St Louis Living

Great day

2006-08-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my son Ryan!!!! I love and miss you!!!!
Wow what a day. I rode over to MoKaBe's coffee house and had an iced caffe au lait while sitting on the patio looking out into Tower Grove park and grooving to tunes on my new Ipod. Tons of bikes and scooters all over the city today! I scouted out a new commute route. There have been reports of bikers being harassed (me included) and one person got injured in a run in with some youths in that bad area I ride through. It is a shame because I do not shy from many areas but I am starting to fear for my safety after one commuter had a lead pipe thrown at them causing a fall and major damage to his bike.
Wednesday I am going to the gala at Broadway on the Bluffs and hobknob with the city mucky mucks. It is a booksigning fund raiser. I got a preview of the Dutch Town photo contest book and liked the photo's.
http://www.dt2stl.org/1.html

Here is the second place winner of the contest.

Birthday party and tomato fest

2006-08-14T08:57:00.000-05:00

Damn I wish I would have taken some photos at this event. It was great fun at my favorite restaurant's block party.
Great beer, food, music, family and friends. I could not think of a better way to spend my birthday!

Back to work

2006-07-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

After my long weekend last week it looks like I am back to working on the weekends. I am going to try to make it to see the Ditty Bops at Mad Art this Friday. But I probably will not be able to work at BikeWorks this weekend. If I do anything I might raise a pint somewhere Sunday afternoon.
I have started back to bike commuting to work. The road junk from the storm has gotten better. Other than that not much is going on.

Bikework,Brew and really good karma

2006-07-23T07:10:00.000-05:00

I started the day by heading down to Bicycleworks to volunteer for the first time. What a truly great group of dedicated people. Check out the link for the website. I helped clean the shop, hauled bikes out of the basement to go to the warehouse, helped prep a bike sold and helped fix a homeless mans bike. I hope I helped more than I got in the way. It was the last day of class for the kids Earn A Bike program so they got to pick out their bikes to clean and fix up themselves. Above is a photo of one of the kids I met on his earned bike. How cool is that!? I hope I can be a part of the next class.
By the way National Gaurd troops moved in the neighborhood around noon. I understand this is the first time St louis has every had to call them in. This storm was very bad and it will take soom time to get back to normal.
After we finished I rode down to the Taproom a little tired and dirty for some Belgian style brew and some grub. I hung out for a while chatting with A list bartender/radio personality Brett and some of the patrons. As I was getting ready to leave I said hello to two pretty young ladies by the jukebox who then invited me over for a beer.
Not bad company I would say. Sara and Melissa are bright and beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations with them. When it came time to part company Sara handed me her phone number. Now that is good Karma coming back LOL!

Toad Todd and a storm

2006-07-21T23:47:00.000-05:00

I rode my bike for the first time since the storms. I went down to the Toad the Wet Sprocket/ Big Head Todd concert under the Arch. They wouldn't let me bring my bike in but I locked it up next to the gaurds. There was a little rain delay for Toad but it was worth the wait. I love this band.
On my way down I really got to see the destruction. Some roads are still blocked and you can see my neighbors truck in the picture got smashed by a big tree. Any restaraunt with power was packed. 500,000 home without power will do that. I was amazed how many people went to the concert and then even braved a brief downpour. Mother nature has been rough.

BIG STORM

2006-07-20T13:35:00.000-05:00

Wow what a storm. Too many trees and branches plus power outages to commute. Oh well I am going down to the levee to see the Todd and Toad the wet spocket concert Friday night. Of course I am biking there! I am a big Toad fan and I have been told that Big Head Todd is great live. The icing on the cake IT IS FREE!

