The 2008 baseball season is here.
The bad part, it started at 6am EDT. Hence the temporary name change. It could be the first time I've ever sat down to watch a game with coffee, but thats ok.
The game of course is being playing at the Tokyo dome in Japan. As of this writing, the A's are winning 2-0 and Matzuzaka has no control of his breaking ball. But its early. The crowd at the Big Egg is actually somewhat subdued. I've been to a game there and the bleacher fans sing enough songs and make enough noise to make the whole place very loud. But who knows how MLB allocated tickets, I'm guessing its not to the average rowdy fan (American or Japanese).
I've rarely been so willing to wake up at 6am. And we get to do this again tomorrow (Why is Oakland the home team in both games??) before a few days off until the start for everyone else.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Only 354 days until Philly beer week 2009
(NOTE: I wrote this a week ago, but apparently forgot to post it, hence the number in the title)
Ok, I don't know for sure when Philly beer week will be in 2009, or even if its a certain event, but I'm already anxiously awaiting.
The past 10 days of Philly beer week were filled with many many events, most of which I could not attend (need that job to be able to afford beer).
Best new bar: This goes to Grace Tavern, a place I'd wanted to try for a while. Its the type of neighborhood bar with great beer, interesting people and a welcoming atmosphere. I didn't try the food, but it looked (and smelled) very good.
Best new beer: This is tough considering I easily tried 50 new beers (and many old favorites). I'm going to give a slight edge to the Harvistoun aged in 16yr scotch casks.
Best experience: I met a lot of interesting people, including some beer writers, but its not often you get a chance to meet the mayor and drink with him. Ok, I didn't actually drink with him, but I watched him tap a keg and did meet him while holding a dogfish head raison d'etre.
Best meal: I think this one is fairly easy, I loved the German food served at the Joe Sixpack event at Dawson's Pub. From the sausage to the sauerbraten to the pretzel and of course the black forest cake. Special honorary mention to the bananas foster at the kick-off event.
Biggest disappointment: There were so many events that some had to be missed, but I was disappointed by the Friday events I tried, being too crowded. I would recommend less non-ticketed events at times that bars are normally already packed from happy hour.
Overall it was a big success, especially considering this is the first time anything of this sort has ever been put together. There is room for improvement (e.g., better website updates), but the basic formula works. I can't wait to see what they come up with for next year.
Ok, I don't know for sure when Philly beer week will be in 2009, or even if its a certain event, but I'm already anxiously awaiting.
The past 10 days of Philly beer week were filled with many many events, most of which I could not attend (need that job to be able to afford beer).
Best new bar: This goes to Grace Tavern, a place I'd wanted to try for a while. Its the type of neighborhood bar with great beer, interesting people and a welcoming atmosphere. I didn't try the food, but it looked (and smelled) very good.
Best new beer: This is tough considering I easily tried 50 new beers (and many old favorites). I'm going to give a slight edge to the Harvistoun aged in 16yr scotch casks.
Best experience: I met a lot of interesting people, including some beer writers, but its not often you get a chance to meet the mayor and drink with him. Ok, I didn't actually drink with him, but I watched him tap a keg and did meet him while holding a dogfish head raison d'etre.
Best meal: I think this one is fairly easy, I loved the German food served at the Joe Sixpack event at Dawson's Pub. From the sausage to the sauerbraten to the pretzel and of course the black forest cake. Special honorary mention to the bananas foster at the kick-off event.
Biggest disappointment: There were so many events that some had to be missed, but I was disappointed by the Friday events I tried, being too crowded. I would recommend less non-ticketed events at times that bars are normally already packed from happy hour.
Overall it was a big success, especially considering this is the first time anything of this sort has ever been put together. There is room for improvement (e.g., better website updates), but the basic formula works. I can't wait to see what they come up with for next year.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Philly Beer Week, Part III: The return of the hops
So Wednesday was a much needed night at home. Did this stop me from enjoying a beer? Of course not. I had the Avery Fourteen, a beer brewed specifically for their 14th anniversary.
On Thursday, we headed to Old City. The first stop was Eulogy where their were having a Harviestoun night, featuring their beers aged in Highland Park scotch casks of 12, 16 and 30 years. The beers were pricy so I only had one, the 16. It was an incredibly rich beer with lots of flavors coming from the cask. The scotch flavor was not overpowering which made for a surprisingly easy drinking beer for something of its strength. The bartender informed me that the 30 year supposedly tastes more like scotch than beer, but alas at $22 for a 12oz bottle it was a bit out of my range. For dinner I had their mussels with bacon and potatos and a side of Belgian fries. I was not too impressed with their fries or dipping sauce (Monk's is definitely better). The main reason is that they were too thick. With my dinner I had a Swedish beer called Fiori (I wrote down the full name, but don't have it on me). It was light with a bit of spice, not overly impressive.
After Eulogy we made the long journey across the street to Triumph for their pilsner gala. Now in reality this was more lager gala as there were other lagers besides pilsner (e.g., bocks). Triumph was featuring about 5 of their own beers combined with about 10 from other, mostly local, breweries. This lead to some confusion with the bartenders who are used to serving only their own beers. I started with the Victory Biermeister pils, and I'm glad I did because they ran out soon after. Its a light beer in color, but with a pretty decent hop flavor. I have not had their Prima pils in a little while, but I think this may be a touch better. I guess I should have ordered both. For my second beer I went with the Sly Fox Rauchbier. If you've been following my beer week posts you'll know I'm crazy about this style. The Sly Fox version is on the low end of rauchbiers that I've had (could have been smokier) but that still makes it a good beer. I also had the opportunity to meet Lew Bryson, who was "hosting" the event and Stephen Beaumont, both were very friendly and shared stories with me. For example, I learned about the first double IPA, made by the current Russian River brewer solely because he did not trust some new equipment and decided to cover up the flaws with twice the hops. I also got some stories about Michael Jackson (the beer writer) from Lew, who used to edit a lot of Michael's writings, specifically for Malt Advocate. It was already late after Triumph so we called it a night.
