Well, if you check in from time to time you have probably noticed my prolonged absence. I suppose it is a lack of motivation? I have been travelling and been to plenty of different places and tried different thins but I just can't seem to figure out what excites me to write shit down? I am kind of bored of most of the blogs I have been reading and got pretty bored of my own thing. There used to be fun stuff to think about and snarky quips to lay down but now most of the good stuff happens on the fly in real time and does not translate well to a story. More of a had to be there type situation. I was also becoming acutely aware of how whiny I was starting to sound. I was belaboring the point. Of course my kids poop their pants. Of course most people have access to thousand pound pieces of metal when they can barely walk and talk at the same time. Sure, service in VT generally sucks. Without a doubt the mayor of Burlington is a freeloader (saw him all over town today not working). But why keep pounding the same nail? WHY?!
So what will you do to get back on top Jay? Kill a hobo? Poop in the shower? Watch a Julia Roberts movie? F*** No! I will get back to the basics. Reviews, stupid pictures, silly videos, maybe some sports talk? I have Rick Rubin in the mix and he has stripped my sound down so I can get right to the heart of my talent (it is immense so was easy to find).
Cafe Shelburne. My special lady and I had my mother in town so we took a chance on date night last week. Hey, how about keeping it local? We had had a cocktail but never gone full monty at the recently revamped CS. Well, the first sign of impending disaster was probably the fact it was empty on a Thursday night around 7:30PM. Seriously, there were only 2 other occupied tables... and 2 total (including ours) when we left. Secondly, revamped is a pretty strong term... while there is new ownership the space has not been updated at all... probably since 1972. Old industrial carpet, dated furniture and curtains stolen from my grandparents. Whatever, let's get to the food. Maybe. For only 3 tables and 2 servers the service was incredibly slow. I was thinking about a martini but realizing they did not have a bartender and our waitress was 19 I thought better of it and ordered a beer. It was cold and pretty fresh so good choice. We then ordered a couple apps and 2 pasta dishes. The mushroom toast was ok but a little dry. The salad was fine. The pastas were ok as well. I had gnocchi and it was unremarkable. Like I don't really remember if it was pork or beef (maybe lamb) and it was a throw away dish. Not literally they should throw it away but it was forgettable. My lady had a nice pesto tagliatelle. It was good but as she noted she could have made it at home to the same effect. We skipped desert. So it was a beefy bill for so so food. They could use an update to the space but where does that cash come from? The service needs to pick up, that can be easily fixed. I would also get a pub menu in the mix. How about smaller plates like a burger or something and bring in the under 85 crowd to hang and enjoy an mid-upscale bar experience without feeling like you are eating in the 40s? 1 thumb barely sideways.
2 recent canings from the Fiddlehead Brewery of note. The Second Fiddle and the Mastermind. Both are double IPAs. It amazes me how these guys do it... the flagship IPA has really come into its own and is often my go to around town. These special offerings are ok but they charge Heady Topper prices for a weak imitation. But that said, lines form and folks buy cases of them so maybe it is me who is crazy. The Fiddlehead beers tend to be a rounder flavor profile that smacks you in the face less than Toppers. In a blind taste test at the office they were preferred by one or two folks who liked a less intense experience in their beer. To me I get more apricot than the Topper citrus notes. They are both pretty good and if more reasonably priced I might say very good. I prefer the Mastermind. To me it has a lighter cleaner taste and at 12oz vs 16 it holds up well start to finish. The heavy booze but less intense Second Fiddle gets pretty not great by the bottom of the can, it would benefit from a smaller can as it is best at a colder temp. I have a bunch of both beers though and have been knocking back MMs regularly. I like the space and the scene over there and the folks behind the bar are pretty good right now so if you are in the area go check it out.
So there you have it, I will try to see what else I can think about and keep this thing a little more lively.