cops and bubbles

2006-07-19T11:23:00.000-05:00

First off there was some action going on in the rough hood I commute through. I don't know what was going on but a few unmarked cars and perhaps a dozen cops were all over a mini van. I may change my night route. I glide through pretty much unnoticed at night and some think I am a bike cop. But I did have someone throw something at me from their porch last Saturday afternoon and two weeks ago a young man walked up and yelled something in my face. He was trying to scare me but I just ignored him. Am I being paranoid?
I was happy to see 3 other bikes in the rack as I stopped at the Arsenal Schnucks grocery store. And it was 10:30pm! Commuting seems to be catching on. As a fellow Metrolink bike and ride traveler said to me Monday as we waited on the train platform "3 dollar gas don't bother me". Well it fossil fuel situation does bother me but I am doing my part to conserve.
Speaking of conserving I tried something very old school this morning. I handwashed some clothes in a big wash tub with a little soap and Borax. I then wrung them out and hung them on some line out on my upstairs deck. I figure it will save energy if I let the 103 degree heat outside dry my clothes. It required more work than sitting on my ass while a machine did them but hey I mark it down as some upper body work out. Technology can make us fat if you let it.
I am almost back to a vegetarian diet. I do eat cage free organic eggs and tuna occasionally. My legs are bulking up and my waist is getting slimmer. I am down to 193 lbs from about 214. My weight seems to leveled out but I think it is because of muscle gain. I wish I would have done my body fat. It doesn't really matter I am looking better and feel great. If I have the nerve I will post some Beer Monkay before and after pics sometime.

Rain Ride

2006-07-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

I have discovered that I like commuting in the rain in the morning. No rainsuit, no fenders and I liked it. The trafffic was lighter and I used the Tower Grove bike paths for part of my ride. I love how the bark of the old trees turns so dark when it rains. Some people at work where worried about me riding home so much the one offered me to use her car. If I had been riding to work it may not have been so pleasant but as it is I changed into some dry clothes fixed a bowl of warm Kashi with strawberries and honey and sat down to write in my blog upon arriving home.
Now to catch up. I was very tired after all those hours at work and a screwed up sleep schedule so I didn't ride Saturday. Sunday I rode to the drugstore and grocery store,did some house cleaning and yard work and baked a 2 cheese garlic sundried tomato foccaccia from scratch. Then later in the afternoon and old friend I hadn't seen in awhile came over and said I was skinny. I wouldn't say that but I have transformed my physique a bit since our last meeting.
Yesterday I did the ride and bike thing out to N. County to see my mother. I rode a strech of Mo bottom road. County biking is nice because you can ride for a while without stopping. In the city I am always stopping and starting and sprinting through intersections .I took the Metrolink to the Grand station then biked Compton Ave all the home. I took a nap then got up to do my commute into work. And that brings me back to my morning commute.

The Fair and other thoughts

2006-07-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

I wanted to go for a ride on the fourth so I got on the old trusty bike and headed north toward downtown from my house in south city. What is nice about biking besides the obvious is that I can cut though streets that are blocked off from cars. Like for instance 18th street in Layfayette Square at Choteau is blocked to keep traffic down in that beautiful neighborhood. I did take a spill near there. I was cutting though some road construction and riding on some gravel. I was going slow and I hit a spot that was so soft that my front tire sank making me fall to my right in slow motion. Ouch a few gravel scrapes but I was okay. I rode by Union Station then picked up the Bike St Louis path and started down to the riverfront to check out the Fair Saint Louis activities. A lot of fellow cyclist were doing the same. It is the best way to get around down there. I could get off and walk my bike and become a pedestrian when I needed. The big crowd forming to see the free concert on the big stage. Hootie and the Blowfish were playing. It started raining and I am not a big fan so I found some shelter until it slowed down and headed back home. I arrived soaked, tired and smiling. I changed into some dry clothes,opened a bottle of Tucher dopplebock and chilled out and thought about getting that rain suit and fenders six miles home in the rain wasn't really that bad but I need to be more prepared for pop up storms like that.
They are having the free concerts on the weekends down there this summer. Some good acts too. I am sure I will riding down to a few of those. Especially Toad the Wet Sprocket and Lyle Lovette.
http://www.explorestlouis.com/eNewsVis/vis0606.htm

Last week I needed to go the grocery store and needed more than I can fit in my backpack so I got a ride with a friend who shopped at the same time. I think I will rideshare for big shops from now on. It seems to me that more people should try alternative transportation and or ride sharing. This lifestyle is not that hard to do. It is cheap and efficient. Really, how many folks drive to gym before or after work for their workout, or wish they could workout but can't find the time? My commute to work and errand trips ARE my workout.