Friday I once again ventured into center city and had plans for hitting several events. First stop was Nodding Head for a meet the brewers happy hour. There were several brewers I wanted to talk with, but the place was mobbed, couldn't even find a place to stand, so we left. Our next stop was Tria (on 12th), where they were having an Allagash night. Strike 2. They were so packed that we were actually rejected at the door for fire code reasons (bars enforce that???). Ok, on to Good Dog who was featuring Sly Fox and Southampton. And strike 3, again too packed to even stand. I attribute the problems to normal Friday happy hour crowds combined with beer week, but I wasn't happy. Those were the 3 places on my list and we failed at all of them. So on to an improvised agenda. Jose Pistolas for dinner, where we were able to find a table. I had the shrimp and chorizo tacos which were very tasty and soem tortillas and salsa as an appetizer. To drink I had the Bells Lager of the Lakes (kind of bland) and the Atwater Voodoo Vator (a decent doppelbock).
Afterward, we wandered around a bit, and then made it to Grace Tavern. It was our first time there and we loved the place. It was exactly the type of neighborhood bar that makes Philly great, good crowd, good beer, good bartenders, etc. I drank the Sierra Nevada Schwarzbier, which I did not even know that they made. It was quite tasty. We called it a night after Grace Tavern and headed home.
Saturday did not involve any beer week activities, although I did do some drinking in honor of st patrick's day, hitting Moriarity's (which was fun) and McGillin's (which was a little too crowded). We finished the night at Old Eagle where I tried some Sly fox Seamus Red and the Flying Fish Espresso Porter.
Sunday I had other commitments that prevented beer week activities, although I had a few while playing darts.
Overall, a lot of drinking in 10 days, but a lot of fun. Keep an eye out for my Philly beer week recap.
On Thursday, we headed to Old City. The first stop was Eulogy where their were having a Harviestoun night, featuring their beers aged in Highland Park scotch casks of 12, 16 and 30 years. The beers were pricy so I only had one, the 16. It was an incredibly rich beer with lots of flavors coming from the cask. The scotch flavor was not overpowering which made for a surprisingly easy drinking beer for something of its strength. The bartender informed me that the 30 year supposedly tastes more like scotch than beer, but alas at $22 for a 12oz bottle it was a bit out of my range. For dinner I had their mussels with bacon and potatos and a side of Belgian fries. I was not too impressed with their fries or dipping sauce (Monk's is definitely better). The main reason is that they were too thick. With my dinner I had a Swedish beer called Fiori (I wrote down the full name, but don't have it on me). It was light with a bit of spice, not overly impressive.
After Eulogy we made the long journey across the street to Triumph for their pilsner gala. Now in reality this was more lager gala as there were other lagers besides pilsner (e.g., bocks). Triumph was featuring about 5 of their own beers combined with about 10 from other, mostly local, breweries. This lead to some confusion with the bartenders who are used to serving only their own beers. I started with the Victory Biermeister pils, and I'm glad I did because they ran out soon after. Its a light beer in color, but with a pretty decent hop flavor. I have not had their Prima pils in a little while, but I think this may be a touch better. I guess I should have ordered both. For my second beer I went with the Sly Fox Rauchbier. If you've been following my beer week posts you'll know I'm crazy about this style. The Sly Fox version is on the low end of rauchbiers that I've had (could have been smokier) but that still makes it a good beer. I also had the opportunity to meet Lew Bryson, who was "hosting" the event and Stephen Beaumont, both were very friendly and shared stories with me. For example, I learned about the first double IPA, made by the current Russian River brewer solely because he did not trust some new equipment and decided to cover up the flaws with twice the hops. I also got some stories about Michael Jackson (the beer writer) from Lew, who used to edit a lot of Michael's writings, specifically for Malt Advocate. It was already late after Triumph so we called it a night.
Friday I once again ventured into center city and had plans for hitting several events. First stop was Nodding Head for a meet the brewers happy hour. There were several brewers I wanted to talk with, but the place was mobbed, couldn't even find a place to stand, so we left. Our next stop was Tria (on 12th), where they were having an Allagash night. Strike 2. They were so packed that we were actually rejected at the door for fire code reasons (bars enforce that???). Ok, on to Good Dog who was featuring Sly Fox and Southampton. And strike 3, again too packed to even stand. I attribute the problems to normal Friday happy hour crowds combined with beer week, but I wasn't happy. Those were the 3 places on my list and we failed at all of them. So on to an improvised agenda. Jose Pistolas for dinner, where we were able to find a table. I had the shrimp and chorizo tacos which were very tasty and soem tortillas and salsa as an appetizer. To drink I had the Bells Lager of the Lakes (kind of bland) and the Atwater Voodoo Vator (a decent doppelbock).
Afterward, we wandered around a bit, and then made it to Grace Tavern. It was our first time there and we loved the place. It was exactly the type of neighborhood bar that makes Philly great, good crowd, good beer, good bartenders, etc. I drank the Sierra Nevada Schwarzbier, which I did not even know that they made. It was quite tasty. We called it a night after Grace Tavern and headed home.
Saturday did not involve any beer week activities, although I did do some drinking in honor of st patrick's day, hitting Moriarity's (which was fun) and McGillin's (which was a little too crowded). We finished the night at Old Eagle where I tried some Sly fox Seamus Red and the Flying Fish Espresso Porter.
Sunday I had other commitments that prevented beer week activities, although I had a few while playing darts.
Overall, a lot of drinking in 10 days, but a lot of fun. Keep an eye out for my Philly beer week recap.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Philly Beer Week, Part II: The liver strikes back
I've learned a few things in the past couple of days attending beer week events. First, Philly has even more great beer culture than I realized. And second, I'm not as young as I once was. For that reason, tonight will be an off night.
On Monday we went to the Joe Sixpack doppelbock tasting at Dawson's Pub. The pub is no more than a 5 minute walk for us and is one of out favorites, this fabulous event solidified that. They served the following 9 doppelbocks:
Lancaster Doppelbock
Ayinger Celebrator - A classic.
Schneider Aventinus - Another classic.
Victory St. Victorious - A nice roasted flavor.
Stoudt's Smooth Hoperator - Very different style with a clear hop aroma and taste that was magnified by the abcense of hops in the other beers.
Moretti La Rossa - An Italian doppelbock?? Didn't match up with the others but still good.
