Jay About Handy's

Not that kind of handy perv!  Handy's the diner over on Maple and S. Champlain in Burlington.  I have driven past the place a thousand times and in a moment of inspiration decided to try it for lunch. I thought I might get a sandwich to go but it really is more of a sit down spot.  There is one big U shaped lunch bar w/ stools in the middle of the room.  When I cruised in a little before noon I was the only patron.  A 90 yr old "waitress" or something was at the far end by the kitchen snacking and reading the paper.  Then a crazy lady in her early 40s but looking like 70 cruised in and sat down.  How do I know her age?  Well, she did not shut the f*** up the entire time she was there and said she graduated high school in '88.  Must have gone on to beauty school afterwards.  She had a brutal fake tan, heavy hooker blue eye shadow, pink lipstick, long two tone navy blue nails, and a Cruella Deville two tone white and brown hair-do.  It was something.  Soon the place filled all the way up.  This was truly an old school experience, people all chimed in on conversations around the bar, the main guy seemed to know everyone by name, he paid careful attention to folks who needed it (2 year olds and morons w/ a fake tan), and it seemed very homey.  The menu was expansive and I was a little overwhelmed.  I went w/ a Patty melt.  They slopped butter w/ a brush onto marble rye and then fried it up on the griddle.  This surrounded a decent burger patty, American cheese, and thousand island dressing.  I topped it off w/ shoestring fries and a Coke.  I nearly had a heart attack eating it but the food was pretty good.  Not great but a nice diner experience and as you could see the kitchen it seemed pretty clean.  The fries were well cooked and not soggy and the sandwich also held up well, especially considering the heavy butter load.  The meal itself was cheap, $9.95.  I gave the guy a $20 and he gave me $10.50 back.  I only had a single dollar and the nickel for a tip but that is what the guy next to me left as well so I guess that was ok.  Overall it was a pretty good lunch and if I live I will go back. Pretty sure Cruella was giving Hand's out back post lunch as well so if that is your thing there you go.

**I have subsequently learned that I was waited on by Earl Handy who is the third generation running the joint and a nice guy, so there is another reason to check it out.

Bikers are so smug

Nope, not like Harley bikers... they are dirty or rich and weird.  People on bicycles.  They are a really annoying culture.  I run into them all the time, especially on the road I live on.  There are 2 things that really bug me about bicyclists... one is that they all wear super tight shirts splashed with ads.  Hey, 60 year old fat dude, I know you are not sponsored by Red Bull.  And if you are, they either have a ton of money or sight unseen givers!  Secondly, I don't like the fact they use the rules of the road to their advantage in a shitty way.  Hey, road is wide open?  Well, we have the same rights as motor vehicles, let's ride 8 across at 15MPH in a 45MPH zone?  Uh-oh, red light.  No big deal, we are on bikes, blow right through it.  Hey, too much traffic on the road I was just clogging up, better hop on the sidewalk and try to kill a pedestrian.  Create one set of rules and live by them.  I say closer to pedestrian than motor vehicle right?   A bike can go what, 20mph if you are really cooking?  that seems a lot closer to 5mph than my car at 45.  Plus if you on the bike hits a person on the sidewalk you may hurt them, but if I hit you with my car on the road while you are doing something dumb I will kill you.  So get in the bike lane or on the sidewalk, I don't want to kill anybody!

Had a nice lunch at Barkeater's this weekend.  Chicken club.  Was really quite good.  Name still sucks.  If you are looking for a free movie on Comcast stay FAR AWAY from Stone w/ Ed Norton and Bobby DeNiro.  My wife was disgusted with how boring and stupid it was.  I agreed.

Jay About Charleston

So my new company has an office in South Carolina and this weekend we shot on down to meet and great with the team.  I had not been to Charleston since I was a kid and was pretty excited to see the city as an adult.  First off it was a pretty easy trip w/ a short layover in DC.  The Charleston airport is very chill and manageable.  The weather was warm and pretty humid but not unpleasant. The city itself is pretty cool.  There are some really nice old houses on the water and it is very clean.  Unlike Burlington you can walk on the shopping strip and not get harassed by the degenerates.

Food in Charleston is really quite good.  We had a really nice sandwich and salad at the Daniel Island golf course (not always the case at those places), we had a couple solid dinners and even the random deli type place we went made an excellent lamb gyro.  Seriously.  Saffron.  Gyro.  We did dinner on the first night at The Grocery.  It was a newer spot in a part of town that is going through a bit of a renewal.  In fact a sign across the street on a busted up building said as much.  Inside the space was large, well lit, and well appointed.  They had a great bar with very solid drink options and a nice local beer selection. Dinner was also very good.  We shared a bunch of stuff and from the lamb shoulder to the short ribs the food was flavorful and well cooked.  The whole fried snapper was especially good.  Should I have eaten one of the eyeballs?  Debatable.

Night 2 we rolled to Taco Boy.  Now this place was surrounded by what looked like the ghetto.  Is it because I am a racist Yank?  Maybe... but I will give you $20 if you want to walk around there at night by yourself.  The place itself was packed and very fun.  Gay military night made it extra lively and fun (not joking).  The Mexican corn was off the chain, just delicious.  I had a chorizo and potato taco and a slow roasted beef taco.  They were good.  The Margarita sucked but they had plenty of Mexican beers so no big deal. 