Pleasure ride

2006-07-02T23:15:00.000-05:00

After a hard week of commuting I took a day off then back on my bike for a ride for fun this morning. I rode up to the Arch then across the Eads bridge. It was closed to auto traffic so I stopped halfway back and looked out over the river and the city skyline. Nice. Then off for lunch at Square One brewpub. I encountered some pretty good headwinds so I was ready for a stop by the time I got there. I sat and had a yummy witbier and a salad and talked to the sweet and gourgous bartender Erica. Most of my ride to Sq1 and back home I took the Bike St Louis path. I don't have a bike computer but I figured I did about 20 miles. My friend Nina said she may ride a bit with me next Sunday. It would be nice to ride with some company.

Tuesday post

2006-06-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

Ah the commute has been extra nice with the cooler temps. I only saw one fellow commuter this morning. It seems most nights I only have to deal with a couple of cars and really not a whole lot in the mornings either with my route. Next week I will be going into work at 7pm so I will not have my nice deserted streets to myself at night. Someone left a comment that I should commute in the rain. I am afraid that riding in the rain at night may be pushing the safety issue a little even though I don't deal with many cars I do ride down arsenal. I may do a combo bus and bike though. I will have to think about that.
HAPPY RIDING!

Wine tour

2006-06-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

When I got up yesterday morning I was going to drive to my friend Val's house to meet with the rest of my group of friends for the winery trip. It is so easy to give in to driving. But I said no to myself and got online for the Sunday bus schedule which can be pretty thin. Lo and behold the #11 bus runs all day and drops me off in Sunset hills only a few miles from Val and Ken's place in Kirkwood. Cool! Another bike and ride adventure! This time it was a straight shot with no tranfers. I didn't even bike very many miles but that's okay because a couple of the hills were a good workout.
After we met at Val's all five of us load into her Element and headed out to St. Genevieve wine country for my first time. What a perfect day! After a short Metroanimal board meeting at Crown we started the sampling. Yes some pretty yummy wines. I bought a bottle of sweet Reisling for my mum and after some munchies we headed on down to Charleville who not only have wine but a couple of tasty craft brews. I was in heaven. The trip back was fun with some good conversation. I headed back to the bus stop where me and my trusty bike did not have to wait long and I was headed back home sleepy and happy from that very hoppy beer. It was a day to say life is good.

I am realizing that St Louis public transportation is better than I thought. We are not San Fran or D.C. but I can get most places I need with some forethought. The new south county Metrolink extension(open in the fall) should make things even better. Given our world situation of disappearing oil supplies, global warming as well as the fat and getting fatter American obesity problem wouldn't it be wise to put a concentrated effort into Bike/walk paths and lanes as well as even more clean reliable safe public transportation. The St Charles voters who voted down an extension into their city TWICE should be ashamed. Millions of dollars are being spent on the Hwy 64/40 project that will snarl traffic for years and by the time it is complete it will most likely be outdated. The traffic isn't even that bad compared to most other cites! This project seems dumb on many levels. I think the environmental impact on this project is going to be a lot worse that people think. A lot of the businesses near the project are going to go belly because of this. Does anyone care about the bushiness owners and their employees? WHY? Is it so some socially blind idiot from west county can keep rolling down 40 in his Hummer. Sorry.

MY RIDE HOME

New Bike!

2006-06-24T18:17:00.000-05:00

I have acquired a new fast road bike. It was my ex-wife's bike I bought for her years ago. My son gave it back to me since as he said you paid for it. Very cool! The frame is just a hair large for me but it will work. Chrome Molley frame and racing tires. Let's see if I can still push those big gears after I get it cleaned and lubed. If it works out I will dub this bike the Beer Monkay Express. I wish I still had my old Trek 560 and my Puch steel touring bike. Note to Rick never sell or give away a bike again. I haven't ridden for two days and I am chomping at the bit to get out and ride. That's okay though I probably needed a day or two off since I had been riding every day.
Jason and Jaime came in from Washington MO to buy me lunch and beers at Square One Brewpub. I am feeling kind of buzzed after a Dunkle an ESB and a barley wine. Well I am home now and after a cup of joe I will drive out to my mothers. Sunday I am going on the road to some wineries. Hope I can ride my bike a little when I get home.