Ramstein (I can't remember the name)
Troeg's Troegenator - Amazingly spot on with the traditional German style.
Weihenstephaner Korbinian
The bartender, Jake, was pouring very generous portions for each beer, its a good thing I didn't need to stumble too far to get home. Don Russell gave us a nice history of the style and the specific beers. The pub also provided lots of German food, wursts, weiner schnitzel, spaetzel, big and small pretzels, sauerbraten, and black forest cake. All very tasty, especially the sauerbraten. We also met the father of the owners who told us some fun stories of when Dawson's was a biker bar. I picked up a copy of Joe Sixpack's Philly beer book and am looking forward to reading through it later tonight.
Last night we decided to participate in some of the meet the brewer events, focusing on the art museum area. The night started at London Grill where I drank the Philadelphia Brewing Co Kenzinger, a nice German/Czech style lager with a bit of hoppiness to it. I met one of their brewers, Josh, who filled me in on some details of the new brewery. I also tried the Stoudt's Willie Sutton, an amber beer brewed specifically for London Grill and named for a former inmate of the Eastern State Pennitentiary. It was ok, but nothing too striking about it. For dinner I tried the spring rolls and the ducks wings. Both were very tasty, the wings came with some fries and a spicy mustard dipping sauce.
After London Grill we moved on to Bridgid's for Colorado beer night. First I spoke with the Boulder brewing company's brewer and tried their oak aged Never Summer. The beer was good, not overwhelming. The flavors from the bourbon oak barrels were subtle but noticeable. After that I had the Great Divide Hercules, a very hoppy IPA. I've had this beer in the past, but it had been a while. Its still great. I also spoke briefly with one of the Iron Hill (West chester) brewers (Chris?) who was not working any beer week events, just in the bar for a couple of beers.
Our last stop was the Bishop's Collar, a more laid back and slightly less beer focused bar. The Yards brewers were supposed to be there, but we were either too early or too late because I didn't see them. I did however drink their George Washington porter which is quite good. We did not spend much time here as it was a weeknight we were getting tired.
What fun and excitement await on Thursday and Friday?? Even I can't answer that question.
On Monday we went to the Joe Sixpack doppelbock tasting at Dawson's Pub. The pub is no more than a 5 minute walk for us and is one of out favorites, this fabulous event solidified that. They served the following 9 doppelbocks:
Lancaster Doppelbock
Ayinger Celebrator - A classic.
Schneider Aventinus - Another classic.
Victory St. Victorious - A nice roasted flavor.
Stoudt's Smooth Hoperator - Very different style with a clear hop aroma and taste that was magnified by the abcense of hops in the other beers.
Moretti La Rossa - An Italian doppelbock?? Didn't match up with the others but still good.
Ramstein (I can't remember the name)
Troeg's Troegenator - Amazingly spot on with the traditional German style.
Weihenstephaner Korbinian
The bartender, Jake, was pouring very generous portions for each beer, its a good thing I didn't need to stumble too far to get home. Don Russell gave us a nice history of the style and the specific beers. The pub also provided lots of German food, wursts, weiner schnitzel, spaetzel, big and small pretzels, sauerbraten, and black forest cake. All very tasty, especially the sauerbraten. We also met the father of the owners who told us some fun stories of when Dawson's was a biker bar. I picked up a copy of Joe Sixpack's Philly beer book and am looking forward to reading through it later tonight.
Last night we decided to participate in some of the meet the brewer events, focusing on the art museum area. The night started at London Grill where I drank the Philadelphia Brewing Co Kenzinger, a nice German/Czech style lager with a bit of hoppiness to it. I met one of their brewers, Josh, who filled me in on some details of the new brewery. I also tried the Stoudt's Willie Sutton, an amber beer brewed specifically for London Grill and named for a former inmate of the Eastern State Pennitentiary. It was ok, but nothing too striking about it. For dinner I tried the spring rolls and the ducks wings. Both were very tasty, the wings came with some fries and a spicy mustard dipping sauce.
After London Grill we moved on to Bridgid's for Colorado beer night. First I spoke with the Boulder brewing company's brewer and tried their oak aged Never Summer. The beer was good, not overwhelming. The flavors from the bourbon oak barrels were subtle but noticeable. After that I had the Great Divide Hercules, a very hoppy IPA. I've had this beer in the past, but it had been a while. Its still great. I also spoke briefly with one of the Iron Hill (West chester) brewers (Chris?) who was not working any beer week events, just in the bar for a couple of beers.
Our last stop was the Bishop's Collar, a more laid back and slightly less beer focused bar. The Yards brewers were supposed to be there, but we were either too early or too late because I didn't see them. I did however drink their George Washington porter which is quite good. We did not spend much time here as it was a weeknight we were getting tired.
What fun and excitement await on Thursday and Friday?? Even I can't answer that question.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Philly Beer Week, Part I
So I know blogging has been slow lately, but have no fear, its almost baseball season. Plus, we are in the middle of Philly Beer Week and there is much to discuss.
On Friday we went to the Joe Sixpack beer event at the East Falls Market. This was being touted as the kickoff event and it did not disappoint. The number of people was ideal as I rarely had to wait for any beer. Mayor Nutter was on hand, albeit 45 minutes late, to proclaim the start of the beer week and to tap the ceremonial keg. He's a bit shorter than I expected him to be, although I'm not sure what I was basing my expectations on. We got a chance to meet him, even if it was brief. The food was also pretty good, both the catering and the samples that the market stands put out. And there was, of course, the beer. It was all local and very few brought their standard brews. The highlights included the Iron Hill Russian Imperial Stout, the Nodding Head George's Fault and Victory's St. Boisterous. But my favorite of the night was the Triumph Rauchbier, a style that I love but is hard to find. Unfortunately for me, the Philly location does not make it, only the New Hope location. Although I did all I could to convince the people from Triumph that they should brew it at every location and as often as possible.
Saturday we planned to go into center city and go to either Good Dog or the South Philly pub crawl. But the weather was terrible and we had no motivation to leave the house. So instead we went to eat at Hikaru on main st. I was unimpressed overall, the miso soup and ginger salad were ok. The ton katsu was very different than any version I've had before and it was kind of boring. But afterwards we ventured to Flat Rock where I enjoyed a Founder's Old Curmudgen (very good) and an old favorite, Young's Double Chocolate Stout.