Another nice meal was the lunch we had at the Leaf Cafe.  I had a Serrano ham and Manchego melt with tomatoes.  F*ing-A right it was delicious. I should have gone with the frickles instead of the slaw.  That was a tactical error.  Apparently I also should have ordered "sweet tea" rather than the unsweetened which I got in trouble for.  That and believing in science.  Just kidding.

It was a fun trip and I look forward to heading back... even for more wings and beer buckets at the Kickin' Chicken!

Jay About Logan's

So a little market opened up across from our office a week or so ago, didn't you know? I am like a rapper. Ok, off topic.  Logan's of Vermont is the market.  It has been pretty slow going.  The place is still pretty sparse although the product it does have is pretty high quality.  I grabbed a Cuban panini today for lunch (forsaking my leftovers). It was not too bad.  Pork was pretty good, pickles had nice flavor, good mustard.  It was good not great.  It also came with a side salad that was also ok.  Overall I am not sure how to grade the place.  I found it very OK.  A little expensive. So this review probably matched my meal?

Jay About E.B. Strong's Steakhouse

So Burlington is in the midst of an upscale steak revolution.  There are a few BBQ joints opening and at least 2 expensive "destination" steak houses in the mix.  Can this small liberal town support that kind of action?  Well, we could not support 2 mid level ones so I am skeptical.  Last night we had a work dinner so we went to check out the one on Church Street, Strong's.  It has been getting solid press and much fanfare.  One funny review we read mentioned the light and refreshing wedge salad.  I have never equated blue cheese dressing, onions, and bacon with a "light" salad but f*** it, go with your bad self.  We had a table reserved but bellied up to the bar to watch the epic U.S. Open final that was rocking.  Things started poorly... the bar was packed with stuffy old guys drinking wine and acting like big shots.  Big shots roll with hot girls and don't wear Van Huesen tough guys.  In any event it was tough to get a drink or get the TV changed from Andrew Zimmer eating raw testicles to tennis. Finally the old guys cleared to a table in the back and we were off and running.  Aaron (spelled wrong?) was a pretty attentive bar tender once you got on his good side.  He did make me an excellent Manhattan w/ Bullit Rye.  We started off w/ apps.  The fried oyster sliders were very good.  Tender and on a tasty puff pastry roll.  The truffle infused fries were also pretty good but they needed more sauce.  One of our guys was hoping for tartar sauce for the oysters and Aaron whipped him up a pretty acceptable stand in. He hustled for us after that... kudos. Hell yeah I had a wedge salad, it was f*ing delicious.  The main course was not great.  We shared a large rib eye on the bone, creamed spinach, fried asparagus, and fried calamari.  See a trend?  I am fat.  The steak was grisly, chewy, and not particularly flavorful.  The creamed spinach did not really have any cream.  The asparagus was fine.  Calamari was good.  Pounded thin and breaded they were tender and have nice flavor.  Overall it was fine.  For $25 the steak would have been fine. For $50 it was subpar.  The place is very expensive and shooting for something but is not nearly there. That is ok but will not be sustainable. I might go back but it will be on someone else's dime.  BTW, other than the old guys and a decent bar crowd it was not very busy at all.  It was only Monday though.  We party. 

P.S. I called it early and was home before midnight.  I have somehow caught a nasty cold though and was up all night with a sore throat and stuffed nose. I will not blame steak house, but it will be in the back of my mind.

Boy oh Boy

Yeah, I know... posting has been pretty sparse of late.  New job has kept me extremely busy.  Believe it or not but the home life has been even busier.  We travelled last week and this week we have windows in the house being replaced, wife was on the road yesterday, wedding this weekend, I had to find a new dry cleaner, get a haircut, and a bunch of other crap.  Cat eating and then puking up mice.  It is pretty crazy right now. 

I will say that the trip we had to Maine last week was nice.  The new restaurant The Lost Kitchen in Belfast provided us with one of the finest meals either of us had had in awhile.  Between the beet carpaccio, the roasted chicken, and the almond toffee terrine desert... it was just all well prepared, pleasing to look at and delicious.  Check it out if you are in the area.

We had a client in town this week and it was raining so we just cruised over to the IceHouse for lunch.  I have never been a big fan.  It is generic and too expensive for very mediocre food.  That said, I had a pretty decent lunch there on Monday.  I had a BLT w/ avocado.  Avocado was a little brown but the bacon was cooked perfectly and the bread was really quite nice.  It was a good sandwich.  An added bonus was our clearly stoned out of his mind waiter who could not pull himself together.  At one point he commented how out of it he was and that he usually had a great memory (after forgetting my chips and mixing up who ordered what).  Sure you do Cheech... sure you do.

What a way to start the day

Stumble downstairs to pee and feed the cat... What do I find? Puke. Thanks boomer. Right at the foot of the stairs. Of course that was nothing. When I went to get in the shower there on the bath mat was mouse guts and part of a half eaten carcass. F*** you boomer!!!

Bulb conspiracy

I am busting the myth... I just had to replace another fluorescent bulb. It was somewhere around the 8th I have had to change in the past year. 3x the amount of regular bulbs. So I pay a huge premium to get a third of the life and 4x the cost? The fluorescent PAC is a strong one!!!