Bike adventure

2006-06-19T19:29:00.000-05:00

A look at the A-B old brewhouse on my way to north county.

When I was in San Francisco last year I got around by walking and public transportation. Granted it is better out there and actually easier than driving. I was inspired to try it here. So this morning I rode my bike downtown and hopped on the Metrolink then at the Hanley station got on the bus to visit my mother in Hazelwood. I visited her and drove her car to lunch then reversed my route back home to south city in the evening. Everything went pretty smooth and put a little fun in traveling across town. I am going to do it for a weekend trip and stop in CWE and U city loop for food and beverage as well as a ride around forest park maybe. When the other extension is done I could do a bike Pub Crawl that could include both Schlaflys as well as the other good beer pubs all up and down the Metrolink! HHMM I will have to work on that one.

Living Greener

2006-06-17T17:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, I have made the decision to live a little greener in St Louis. I am late getting started on recording my new activities but I will catch up some here. I am doing a bit of a lifestyle change. One I think suits me. I am experimenting with living in a more environmentally friendly way. First I purchased a push mower for my small city yard . That has worked out pretty good so far. No trips to get gas. I can cut my grass early in the morning and don't have to worry about excessive noise bothering my neighbors. It is lightweight and easier than a heavy mower with a motor. My thought when I bought it was that it would be harder but I could use the workout. I was surprised to find it is actually easy. That is okay as you will see that I have found another way to melt the lard off my ass. The only draw back to the push mowers I have found so far is that you can't let the grass get very long.
I started riding my Mountain bike for exercise and fun. I then did some searches on bike commuting and thought I might give it a try. The trip from my house in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood to my work on the Hill is a little over six miles. I did some dry runs with different routes then went for it. I usually work midnights so I needed some lights. I ordered some lights, reflector tape and a messenger bag off the internet. I did some overtime starting in the evening while there was still light while waiting for my shipment. My first two trips with my handy backpack took me 40 mins each way. My lights and bag arrived and I was ready for my night commute. The first night with my lights and bag I ran into traffic near Shaws Garden(wed concert letting out) then promptly had a flat about a mile from work. I then tweaked my route some and my times kept dropping. Mountain bike tires suck for commuting. I was going to wait until I wore them out some to change but slogging along on those low pressure tires was a lot of work. I remember the speed I used to have on my Trek road racing bike in the old days. I went to the bike shop and bought some thinner hi pressure tires and it made a difference. They roll much easier and I can still hop off the road a bit. With better tires and improved fitness I can get to work in 30 mins now. My car commute was about 15 mins. I now use my bike for most of my trips.
My Toyota Echo gets great mileage but biking uses 0 fossil fuel and no emissions unless I had bean burritos. On top of that I have gone from 211 lbs to 195 lbs in less than 2 months! Not to mention the after work stress relief on the ride home.
So far most people have been very nice to me. Very courteous on the road and smiles at the grocery(maybe smirk). Although I saw a guy being rude to a fellow commuter down on Broadway a few weeks ago. I am sure I will run into some buttheads along the way.
Enough for now I am going to pop open my bottle of Stone 9th anniversary ale and contemplate doing a century or the MS 150 later this year.

MO BEER

2006-04-10T16:31:00.000-05:00

beer

2006-03-27T11:41:00.000-06:00

Yum a Westy 12!

My stumble website

2006-02-05T12:33:00.000-06:00

This is addicting!

http://hefehead.stumbleupon.com/

2006-01-29T21:48:00.000-06:00

My new buddy!

Brunch at MoKaBe's

2006-01-14T23:30:00.000-06:00

MMmm brunch at MoKaBe's Sunday! It has been awhile since I have been there. The food is great! The only bad thing is that Mo is usually to busy to hang out with us and chat. Well maybe that isn't so bad because I enjoy talking to her so much that my day tends to get alot shorter once we start talking politics.