Sunday was a busy day, but for non-beer reasons. Therefore the only beer aspects of the day was a dinner of garlic and curry mussels at Old Eagle along with the Summit Marzen and Speakeasy Untouchable Pale Ale. Dessert was the Flying Fish Espresso Porter.
More to follow as the week progresses.
On Friday we went to the Joe Sixpack beer event at the East Falls Market. This was being touted as the kickoff event and it did not disappoint. The number of people was ideal as I rarely had to wait for any beer. Mayor Nutter was on hand, albeit 45 minutes late, to proclaim the start of the beer week and to tap the ceremonial keg. He's a bit shorter than I expected him to be, although I'm not sure what I was basing my expectations on. We got a chance to meet him, even if it was brief. The food was also pretty good, both the catering and the samples that the market stands put out. And there was, of course, the beer. It was all local and very few brought their standard brews. The highlights included the Iron Hill Russian Imperial Stout, the Nodding Head George's Fault and Victory's St. Boisterous. But my favorite of the night was the Triumph Rauchbier, a style that I love but is hard to find. Unfortunately for me, the Philly location does not make it, only the New Hope location. Although I did all I could to convince the people from Triumph that they should brew it at every location and as often as possible.
Saturday we planned to go into center city and go to either Good Dog or the South Philly pub crawl. But the weather was terrible and we had no motivation to leave the house. So instead we went to eat at Hikaru on main st. I was unimpressed overall, the miso soup and ginger salad were ok. The ton katsu was very different than any version I've had before and it was kind of boring. But afterwards we ventured to Flat Rock where I enjoyed a Founder's Old Curmudgen (very good) and an old favorite, Young's Double Chocolate Stout.
Sunday was a busy day, but for non-beer reasons. Therefore the only beer aspects of the day was a dinner of garlic and curry mussels at Old Eagle along with the Summit Marzen and Speakeasy Untouchable Pale Ale. Dessert was the Flying Fish Espresso Porter.
More to follow as the week progresses.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Philly pub crawl
Saturday, the wife and I had tickets to the Rangers game here in Philly. Due to a ticket office mixup, we got seats in the club box section for the cost of corner upper level tickets. This section includes a much nicer bathroom, waitress service, a bar in the club and a wider food selection. The liquor selection at the bar was decent, but I was more in a beer mood and their beer selection was quite poor (Not even Yuengling). The food options were definitely better than on the normal concourse levels, including a dessert bar and a coffee stand (with optional addons such as amaretto). Overall, it was a step up from our typical seats, but not so much better as to warrant the face value price. Also, it helps when the Rangers win 2-0.
Since it was an afternoon game, we decided to hop the subway back to center city and commence a pub crawl. I had made a list of place to hit, some old favorites plus some new places we have been meaning to try.
We started off at Tria (18th St location). I had the Victory Baltic Thunder which was excellent. I've had it before in bottles, but this is the first time on tap. I also got a little appetizer, some goat cheese and pesto on some toasted bread, which was tasty. The place was quite full, but we were able to get a table.
From there we moved on to Nodding Head. The main reason for heading there was to try their Chocolate Stout which I'd read about. They brew it with actual chocolate. Its a more subdued chocolate flavor than say the Southern Tier Chokolat, but still good.
After Nodding Head, we stepped it up a notch and went to Mahogany. Although I've never been there, I've been interested in checking the place out for a while. It is a cigar bar, but my main interest was in the extensive scotch collection. The inside really is set up like a smoking lounge, with couches and a fire place. I had the Aberlour A'bunadh, which was very good. Since none of our stops were intended to be too long, I skipped the cigar.
Next we went to Jose Pistola's, another new place for us. The beers here were very good, I had a Oaked Stone Arrogant Bastard and the Schlenkerla Rauchbier. On a side note, more brewers need to make rauchbiers, I know their not incredibly popular, but I love them. The food menu was not extensive, but I did get some tasty empanadas and the wife had a meatloaf special that was also good. We sat at the bar upstairs and I have to say I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot. The bartenders and people at the bar were all friendly and they were showing some crazy Japanese tv shows.
We next took a bit of walk, in the rain, to South St, where we hit Chick's Cafe & Wine bar. They have a limited, but decent beer selection, focusing on Belgian styles. Their wine selection looked good, even if it was a bit pricy.
After Chick's we headed down south st and stopped in at Blarney South. We didn't spend much time there, partially because I wasn't overly impressed with the atmosphere and it was also an unintended stop.
We finished up the night at Beneluxx tasting room. Again, this was a new place for us and I like the concept. They allow you to order smaller "tasting" sizes of differnt beers. I also had some Manchego cheese which was ok.
By the time we finished up there it was fairly late and we needed to catch a bus, so we left. The pub crawl was a lot of fun, although I did feel it the next morning when I woke up hungover at 6:30 ...
Since it was an afternoon game, we decided to hop the subway back to center city and commence a pub crawl. I had made a list of place to hit, some old favorites plus some new places we have been meaning to try.
We started off at Tria (18th St location). I had the Victory Baltic Thunder which was excellent. I've had it before in bottles, but this is the first time on tap. I also got a little appetizer, some goat cheese and pesto on some toasted bread, which was tasty. The place was quite full, but we were able to get a table.
From there we moved on to Nodding Head. The main reason for heading there was to try their Chocolate Stout which I'd read about. They brew it with actual chocolate. Its a more subdued chocolate flavor than say the Southern Tier Chokolat, but still good.
After Nodding Head, we stepped it up a notch and went to Mahogany. Although I've never been there, I've been interested in checking the place out for a while. It is a cigar bar, but my main interest was in the extensive scotch collection. The inside really is set up like a smoking lounge, with couches and a fire place. I had the Aberlour A'bunadh, which was very good. Since none of our stops were intended to be too long, I skipped the cigar.
