Seriously Burlington.... Seriously?!?!

I am very pro business, and very pro growth. That said, the wounds of 2008 are still fresh and we need to learn from such disasters. One of those lessons is that there is such a thing as too much development and too much leverage. Like anything in this world, moderation is often the best path to happiness. So here in tiny Burlington, VT several money men have seen decent demand (in this case for housing), and are going to crush it into the ground! I was just watching the BFP round table discussion w/ Don Sinex on his overly ambitious mall project. Now, that mall has been a train wreck over the last decade and is currently about 50% dark, although due to various paper means they will claim it is leased up at closer to 75% I would guess. So what should we do? Add housing, offices, and more retail!  There are only about 45K people in Burlington and 250K or so in the metro area. We have another dead mall 5 miles away and various retail in the for of box stores and strip malls less than 10 miles away.  The last thing we need is more retail. Office space? Arguably one of the weaker sectors in the city w/ somewhere in the neighborhood of 9% vacancy rates. Better add more space to a city that has had stagnant population growth for decades!!! We do have very tight housing. That is soon to be squeezed as this project adds 200+ units, the old BTV college property developer has proposed another 600+ units, and there are projects ongoing up at UVM and smaller ones in South Burlington and in the North End as well. Hey, what could go wrong w/ a little extra housing? Well, according to 2008 Miami that would be a massive drop in the value of downtown property that then spreads to the surrounding suburbs. Unlike Miami, nobody in London or Dubai wants to drop a million bucks on a Burlington condo so they can party on the weekends!!!

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2016/05/23/table-don-sinex-talks-mall-revamp/84770708/

The fallacy in these plans is that new construction will result in growth. Jobs bring growth and not retail jobs at a Target Express. We need tax reform and easier permitting to bring real business to Vermont from other tech or industrial corridors. But forget that, according to old Don, "the ladies that live in the mall condos can bring their kids to the new preschool space and then go ahead and do their shopping in the retail space." The apron store will be on the 3rd floor, next to the place where "the ladies" can eat bon bons and watch soap operas. This plan cannot fail!!!

**numbers are very loose, not to be used for professional purposes, and pulled from http://nedderealestate.com/chittenden-county-commercial-market-update/

as well as Wikipedia for general city stats.

Don't Make 'Em Like They Used To

Gosh darned union beaver labor!!!!

http://www.wcax.com/story/32044112/collapsing-beaver-dam-ruins-property-in-fairlee

Jay About... Eagles of Death Metal

I am an unabashed fan of sleazy, funky, heavy rock. The Stones are best when they slink into the mud. I easily can get behind the Sunset Strip scene from the late eighties when Cinderella danced on the edge between honky tonk and metal. Guns n Roses often nails it. So do Queens of the Stone Age. Out of that family tree comes Eagles of Death Metal... and they also very often nail it. When I saw they were coming to Burlington after the tragedy in Paris I scooped up tickets immediately. Finally it was show time last and I dragged my buddy JG over to Higher Ground to check it out, I have never seen them live.

So to be fair the place was only partially full for the opener Thelma and the Sleaze and it was like 80% dudes. Not sure what that says but my wife said it did not surprise her. Anywho, Thelma and the Sleaze rocked out pretty damn hard. The lead singer/guitarist wore a gold skin tight one piece and worked the crowd well. Musically they ripped w/ a sound that was like a coked up Janis Joplin fronting Kyuss. They were cool, I got myself a signed CD post show. The crowd was a little indifferent which was too bad. Made me nervous for the main event, seemed like maybe a bunch of gawkers just checking out the aftermath of a horrific event.

Not the case however! When EODM came onstage the place filled up and the energy level also turned up big time. If the previous bandleader worked the room, Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes absolutely owned the f*ing place. Was he tuned up on blow, meth, just nicely baked? Don't care. That guy prowled and preened, and strutted all over the stage in a manic energy... pouring sweat and sex and just ripping it on the mike and the guitar. I was bummed that Josh Homme is not touring w/ them but the drummer Jorma Vik was hammering the drums and pretty competent all around. The rest of the band rocked and the place was LOUD. It was assaulting your brain loud. They played a mix of new stuff, hits, and a few fun covers. Nice solid set. They then had a huge encore w/ a dueling guitar (and bass, and drum) solo, more full band hits and of course a ripping "I Want You So Hard" that was a nice finishing move. 100th show on the tour and first back in the States... these guys really brought it.  Emotional, heavy, fun... 2 thumbs up.