I am back

2006-01-14T12:50:00.000-06:00

I am finally back to writing again. Next Sat 1-21-06 is the Cabin Fever party at the City Museum. I am looking foward to it. Schlafly while have about 15 beers to sample. I have had them all except the spiced porter that will be released the day of the festival.
I will try to update more often.

I hope 2006 will be better ( If we impech the prez it will be).

Michele

2005-10-17T15:23:00.000-05:00

By the way A BIG thanks to my partner in dinner and crime Michele. I love you

New Cafe

2005-10-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

I made a trip to the Ivanhoe Cafe for brunch on Sunday. It has been open for about six months but this was my first time there. It is a small and quant cafe in Maplewood not far from Arsenal & 44 on Ivanhoe st. I liked the food and will go back soon for another session. Saturday we went to Beale on Broadway. I went to do a review for the Beer Advocate Website. We got there a little after 6 pm and the place was just opening. Nobody else was there and only the outside bar was open. The beerlist was pretty good but they were hammering on the stage and the server was busy getting things in order for the evening rush. I had a Rouge Dead Guy Ale on tap that was delicous but the 1554 my partner had was rank. I informed the server that something was wrong and she tried a little and she said it was a dark beer maybe it was suppose to taste like that. I disagreed and asked if the lines had been cleaned. She assured me that she say them clean them last night. At that point I decided to go back another time and not to give a bad review based on one bad experience. After I had been there one other time when it first opened and everything was fine but I decided against eating there that evening.
So on to the 33 Wine Bar wich was very slow that night (the wine festival was going on at Forest Park). It was nice to be able to talk to Jake the owner. He is just as passionate as I am about Beer, Wine & food. After some great adult beverages and cheese it was time for dinner so we made our trek back to Iron Barley. If you go there send me comment on what you think of the food. I love it and was happy to see Tom win RFT best Chef award last week.

I am back

2005-09-01T15:38:00.000-05:00

I haven't been in the mood to write lately. So much has been happening and not all good. The one bright spot was my trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. That city is a foodniks dream. I had cuisine of all sorts.Great vegatarian, Thai, middle eastern, Taquria in the Mission distict (Philz Coffee in the mission is a must). Perhaps the highlight for me was the evening we went to the famous beer bar TORNADO. I had my first Westy 12 in this little Lower Haight dive. For you non beer geeks Westverleten 12 is a rare Belgian beer brewed by Trappist monks that is considered by many to be the Holy Grail of beerdom. Okay, Sushi is not something I go crazy over like some folks but we went for a late dinner at a place near the hotel and now that I have had it done RIGHT I see what the fuss is about. The next day we walked about in Chinatown and ended up at Francis Coppola's wine cafe in North Beach. What a great building. We tried some wine flights. One of the Zins was ok but the ambience was so nice and relaxing.
I want to go back!

I'll be back

2005-09-01T07:53:00.000-05:00

I will be updating soon finally. Till then check out this website.

New Friends

2005-04-29T08:05:00.000-05:00

I finally met the beer geeks that I chat with from the Beer Advocate website plus Drew from the Beer Pals site. What a great bunch of people. We had a little happy hour at 33 Wine tasting bar ( see link). A great time was had by all. I think we are going to make it a regular thing. Karst came up from Rolla Just to have some beers with us. He and Dave AKA Realale have offered to help me get into homebrewing.
Mark the brewer from Augusta brewery showed up and brought a growler of their yummy just released Maibock. Wednesday night was fun! Great beers and some new friends that are just as passionate about beer as me. I look foward to our next get together.

There are some great event coming up this spring. Two beer festivals, one in Forest Park one in O'Fallon. Not to mention the Iron Barley block party May 15. The Band is going to be the Bottle Rockets. If you haven't seen them live you must. They are a national touring band originally from Festus that is quirky rock country. This is going to be a great spring and summer in St. Louis.