Next we went to Jose Pistola's, another new place for us. The beers here were very good, I had a Oaked Stone Arrogant Bastard and the Schlenkerla Rauchbier. On a side note, more brewers need to make rauchbiers, I know their not incredibly popular, but I love them. The food menu was not extensive, but I did get some tasty empanadas and the wife had a meatloaf special that was also good. We sat at the bar upstairs and I have to say I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot. The bartenders and people at the bar were all friendly and they were showing some crazy Japanese tv shows.
We next took a bit of walk, in the rain, to South St, where we hit Chick's Cafe & Wine bar. They have a limited, but decent beer selection, focusing on Belgian styles. Their wine selection looked good, even if it was a bit pricy.
After Chick's we headed down south st and stopped in at Blarney South. We didn't spend much time there, partially because I wasn't overly impressed with the atmosphere and it was also an unintended stop.
We finished up the night at Beneluxx tasting room. Again, this was a new place for us and I like the concept. They allow you to order smaller "tasting" sizes of differnt beers. I also had some Manchego cheese which was ok.
By the time we finished up there it was fairly late and we needed to catch a bus, so we left. The pub crawl was a lot of fun, although I did feel it the next morning when I woke up hungover at 6:30 ...
Monday, February 4, 2008
Eli Manning won a super bowl MVP?
And yet hell did not freeze over.
I'm still somewhat in shock and very happy (as a Giants fan) over the result of the super bowl last night. So here are my thoughts on the outcome.
1) In the regular season, the Giants lost to Dallas twice, Green Bay and New England. They proceded to beat each of those teams in the playoffs. I don't feel like figuring it out, but I suspect no team has ever beaten 3 teams in the playoffs that they lost to earlier in the season.
2) The Giants regular season was about as mediocre as you can get. They lost 6 games, 4 to very good teams (see #1 above), and to Minnesota and Washington, which were average teams. They beat every bad team they played, but their best win was probably the other game against Washington. This is about as perfectly as you define an ok team, lose to those better than you, beat those worse than you.
3) And my last point about the Giants regular season is that they lost 6 games, tied for the most of any super bowl winner. The 49ers lost 6 in XXIII (1988 season). Also, the Raiders lost 5 games when they won in XV, but that was a year of freakish parity as 3 teams finished 12-4, and 6 finished 11-5 (5 from the AFC). And the Patriots lost 5 when they beat the Rams in their first super bowl win. And the Steelers lost 5 when they won 2 years ago.
4) I really hate sports fans/sports media members who love to proclaim championship success as the first and last measure of a player's greatness. Before Peyton won the super bowl last year, all we heard was how he was a decent QB incapable of winning in the playoffs. Then he wins and he's a champion, able to handle the pressure. Excuse me, but as a player he is the same before and after that game. He did not suddenly learn how to play football. Similarly, people who were ready to crown the Patriots the greatest team of all time are now saying that the teams will go down as good, but nothing great. As much as I hate to say it, this Patriots team is still great, one of the best I've seen in my time as a football fan (which admitedly only stretches to the late 80s). I guarantee that if we had some magical power to switch the 2 Giants-Pats games (Giants win the regular season by 3, Patriots win the Super Bowl by 3) then people would continue to argue that the Patriots may be the best ever. The real result (18-1 with a 3 point loss to the Giants) and the imagionary results (18-1 with a 3 points loss to the Giants) are not really that different, but the perception is huge.
Now on to more frivolous things ...
5) I was very impressed with crowd at the game, many more fans of one of the competing teams than we usually see at the super bowl.
6) Very few of the commercials were memorable. And even those were not too funny. Are companies trying to be more conservative or are they hiring less creative people?
7) I attribute at least part of the Giants victory yesterday to my conscious effort to drink beer from NY (Brooklyn brewery to be exact).
8) David Tyree went from a nobody to one of the most popular people in NY in the span of 1 quarter.
9) Plaxico Burress got ripped for his prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory. First by the media for prediction a Giants win, and if the media doesn't want players making these kinds of predictions, stop sticking microphones in their faces for 2 weeks. And secondly from Tom Brady who sounded shocked and amused at the notion of his fantastic offense only scoring 17. I doubt he's as amused after scoring 14.
10) Now that football is over (the Pro Bowl is not football), I can better concentrate my efforts on hockey, college basketball and baseball (2 weeks until pitchers and catchers).
11) All 4 super bowls that the Belichek era Patriots have been to were decided by exactly 3 points.
I'm still somewhat in shock and very happy (as a Giants fan) over the result of the super bowl last night. So here are my thoughts on the outcome.
1) In the regular season, the Giants lost to Dallas twice, Green Bay and New England. They proceded to beat each of those teams in the playoffs. I don't feel like figuring it out, but I suspect no team has ever beaten 3 teams in the playoffs that they lost to earlier in the season.
2) The Giants regular season was about as mediocre as you can get. They lost 6 games, 4 to very good teams (see #1 above), and to Minnesota and Washington, which were average teams. They beat every bad team they played, but their best win was probably the other game against Washington. This is about as perfectly as you define an ok team, lose to those better than you, beat those worse than you.
3) And my last point about the Giants regular season is that they lost 6 games, tied for the most of any super bowl winner. The 49ers lost 6 in XXIII (1988 season). Also, the Raiders lost 5 games when they won in XV, but that was a year of freakish parity as 3 teams finished 12-4, and 6 finished 11-5 (5 from the AFC). And the Patriots lost 5 when they beat the Rams in their first super bowl win. And the Steelers lost 5 when they won 2 years ago.
4) I really hate sports fans/sports media members who love to proclaim championship success as the first and last measure of a player's greatness. Before Peyton won the super bowl last year, all we heard was how he was a decent QB incapable of winning in the playoffs. Then he wins and he's a champion, able to handle the pressure. Excuse me, but as a player he is the same before and after that game. He did not suddenly learn how to play football. Similarly, people who were ready to crown the Patriots the greatest team of all time are now saying that the teams will go down as good, but nothing great. As much as I hate to say it, this Patriots team is still great, one of the best I've seen in my time as a football fan (which admitedly only stretches to the late 80s). I guarantee that if we had some magical power to switch the 2 Giants-Pats games (Giants win the regular season by 3, Patriots win the Super Bowl by 3) then people would continue to argue that the Patriots may be the best ever. The real result (18-1 with a 3 point loss to the Giants) and the imagionary results (18-1 with a 3 points loss to the Giants) are not really that different, but the perception is huge.
