer to decide on beers to start with, than  food.

The food is okay,  I had a burger, it was good.  Mike had beer battered fried scallops, okay, but a bit overcooked, he says.  But we’re just here for the beer.  And so should you be!

For more info:  Strange Brew Tavern

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

View of MerchantsAuto.com Stadium from a rroom at the Hilton Garden Inn, Manchester, NH

The weather is beautiful this weekend, and so everybody and their dog is off somewhere this weekend.  Many people went to the Cape, many others headed north to the New Hampshire or Maine seacoasts.

There’s been a lot of traffic, but at least those who had to drive through the Hampton tolls were in for a pleasant surprise.  An experiment with “open road tolling” has proven to be a huge success.

But sometimes, it’s nicer to go someplace that is NOT a popular tourist destination for this holiday weekend.  We’re in beautiful downtown Manchester, NH, staying at the Hilton Garden Inn that is next to MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, home of the minor league New Hampshire Fisher Cats.  We are, of course, here to see the team play.

An big advantage of going somewhere most people do not is that the hotel rates are much cheaper. We’re staying at the HGI, in a room facing the ballpark, for just $129 per night.  This hotel mostly attracts business travelers, such as those who work in insurance advertising. These people don’t work over the long holiday weekends, so that means great rates for any baseball fans who come in from out of town!

I overheard someone at the hotel saying that Manchester is almost a ghost town over Memorial Day weekend, that the popular bars and restaurants are not as crowded as they usually are.  So this might be a great time to try a new place, or check out an old friend when it’s not so crowded!

But still, the Fisher Cats had a good crowd on hand for the doubleheader last night…so not ALL of the locals have left town.  We’re going to the games tonight and tomorrow, we’ll see who shows up.

Finally, if you are in the area and are a veteran or still active military, you will be able to get FREE admission to tomorrow’s game.  Come on out, it is beautiful here!

Shipping up to Portland this weekend!

And we can’t wait!  We booked this trip back in January, and bought the Portland Sea Dogs tickets way before that…November, was it?

So, for the umpteenth time, we will be staying at the Inn at St. John for this trip.  This is really the best place to stay in Portland for many reasons.  Nice, clean rooms.  Cheap rates.  Free parking.  Free continental breakfast.  A convenience store downstairs (not affiliated with the hotel) that sells sammiches, junk food, and beer.  And good beer, too.  Although they do have the usual swill from The Big Three Piss Trough, they also offer a fair amount of Maine microbrews, which is enough to make me happy.

There is also free WiFi in all rooms, and it actually works.   No lame-assed low signals here.  So if you want to blog, Facebook, check bus schedules, look for a good restaurant in town, or even look at sites like www.carinsurancelist.com, you can from here. Don’t have your own laptop? They do have one computer down in the lobby for guest use, along with a printer.

You can see a video about the Inn at St. John here.  Yes, it really does look this good!  We’ve actually stayed in a couple of the rooms shown.  But as for walking downtown…well, if you are young and in good shape, yes.  But if not…you can still leave your car in their lot and catch the bus that stops across the street.  It’s also the closest lodging to the Sea Dogs ballpark, as well as the Portland Expo.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this whole weekend…we have Sea Dogs tickets for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  We also plan to hit L.L. Bean for some shopping if we can, and of course hit Gritty’s or the Great Lost Bear for good food and beer!

Can’t wait!

Of beer and boats

Plimoth Plantation has informed me, via Facebook, that they will be holding special beer tasting events this summer.  They are partnering with Plymouth’s own Mayflower Brewing Company, and holding tastings each Wednesday evening in the summer from 5-7 PM, featuring the fine beers from this brewery.  The tastings will be held aboard the museum’s Mayflower II, which is also open to the public every day as a regular exhibit.

I do not have any further information about this, as they’ve not announced the dates on their website yet.  I would suggest signing up for either/or the e-newsletters of Plimoth Plantation/Mayflower Brewing, links for signup can be found on their websites.  Or friend them on Facebook for the latest news:  Plimoth Plantation’s Facebook page – Mayflower Brewings’s Facebook page.

If you have never visited Plimoth Plantation and/or the Mayflower II, you are missing out.  Step back into a time centuries before anyone had computers or ipods, and have a great time while also maybe learning something! I know I’ll be enjoying some Wednesday nights on the Mayflower II, sampling some great brews!

A polite warning

…to those who may be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Manchester, NH.  On the days that there is a New Hampshire Fisher Cats game going on, they only run a very limited menu in their restaurant, both inside and at The Patio.

I don’t care what it says on their websites, the restaurant at this place SUCKS.  The “ball game menu” is not very good.  Also, if you are staying there, and were looking for dinner after a day game, prepare to be rushed out.  The whole shebang closes 90 minutes after the game.  The hell with the fact that there are guests who might want to eat dinner.

They do place a copy of this “ball game menu” in the rooms.  But NOWHERE does it say what time it closes, and NOWHERE does it say that you can’t get the full menu in the evening, either as room service or in their restaurant downstairs.

We had planned to have a nice dinner there after a game; we were staying there, and had tickets to “The Full Monty” at the Palace Theatre for that evening.  We were stuck with the crappy menu and being rushed, as we did not not time to have dinner elsewhere by this point.  Very disappointing.  Why frickin’ bother having a hotel restaurant if you can’t serve a full menu for a decent number of hours?

The breakfast sucks, too.  I avoid it, it is hell on earth, loaded with a zillion screaming kids each day, for whom the need for acne treatments are a few years away.

This is a very nice hotel to stay at, don’t get me wrong.  But do yourself a favor and plan ahead, eat somewhere else.