Beer Festival and other things

2005-04-12T07:44:00.000-05:00

Well I am rewriting this because blogger crashed yesterday. The Schlafly Repeal of Prohibition festival came and went and it was fun. Good beer and lots of fellow beer geeks. We got there Saturday right when it started and they already had a pretty good crowd. We stopped at Growler's Pub for lunch beforehand. The festival not only had Schlafly products but Harpoon and Beer works from Boston was there too. Out of the 24 beers, I tried about 17 I think. The tasting glass is very cool. A little Wiezen glass to add to my collection. Most of the beers were pretty good. I headed straight for the premier of the new Beir De Mapelwood, then started sampling. I liked Harpoons IPA and Beer Works Peanutbutter Porter was interesting( most people could not taste any peanut). The only ones I could not drink were Beer Works Pumpkinhead Ale and Bluebeery Ale. The Pumpkinhead was just awful and I couldn't get past the smell of the Bluebeery. We took the tour of the brewery and listen to some live music.The thing that surprised me was that how many people used proper tasting procedures. I guess I thought that alot of palate numb guzzlers would be there. A few were there but most folks were beer savy. From there we wnt to Nadines in Soulard to celebrate my son's birthday.
Sunday I saw the movie Spanglish. In the movie the reknown chef played by Adam Sandler was drinking not wine but craft beers.

Just more stuff

2005-04-01T08:02:00.000-06:00

Ok one more week till the Repeal of Prohibition party at Schlafly Bottle works. I am psyced up. Not only because of the party but I am taking a day off of work and my stepsons Jasons Bday is that day. He is going to the party too.
I must make an apology to my wine head friends for the statement I made in my last entry. I love wine too and I went a little overboard with my claim that wine is a lesser beverage than beer. I had just read an artical by Garret Oliver claiming that beer beats wine for most food pairing. I guess I get frustated by the pop culture view of beer and the snooty stature of wine. But in the end I was being snooty about beer. If people would just try a lets say a complex Belgian Tripple or Dubbel or one of the fine american offering like a 3Floyds or an Arrogant Bastard from Stone maybe they would see there is more to beer than just that yellow fizzy stuff. Maybe some people just don't GET IT. Although my one brother Jeff tried some Double Bastard last weekend. He first made a face, then after one glass he wanted more. He even want to open another bottle. He is a big Bud fan (don't think he's even tried anything else).
of course he was probably feeling the effects of this 10% Abv barleywine.
My BA buddy Realale got me thinking more on the subject of wine verses beer. For instance, for me chocolate and Oatmeal stout go good together but chocolate and a complex red or Tawny Port is also one of my favorites. I think I could acheive Nirvana bliss equally with wine or beer.
I have been working so much I haven't been able to review any restaraunts. One I am looking foward to is Bastante. Sounds like good food and a nice beer AND wine list.
Does anyone actually read this junky blog?

A few days off

2005-03-25T02:42:00.000-06:00

Finally a few days off! I have been working every day. I have had a few excellent beers this week. I went to my favorite haunt the Iron Barley tonight. I had Jambaliya and an OFallon smoked porter. Delicious! I also sampled the new beer from AB called Bareknuckles. It is a dry Irish Stout. It wasn't too bad. I am going to either 33 wine bar or the Chocolate Bar tomorrow. I may just go to both since they are almost right next to each other. I could go for some fine beer and cheese or chocolate.
Wine is fine but it is limited. Beer on the other hand has such a wide variety of flavors and styles. Click the above link. Fine beer has become a hobby of mine.
My brother is bringing me some highly sought after beers up from KY this weekend. Stone brewery products that are not available in St. Louis yet. I am looking forward to trying the Arrogant Bastard Ale.

Todays Exploration

2005-03-13T00:34:00.000-06:00

Okay I pull up to this place and I am thinking this is some cruel joke on BA newbies. Get the new guy to go out to this dive haha. I walked in and my jaw dropped at the selction.I had sensory overload the first few minutes looking up and down the aisle.A whole rack of nothing but belgians wow! They have a small rack in front with the new addition. I just missed Joe( the beer guru ) but I am sure I will meet him in the future. It is two different worlds one inside one out. Well, maybe not I was standing in the checkout line with my broken up six pack and two belgian bombers when I noticed the guy in front of me had 3 cases of Stag. It is less than 1/2 hr drive for me to get to beer lovers paradise. I highly recommend. As far as the neighborhood I wouldn't worry to much. It is not a spotless clean burb stripmall but I don't think you are in danger.
Even though Joe was not in yet the service was very good.
I then went to the Taproom to have some late lunch and listen to my friends celtic band the Duddybreeks. I had a pint of Irish Stout. It was just okay but I really liked the Belgian Dubbel. I review this on the Beer Advocate website.I think I will bring home a growler of it next week.