Now on to more frivolous things ...
5) I was very impressed with crowd at the game, many more fans of one of the competing teams than we usually see at the super bowl.
6) Very few of the commercials were memorable. And even those were not too funny. Are companies trying to be more conservative or are they hiring less creative people?
7) I attribute at least part of the Giants victory yesterday to my conscious effort to drink beer from NY (Brooklyn brewery to be exact).
8) David Tyree went from a nobody to one of the most popular people in NY in the span of 1 quarter.
9) Plaxico Burress got ripped for his prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory. First by the media for prediction a Giants win, and if the media doesn't want players making these kinds of predictions, stop sticking microphones in their faces for 2 weeks. And secondly from Tom Brady who sounded shocked and amused at the notion of his fantastic offense only scoring 17. I doubt he's as amused after scoring 14.
10) Now that football is over (the Pro Bowl is not football), I can better concentrate my efforts on hockey, college basketball and baseball (2 weeks until pitchers and catchers).
11) All 4 super bowls that the Belichek era Patriots have been to were decided by exactly 3 points.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Big moves down under
The Australian Open wrapped up and people may finally realize just how well Djokovic can play. He was his first (but certainly not last) grand slam title. The results, with Federer losing points and Nadal gaining points, leave the top 3 players closer than they've been in a long time (I'd guess at least 3 years). As of now we have:
Federer 6630
Nadal 5980
Djokovic 5165
Everyone else below 2800.
So, with the players so close in points, what does the winter/spring tennis season offer?
Well, there are a couple of international events in February that these guys will play, and Federer has the most points to defend with 300, but thats not enough to cause any shift in rankings. The real potential lies in the Masters series starting with Indian Wells in March. After that we have Miami in March, Monte Carlo in April, and Rome and Hamburg in May. Nadal will have a very tough time gaining ground, as he's defending 1975 points in those 5 events, Djokovic earned 1175, and Federer 1005. So barring some injury, I can't see Nadal catching Federer, but I can see Djokovic catching Nadal. A big key will lie in the draws, whether Djokovic gets placed in the half with Federer or Nadal (especially for the 3 clay Masters events).
Federer 6630
Nadal 5980
Djokovic 5165
Everyone else below 2800.
So, with the players so close in points, what does the winter/spring tennis season offer?
Well, there are a couple of international events in February that these guys will play, and Federer has the most points to defend with 300, but thats not enough to cause any shift in rankings. The real potential lies in the Masters series starting with Indian Wells in March. After that we have Miami in March, Monte Carlo in April, and Rome and Hamburg in May. Nadal will have a very tough time gaining ground, as he's defending 1975 points in those 5 events, Djokovic earned 1175, and Federer 1005. So barring some injury, I can't see Nadal catching Federer, but I can see Djokovic catching Nadal. A big key will lie in the draws, whether Djokovic gets placed in the half with Federer or Nadal (especially for the 3 clay Masters events).
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Random thoughts of the week
Our Netflix queue has 497 "movies". I put movies in quotes because I'd guess 1/4 to 1/3 of the items are TV show discs. The strange part is that the queue has consistently grown since we signed up, it never really goes down. I watch plenty of stuff, but add at a faster pace. How long can that continue? Keep in mind that I almost never put something on the queue that I've already watched.
UPDATE: I think the queue has a maximum of 500, so I now know where the growth will stop.
Why are people incapable of putting food in the microwave at my office and waiting for it? Almost every single time I use the microwave (maybe twice a week) I need to remove the food from the person before me. On Monday, I walked into the kitchen a split second after someone else, who grabbed the microwave before me, which is fine. The person realized I also wanted the microwave and apoligized profusely. Then this person left. Her food finished, I removed it, microwaved mine and only after mine was done did she return.
I received a jury duty notification yesterday. The form has a questionaire that must be filled out and returned. The first question says "Can you read, write and understand the English language?". It then repeats the question in Spanish. Thats the only Spanish on the entire form.
UPDATE: I think the queue has a maximum of 500, so I now know where the growth will stop.
Why are people incapable of putting food in the microwave at my office and waiting for it? Almost every single time I use the microwave (maybe twice a week) I need to remove the food from the person before me. On Monday, I walked into the kitchen a split second after someone else, who grabbed the microwave before me, which is fine. The person realized I also wanted the microwave and apoligized profusely. Then this person left. Her food finished, I removed it, microwaved mine and only after mine was done did she return.
I received a jury duty notification yesterday. The form has a questionaire that must be filled out and returned. The first question says "Can you read, write and understand the English language?". It then repeats the question in Spanish. Thats the only Spanish on the entire form.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
2 new restaurants
I figured I'd get myself ready for lunch by talking about 2 new restaurants I've recently tried.
First is the Belgian Cafe at 21st & Green. This place is owned by the people who own Monk's, so the Belgian theme is fitting. The decor of the place was simple, lots of wood giving the bar area an old feel to it, even though the place opened this year. I got a mussel dish that was very tasty, lots of spices and a little bit of some (garlic?) sausage. The mussels were served with bread which was not great, but was perfect to soak up the juices from the mussels, and frites, which were good, but thicker and not as good as the ones served at Monks. To drink I had the De Ranke Pere Noel, which was tasty but a bit more subtle that I was looking for in a holiday ale.
The second place I tried was the Roadhouse Grille in Skippack Village. I went there for a holiday dinner with work and the place impressed me. I started out with a crab bisque that was excellent. It had large chunks of crab and was also a very large amount of soup. For my entree I had the rack of lamb with gnocchi. The lamb was also excellent, perfectly cooked and seasoned. The gnocchi were a little heavy, but not bad. For dessert I had a white chocolate cheesecake that was very good. I also had an espresso that was not good. It was very light, and only warm, not hot. Overall, the place had good food, and good service. Just don't get the coffee.