Hey, I have a few things, including Taverna + Lost Nation mashup

A few of us hooked up sitters and cruised over to Taverna Khione in Shelburne for a dinner pair up w/ Lost Nation Brewing. It was a fun time. After making them move tables around and throwing a beer on the ground it was time to get down to business. First course was the standard pan seared feta crusted in sesame seeds and drizzled w/ honey paired w/ the Petit Ardennes. We usually get the feta and it was a little overdone but I attribute that to trying to bang a bunch out all in short order. It was still delicious and went well w/ the Belgian session ale which has had a new infusion of hops in the recipe that cuts the bready mouthfeel and makes for a nice fresh opener. Next up was a octopus and clam salad paired w/ the Wind. The clams were a bit gritty but the flavors were wonderful and the dressing was light and well structured. A really nice dish. The Wind is a Gose that is one of my favorite Lost Nation offerings and a great summer beer in general w/ coriander and salt that is a little sour but great to crush on a hot day. So far so good. The entree was a coriander encrusted pork (chop?) over a Greek grain and pickled cabbage paired w/ the Saison Lamoille. The pork was flavorful and juicy and the cabbage and grits like grain mash was an understated match of texture and flavor. Another nice dish. The saison was ok, not great. Hard to nail those... this one didn't have the wild yeast zing I like in my saison/farmhouse beers.  Finally there was Greek ice cream w/ a grapefruit drizzle paired w/ the Mosaic. Not much to say here other than all a great pairing and f*ing delicious. Several folks noted how surprised they were that a beer and dessert would pair so well together.

I am worried about Taverna because the populace surrounding Shelburne seems to have a pretty unsophisticated palate. The chef could do himself a favor a be a little more friendly and welcoming but he is not making it hard for diners... the food is well proportioned and very well prepared and cooked. Forget what you think Greek food is and give it a run, if you like delicious fresh fare you may very well enjoy this restaurant.

As for Lost Nation... it took me awhile to get on the bandwagon but beers like the Wind and Mosaic have me in the mix. They have some really nice beers that are lower on the ABV side and provide a nice counterpoint to some of the double IPA monsters that dominate the scene. I still haven't been to the brewery and need to make the trip.

OK, on to Some other random stuff... I had no idea Donald Trump had comic book writers now working on foreign policy for him but the search for the Teseract makes a lot of the current political scene make a ton more sense?

" Trump opened his speech Wednesday vowing to "shake the rust off America's foreign policy" and said he would outline a vision for a U.S. foreign policy "that replaces randomness with purpose, ideology with strategy and chaos with peace." " -CNN.COM

Apparently Prince was killed by the Illuminati? Weird. It is a shame, my special lady and I peg him as a sure fire top 5 most influential performer from the last 30 years right behind Michael Jackson, Madonna, and the Boss but your cultural ties may flip flop those 2. Maybe throw Billy Joel in there too, go ahead and check out his portfolio. Plus he married the Uptown Girl for f*** sake.

I didn't love Batman vs Superman but I liked it. Sue me. People are way to fired up over that movie, it was too long but pretty entertaining.

What is with this cold and snow?!?! It is almost May. Why do I live in VT? Seriously...

Wednesday!!!

Well, well, well...

Date night Saturday w/ LB Squared and boy, it was quite enjoyable. The destination was the 'Noosk and we hit up a few spots. 45 Oak was our first stop for a pretty well made cocktail and a chill uptown-ish vibe. We then cruised over to Misery Loves Company for dinner. It was really quite good. That place consistently does it right and the vibe is very cool. Plenty of energy but not frenetic. One shrimp app was a little smushy but the fried chicken was crispy and well seasoned while the meat stayed nice and juicy. The oysters were a nice manageable size and very fresh. The scallop crudo was a nice fresh fish dish as well. And the fried oyster ssam (lettuce wrap)? If you don't see that on the menu and immediately order it... don't come on this blog again, don't even walk down the same side of street as I am.  We wrapped up at Waterworks for a beer. Pretty busy in the bar, it is a great space. Nice little evening.