BIG SCORE

2005-03-08T01:16:00.000-06:00

I have a bottle of triple fermented La Fin Du monde(That means end of the world in French) that I will taste then review here and on the BA website. I hope to get some Three Floyds or Arrogant Bastard Ale this weekend too. Looks like I will trade some brews with my beer buddy out in San Fran. I think I will bring him some Ofallon Smoked Porter and a Schlafly or two. I think I am becoming the Paul Giamatti character from Sideways only with Beer not wine.

Beer Advocate Link

2005-03-07T13:22:00.000-06:00

Cool link for Beerheads

Oysters And Stout

2005-03-07T12:36:00.000-06:00

I went to the Oyster and Stout festival at the Schalfy Tap room Sat. It was very crowded And a 2 hour wait for dinner but I stayed long enough to have some Oysters and a few pints of Stout out on the patio. I started with the Nitro Irish Stout and some grilled oysters.All I can say is yum! Then I had the Kaldi's coffeee Stout. This one of my favorite beers from the bottle at home. It was pure heaven from the tap. The friends we met up with are not beer insane like me but I think a good time was had. We then headed down to BB's Jazz Blues and Soups for some great blues and spicey food. Sweet Potato fries MMmm Mmmm, and a Gunniess to wash them down.I think they have a pretty good beer list but with the chaos of the place I just went for a basic beer. The band was a supurb blues band from Baton Rouge. We finished of the night at the Shanti in historic Soulard.This is a great old hippie deadhead parrothead bar.At that point I think I had a Schlafly Paleale I am not sure anymore LOL.
I am going to try out 33 bar in Laffayette Square soon. I will review it here and on my new favorite website(see link above).They have some very hard to get brews.

OOps the link for Riddle's

2005-02-20T01:24:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I guess there is only one link per post. This Joint is awsome!

My son is in town this weekend so we will go to some fine establishment for some food and drink. My only day off is Sunday so our choices will be just a tad more limited, but it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe Blueberry Hill. We shall see.

If you are looking at this please comment just to tell me how lame it is. It would make my day LOL.

Peace

IRON BARLEY My fav

2005-02-20T01:13:00.000-06:00

Yummy food!

Links for these

2005-02-14T01:03:00.000-06:00

Lagniappes and Ridddle's

Went to Lagniappes Saturday night. The food was pretty good. The Brusioloni was very yummy although the white mushrooms in the sauce would not be my choice, it was OK. The Pork Osso Bucco was tasty and so tender you didn't need a knife.I recommend going when the weather is warm and sitting outside on their beautiful patio. The sevice is good and the owners are friendly.

Today we went to see the movie sideways( loved it).Had a nice lunch and a Franziskaner Dunkel at Brandt's in the U city loop.Then for the first time visited Riddle's. If you love great beer and wine you have to go to this unpretentious little spot. I had a local smoked porter from O'Fallon MO and a german Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen Rauchbier that was very smoky and went well with an appetizer of Paul Prudomme cajun sausage. The desert I had was a Hazelnut chocolate cake.It went well with the Galway Tawney port. As an added bonus a nice jazz band started playing as evening fell. I highly recommend this place.

Check out their website and go there to eat and drink soon!

St Louis Living

Great day

Birthday party and tomato fest

Back to work

Bikework,Brew and really good karma

Toad Todd and a storm

BIG STORM

cops and bubbles

Rain Ride

The Fair and other thoughts

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Tuesday post

Wine tour

New Bike!

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Living Greener

MO BEER

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I am back

Michele

New Cafe

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Oysters And Stout

OOps the link for Riddle's

IRON BARLEY My fav

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