First is the Belgian Cafe at 21st & Green. This place is owned by the people who own Monk's, so the Belgian theme is fitting. The decor of the place was simple, lots of wood giving the bar area an old feel to it, even though the place opened this year. I got a mussel dish that was very tasty, lots of spices and a little bit of some (garlic?) sausage. The mussels were served with bread which was not great, but was perfect to soak up the juices from the mussels, and frites, which were good, but thicker and not as good as the ones served at Monks. To drink I had the De Ranke Pere Noel, which was tasty but a bit more subtle that I was looking for in a holiday ale.
The second place I tried was the Roadhouse Grille in Skippack Village. I went there for a holiday dinner with work and the place impressed me. I started out with a crab bisque that was excellent. It had large chunks of crab and was also a very large amount of soup. For my entree I had the rack of lamb with gnocchi. The lamb was also excellent, perfectly cooked and seasoned. The gnocchi were a little heavy, but not bad. For dessert I had a white chocolate cheesecake that was very good. I also had an espresso that was not good. It was very light, and only warm, not hot. Overall, the place had good food, and good service. Just don't get the coffee.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Best of Craigslist
Every so often I love to peruse through the Best of Craigslist. Here are some interesting posts:
M&Ms
SEPTA
Car for sale
M&Ms
SEPTA
Car for sale
Friday, November 30, 2007
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?
If a football game is on the NFL network and no one sees it, did it really happen?
The answer in both cases is obviously yes. But there has been a lot of complaining lately about games being shown only on the NFL network which some cable companies do not carry and some (like Comcast in Philly) carry, but on a special sports tier that most people do not have.
So is this such a bad thing?
Well from the NFL's perspective I think its brilliant. It gets people to subscribe to their channel who otherwise would never subscribe. But the publicity is not great. In the long run though, I see it as a positive for them. In 10 years if lots of people have the channel and can watch the exclusive games, who will remember the games from 2006 and 2007 that they missed?
From a diehard fan's perspective it depends on if your cable company offers the channel. A diehard will not care about the $3 or $5 a month for the network. They will care a lot if its not available.
From my perspective (as a casual fan), I just don't care. Over the course of the season, the NFL network may show 10 games, of which 2 or 3 will be of interest. For those I can head over to a friend's house or to a bar (which I did last night).
The NFL network is also a great lead in to my next topic, ala carte cable. My cable package includes a lot of channels, probably close to 300, even without counting the 100 music stations. Of all these channels I would say 95% of my TV viewing comprises:
ESPN & ESPN2
Network channels (Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC)
Comedy Central
Turner Classic Movies
TNT
TBS
Comcast SportsNet & CN8
Versus
The Encore suite of movie channels
MOJO
G4
Other movie channels (IFC, Fox Movies, Flix, etc)
I will also occasionally watch A&E, Bravo, USA, Travel Channel, AMC, FX, Spike,
Food Network.
This totals roughly 35, maybe 40 channels. The rest I completely ignore. So why should I need to pay for them? The real reason is that Comcast and other cable providers say so. Well what is stopping a new cable company from offering channels ala carte?
I suspect that the networks are part of the problem. If one company owns 10 different channels, they may require that all 10 be included together.
The advantages to ala carte are that the consumers will likely save money, choosing only the channels they are likely to watch. In addition this forces networks to put out better products. Right now a lot of channels know they're included in all cable packages, so there is less incentive to improve.
The one disadvantage I see is the possibility that start up channels will have more difficulty breaking through. I started watching MOJO and G4 because we had them and now I enjoy a few shows on the channels, but I'd never have seen them if they weren't automatically included. Of course, if a channel promotes itself correctly, this may not be an issue (example: if the major league baseball network ever gets off the ground I would order even without seeing it because I know what the product would be.)
Overall, I'd like to see ala carte choices. However, I someone doubt this will be happening any time soon.
The answer in both cases is obviously yes. But there has been a lot of complaining lately about games being shown only on the NFL network which some cable companies do not carry and some (like Comcast in Philly) carry, but on a special sports tier that most people do not have.
So is this such a bad thing?
Well from the NFL's perspective I think its brilliant. It gets people to subscribe to their channel who otherwise would never subscribe. But the publicity is not great. In the long run though, I see it as a positive for them. In 10 years if lots of people have the channel and can watch the exclusive games, who will remember the games from 2006 and 2007 that they missed?
From a diehard fan's perspective it depends on if your cable company offers the channel. A diehard will not care about the $3 or $5 a month for the network. They will care a lot if its not available.
From my perspective (as a casual fan), I just don't care. Over the course of the season, the NFL network may show 10 games, of which 2 or 3 will be of interest. For those I can head over to a friend's house or to a bar (which I did last night).
The NFL network is also a great lead in to my next topic, ala carte cable. My cable package includes a lot of channels, probably close to 300, even without counting the 100 music stations. Of all these channels I would say 95% of my TV viewing comprises:
ESPN & ESPN2
Network channels (Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC)
Comedy Central
Turner Classic Movies
TNT
TBS
Comcast SportsNet & CN8
Versus
The Encore suite of movie channels
MOJO
G4
Other movie channels (IFC, Fox Movies, Flix, etc)
I will also occasionally watch A&E, Bravo, USA, Travel Channel, AMC, FX, Spike,
Food Network.
This totals roughly 35, maybe 40 channels. The rest I completely ignore. So why should I need to pay for them? The real reason is that Comcast and other cable providers say so. Well what is stopping a new cable company from offering channels ala carte?
I suspect that the networks are part of the problem. If one company owns 10 different channels, they may require that all 10 be included together.
The advantages to ala carte are that the consumers will likely save money, choosing only the channels they are likely to watch. In addition this forces networks to put out better products. Right now a lot of channels know they're included in all cable packages, so there is less incentive to improve.
The one disadvantage I see is the possibility that start up channels will have more difficulty breaking through. I started watching MOJO and G4 because we had them and now I enjoy a few shows on the channels, but I'd never have seen them if they weren't automatically included. Of course, if a channel promotes itself correctly, this may not be an issue (example: if the major league baseball network ever gets off the ground I would order even without seeing it because I know what the product would be.)
Overall, I'd like to see ala carte choices. However, I someone doubt this will be happening any time soon.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
And the award goes to ...
The baseball awards have been handed out so now its time for some fun facts. I'm not going to delve into whether or not voters made correct choices, there are enough people doing that already.
