Big weekend for the Birds! We had a very pleasant date night on Friday, heading over to old fave L'Amante in Burlington. We feasted on squash blossoms and beef carpaccio to start and then my lady had a very tasty pasta dish that is now escaping me and I had the gnocchi w/ slow roasted pork and tart cherries. Delicious. L'Amante is really feeling it right now. 2 thumbs up. We followed it up w/ a surprise birthday party for a friend in which they were actually surprised! Both being tired and having to get up early on Sat. we turned in pretty early.
On Saturday, my wife had to do some work for the groovy UV business school (she has a ton of pots on the burner, I am very proud). Myself on the other hand, took advantage of a rainy day and went w/ some friends to take a tour of the Switchback brewery. Switchback is a great local beer and has really made huge strides around here. It is an unfiltered brown ale w/ a nice hoppiness and a crisp finish. They only keg it and it is a very tightly held operation. The tour was very interesting but not very fun. 1 thumb up and a special what the f* after the founder slipped in an abortion reference while explaining the malting process. Hot Dog!
That evening we headed down to Randolph for the Avett Brothers concert. We stopped on the way in Montpelier for some dinner. the venue of choice? The Black Door. Several of us went w/ the soup, a bean soup that had nice flavor, and then the burger. Mine was very good although the cheddar needed to be melted a bit more. My wife's was undercooked and very rare. It did come w/ a nice garlic mayo, and some green herb spread as well as delicious fries and a decent side of greens. I thought it was good and the space is very nice. 1 1/4 thumbs up. Have to try it again to really get a good feel. Then on to Randolph! I must admit, after having lived in VT most of my 32 years and having passed the Randolph exit, 1000s of times... I have never been farther into Randolph than the Mobil just off the exit. We headed into a nice little town that was mostly shut down and set up camp in the very small and very cozy Chandler Theater. It was a great place w/ really no bad seats. To be fair, I am not as big a fan of the Avetts as my wife and had reservations about this sometime fruity band. I was way off... they were great, tons of energy, a tight sound. It was a really fun show. And the crowd! Shit!! I have NEVER seen a crowd this in tune and this fired up to see a band. These people were insane. The applause before the encore was deafening. Then one of the guys cut his hand while drumming then continued to pound the drums, absolutely pound them while bleeding all over the place. It was something. 2 big thumbs up. Apparently this band just signed w/ Columbia and is about to hit big so you may not see them in a small venue until the downside of their career where they play the Champlain Valley Fair and then What Ale's You... but in the meantime, if you have a chance to check them out, do it. Was that a long enough run on sentence? 2 thumbs way up for the Avett Brothers live, 3 thumbs up for my run on sentence!!
On Saturday, my wife had to do some work for the groovy UV business school (she has a ton of pots on the burner, I am very proud). Myself on the other hand, took advantage of a rainy day and went w/ some friends to take a tour of the Switchback brewery. Switchback is a great local beer and has really made huge strides around here. It is an unfiltered brown ale w/ a nice hoppiness and a crisp finish. They only keg it and it is a very tightly held operation. The tour was very interesting but not very fun. 1 thumb up and a special what the f* after the founder slipped in an abortion reference while explaining the malting process. Hot Dog!
That evening we headed down to Randolph for the Avett Brothers concert. We stopped on the way in Montpelier for some dinner. the venue of choice? The Black Door. Several of us went w/ the soup, a bean soup that had nice flavor, and then the burger. Mine was very good although the cheddar needed to be melted a bit more. My wife's was undercooked and very rare. It did come w/ a nice garlic mayo, and some green herb spread as well as delicious fries and a decent side of greens. I thought it was good and the space is very nice. 1 1/4 thumbs up. Have to try it again to really get a good feel. Then on to Randolph! I must admit, after having lived in VT most of my 32 years and having passed the Randolph exit, 1000s of times... I have never been farther into Randolph than the Mobil just off the exit. We headed into a nice little town that was mostly shut down and set up camp in the very small and very cozy Chandler Theater. It was a great place w/ really no bad seats. To be fair, I am not as big a fan of the Avetts as my wife and had reservations about this sometime fruity band. I was way off... they were great, tons of energy, a tight sound. It was a really fun show. And the crowd! Shit!! I have NEVER seen a crowd this in tune and this fired up to see a band. These people were insane. The applause before the encore was deafening. Then one of the guys cut his hand while drumming then continued to pound the drums, absolutely pound them while bleeding all over the place. It was something. 2 big thumbs up. Apparently this band just signed w/ Columbia and is about to hit big so you may not see them in a small venue until the downside of their career where they play the Champlain Valley Fair and then What Ale's You... but in the meantime, if you have a chance to check them out, do it. Was that a long enough run on sentence? 2 thumbs way up for the Avett Brothers live, 3 thumbs up for my run on sentence!!
4 comments:
Actually, it wasn't beef carpaccio, it was proscuitto with arugula salad. And the Back Room is really called the Black Door.
dammit... Mrs. Bird is always right
Mrs. Bird is very particular isn't she?
Wish I could have hit up the Avett Brothers with you guys.
yes she is... makes for a good match as I am not. Good show, maybe next time
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