Hi friends.
I’m currently sitting on my couch, eating ravioli and listening to records. More specifically, one of the crummy Trader Joe’s varieties, and Agalloch’s Ashes Against The Grain. I landed in Los Angeles late last night. The flight back from Newark would have been perfect were it not for the middle seat asshole in my row. Not only did he appear flu-ish, he insisted on spreading out to the point where his legs were under MY seat. Even though we were in upgraded, extra-legroom seats. The mustachioed Euro-trash douche pretended not to know what I was saying when I pointed out how much room he was taking. I hope his flu kills him. I also hope I don’t contract said flu. I spent the entire flight with my back angled towards him to protect myself. Maybe that’s why he felt at liberty to steal some of my extra legroom.
ANYWAY…
I arrived in New Jersey early Thursday morning. The redeye from LAX was brutal. Very turbulent, which I might have slept through if they didn’t ding the fasten seatbelt sign every thirty minutes and make an announcement for people to return to their seats. Even a sleeping pill and headphone couldn’t drown out the near-constant announcements. Are there that many passengers wandering around on overnight flights? I thought we all just slept the entire four or five hours. My mother was there to greet me upon landing, and drove back to her house where I slept an additional hour or two. I apparently scheduled myself a dentist’s appointment at 11am so that sucked. I mean, everything was fine and my dentist told me I have a beautiful mouth (…okay…), but I was not really happy to have people prodding around my mouth when all I wanted to do was sleep. Afterwards mom and I went for lunch at the local bagel shop. I picked up a sandwich for my father and visited him at work. Dinner the first night was at Scaleni Fideli in Chatham. I had the chicken liver and pancetta ravioli, and the veal medallions, with a really yummy malbec. Then I drank at home and watched my sister study for her law school finals.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I was working in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. That was mostly boring, and tiring, but I bought a cooler filled with beers every day to make it more palatable. Friday was the longest day, as I had to wake up at 8am and didn’t get home until midnight that night. Saturday was 8am to 7pm, but afterwards I got to meet my sister and some friends at Fette Sau for some of the best BBQ I’ve had in a long time.
Our order included the pulled pork (which was a little dry for my liking, and I don’t typically like adding BBQ sauce if I don’t have to just for meat to taste good), the lamb shank (much better), the brisket (delicious), the ribs (pretty good), the pork belly (very good), some pickles, broccoli, and cornbread. They had decent beers on tap from local breweries like Industrial Arts and Barrier among others. If I had to choose between Hill Country and Fette Sau IÂ might lean Hill Country, but they are both very good options if you’re looking for some BBQ in the NYC/Brooklyn area.
Afterwards I crossed another Brooklyn bucket list venue off my list by imbibing at Tørst. They had a lot of fun beers on tap, including the following which I happily consumed:
Hill Farmstead Conduct Of Life
Hill Farmstead Marie
Cloudwater Tripel Red Wine Barrel Aged
Central Waters Rye Barrel Chocolate Porter
AleSmith Nibs & Beans Speedway Stout
Jolly Pumpkin / Holy Mountain Smashed Grabbed & Hop Dusted
Upland Revive
Plan Bee Barn Beer
Westbrook Blueberry Weisse Weisse Baby
Sunday was probably the least active day of work for me, although I was able to sneak out and visit Threes Brewing’s Outpost for lunch. I wish I had known it was a two block walk from work. I would have been there every day for lunch. I had a great cheeseburger there (topped with fontina and caramelized onions) and drank a pint of a real OJ-lookin’ “northeast-style” IPA. Ian managed to find a couple hours in his busy schedule (is that what they’re calling fatherhood these days?) to come hang out, so we had lunch together and we drank a bunch of beers while I “worked.” Good times.
I had to race home to meet my father for dinner at the Ruth’s Chris in Parsippany. On my way home I took a brief detour to see how construction is coming along at the new Wegmans off Route 10 on Ridgedale Ave. in Hanover Township. The place is supposed to open in late July, and as of Sunday night it was looking glorious. I guess I’m going to have to travel home right after it opens to get one of my buffalo chicken sandwich combos. I spent my last night in town watching a River Monsters marathon and drinking. When combined with driving around a desolate construction site, it all made for an incredibly lame and depressing last night in town.
My final morning on the East Coast was as basic as could be. I treated my father to brunch at his favorite dinner. Then it was time to pack my belongings, pack up all the beer that was gifted to me during my trip to ship back to LA, pack up whatever vinyl I decided to bring along with me, and head to the airport. Here I am, back in Los Angeles, ready to get my life back to normal. First order of business: Go for a nice, long run. I ate so much while remaining mostly sedentary at work. I feel like I must have gained ten pounds in four days. Gross.
Oh, seeing this on Untappd was one of the highlights of my weekend as well:
I think Mr. Lawdrone (real name disguised to protect the innocent) graded it a whopping 3.25? Or was it 3.0? Either way, glad to see someone trying to enjoy my baby #basic creation.
Lawrence English – Somnambulist [MP3]