I should do a write up for a recent trip w/ the wide to London but I need to shake off the kid induced fog for that kind of focus. Those little angels are slowly killing me (it is a race between them and Bullit Rye).

Pretty funny how the New York sports teams suck so bad they focus on taking shots at the Red Sox over a couple throw away stories. NYPost writing tear down pieces on Robert Kraft trying to recoup what is his from that D-Bag Goodell, and then some little puff piece on Fat Boy Sandoval maybe not starting at third if he can't shape up. That is no story, he sucks.

Speaking of A-holes... if Congress does not grant hearings to the Supreme Court nominee (regardless of who they are), they should be voted out of office permanently. This political quagmire has got to stop. A new president will not be elected until 11/8/16 at the earliest. So we won't have a Supreme Court Justice for the next 8 months? That is 17% of the presidential term. When can we start calling the next president a lame duck, February? And the bullshit about letting the people decide? They did decide, in 2012 when they elected the current president. The real nonsense is both parties were on the other side of the argument when GW was in office and have all flip flopped like the two faced pieces of shit they are. These politicians are dishonest morally corrupt assholes. But I suppose we have been given the representation we deserve.

BTW, I do hope to slip out for that new Batman movie and will get out a review. Am I a comic book movie nerd? Maybe... F*** You!

You Know What? F*** You Maglianero Coffee

I have not watched that show Girls on HBO in a couple years. I happened to flip onto an episode last night and there was a little bit on a hipster coffee spot in the city. It was pretty funny and by now a pretty tired joke on the cliche of coffee baristas as the biggest D-bags in the service industry. Like many stereotypes... this one is largely accurate. In an amusing twist of fate I happened into our local hipster coffee spot Maglianero. It s a warmish day and I was into a walk. I found a random punch card in my desk and stuffed it in my pocket (why not, I like the potential for free shit). So I roll in and peruse the scene. A bunch of folks in intentionally over priced shabby clothing sitting on a Mac Air designing some website nobody will ever look at (just like this one!). I was called up to the counter and ordered my coffee to go, slapping down my punch card and a fiver. The woman at the counter said, "Oooh, I am not sure we even have that stamp anymore?". Then the smug creeped up from behind the drip machine to hit me over the head w/ a steel chair of douchebaggery! "Yeah, have you been around in the past 5 years? We haven't had that card forever. Are you from out of town?". WTF? I was in shock. I pride myself in usually reacting to these situation w/ a terrible response most likely punctuated w/ a very personal and derogatory response and/or a loud F-bomb. But the woman who was waiting on me was so nice. There was also a nice woman behind me patiently waiting for her order. I also was unsure if I would catch the wrath of the 2 "artists" not working at the coffee counter who looked at me w/ obvious disdain. Now to be fair, I am local, I work down the street. The coffee shop has also only been open for 3 years so I am not sure where they accepted these special cards prior to that. 3, I was not dressed in a particularly aggressive manner (backward ball cap, guess khakis, boat shoes no socks, Metallica T) and was using my please and thank yous so I am not sure where the attitude was coming from. Whatever, I composed myself and shook it off.

My server was still very nice and asked if I wanted a new card or to put my phone number in the system (which she said was much more complicated than the punch card). She then asked I-willed Jerry if my 4 existing stamps could be transferred. To which he replied, "Sure, do you think you will be back to Burlington in the next year or so?" I am actually furious typing that sentence so you can imagine how mad I was at point of sale. This tall goofy f***stick w/ his manicured boyband beard, shitty $600 sweater his mom bought him, was here trying to pretend he was not as obviously bald as he is and sniping at me for no reason other than I had an older punch card? F*** Him!!! I was about to explode. My random insult generator was scrolling, my command of all the curses in the the English language was on point... I was ready!!!! But then I looked at the sweet person just trying to sell a coffee in front of me and I said, "I, try to get here when I can." At which point I gave her my info for the system, and took my coffee.

Why is it that there is always some A-hole at these "up market" coffee shops who thinks $8/hour and a knowledge of beans gives them license to just troll the very people they depend on to pay for their f*ing 1 gear bicycle? Well, that guy got me again. The coffee is not really even that good. Joke is on them, I won't be back for who knows, maybe a year. And I certainly will forget to enter my card info. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go meditate.