Rollins won the MVP a year after Ryan Howard pocketed the award. How many times have different teammates won the award in consecutive years? Well its happened way more than I orginally expected, 20 times including this year. But then I realized with only 8 teams in a league, this would happen more often. 4 times, we had 3 different teammates win in consecutive years. A full list is here:
Walter Johnson and Roger Peckinpaugh for the Senators in 1924-25 (although AL MVP rules at the time allowed a player to only win the award once, so Johnson was ineligible in 1925)
Rogers Hornsby and Bob O'Farrell for the Cardinals in 1925-26
Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx for the A's in 1931-32 (Foxx won again in 1933)
Mickey Cochrange and Hank Greenburg for the Tigers in 1934-35
Ernie Lombardi and Bucky Walters and Frank McCormick !!! for the Red in 1938-40
Joe DiMaggio and Joe Gordon and Spud Chandler !!! for the Yankees in 1941-43
Mort Cooper and Stan Musial and Marty Marion !!! for the Cardinals in 1942-44
Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra for the Yankees in 1950-51
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle for the Yankees in 1955-56 (Berra also won in 54, Mantle also won in 57)
Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe in 1955-56
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard !!! in 1961-63 (Maris also won in 60)
Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax in 1962-63
Orlando Cepeda and Bob Gibson in 1967-68
Johnny Bench and Pete Rose in 1972-73
Joe Morgan and George Foster in 1976-77 (Morgan also won in 75)
Dave Parker and Willie Stargell in 1978-79 (Stargell tied for the award)
Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount in 1981-82
Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez in 1998-99
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000-01 (Bonds also won from 02-04)
Chase Utley will have a lot of pressure on him next year to get the three-peat.
Also note that this has happened 7 times with the Cy Young.
And lastly on this topic, the Dodgers once had 5 consecutive rookies of the year. I did not confirm, but I assume this is a record
For an award that voters seem to just vote for last years winners, the gold glove had 10 first time winners, by my count. It doesn't mean much, but I thought it was interesting.
Rollins won the MVP a year after Ryan Howard pocketed the award. How many times have different teammates won the award in consecutive years? Well its happened way more than I orginally expected, 20 times including this year. But then I realized with only 8 teams in a league, this would happen more often. 4 times, we had 3 different teammates win in consecutive years. A full list is here:
Walter Johnson and Roger Peckinpaugh for the Senators in 1924-25 (although AL MVP rules at the time allowed a player to only win the award once, so Johnson was ineligible in 1925)
Rogers Hornsby and Bob O'Farrell for the Cardinals in 1925-26
Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx for the A's in 1931-32 (Foxx won again in 1933)
Mickey Cochrange and Hank Greenburg for the Tigers in 1934-35
Ernie Lombardi and Bucky Walters and Frank McCormick !!! for the Red in 1938-40
Joe DiMaggio and Joe Gordon and Spud Chandler !!! for the Yankees in 1941-43
Mort Cooper and Stan Musial and Marty Marion !!! for the Cardinals in 1942-44
Phil Rizzuto and Yogi Berra for the Yankees in 1950-51
Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle for the Yankees in 1955-56 (Berra also won in 54, Mantle also won in 57)
Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe in 1955-56
Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard !!! in 1961-63 (Maris also won in 60)
Maury Wills and Sandy Koufax in 1962-63
Orlando Cepeda and Bob Gibson in 1967-68
Johnny Bench and Pete Rose in 1972-73
Joe Morgan and George Foster in 1976-77 (Morgan also won in 75)
Dave Parker and Willie Stargell in 1978-79 (Stargell tied for the award)
Rollie Fingers and Robin Yount in 1981-82
Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez in 1998-99
Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in 2000-01 (Bonds also won from 02-04)
Chase Utley will have a lot of pressure on him next year to get the three-peat.
Also note that this has happened 7 times with the Cy Young.
And lastly on this topic, the Dodgers once had 5 consecutive rookies of the year. I did not confirm, but I assume this is a record
For an award that voters seem to just vote for last years winners, the gold glove had 10 first time winners, by my count. It doesn't mean much, but I thought it was interesting.
Eating in Philly
We spent a lot of time in center city over the weekend, so I thought I'd review some new places we visited.
On Friday night we went to Marathon Grill on 16th & Sansom. The place was not too large, but we had no trouble getting a table. The service was a little slow, but it was a Friday night. The menu sounded really good and I had a tough time deciding. The seafood bisque did not impress me, it was really just some shreded fish, almost like what you'd get out of a can of tuna. I had a turkey BLT with guacamole for dinner. Unfortunately, you couldn't really taste the guacamole, so it was just a BLT. The meal came with a side of potato salad that was good. The beer selection was nothing impressive, I believe a Flying Fish, Yuengling, and one other decent tap I can;t remember. Overall, an ok place, but not one that I'm in a hurry to get back to.
After dinner we went to Lucky Strike to bowl. Again I'd never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was fairly posh for my normal drinking nights. I drank Sam Adams Octoberfest, which isn't my favorite octoberfest, but is still good. The bowling was of course fun, albiet a bit pricy.
On Saturday we started our night with a pre-dinner drink at Zot on Lombard between 2nd and Front Sts. The place is a beer bar, specializing in Belgians. They had 4 beers on tap, Karmeliet Triple, Blanche de Bruxelles, Delirium Tremens and I can't remember the other one. I had the Karmeliet which was very tasty. The wife had some wine, their wine selection didn't look too bad. After dinner we returned here and I had a few other Belgian beers, Gouden, Brugse Zot and of course more Karmeliet. Interesting fact, they run a happy hour with 1/2 priced drafts from 10-midnight. We of course took advantage of this. Overall, the place had a good Belgian beer selection, mostly in bottles, and was not nearly as crowded as a place like Monks or Eulogy (possibly because it is much newer). The food menu looked good, including about 20 kinds of mussels, but we did not eat there.
Between Zot visits, we eat next door at Bistro Romano. The restaurant runs some dinner theaters, although we didn't participate. We were seated downstairs at a booth. We had a bottle of Nero D'Alova which was good, and priced around $30. The wife and I split a smoked mozzarella appetizer which was very good, even though there wasn't much to it besides the cheese. I had a glazed duck for my entree. The portions were very large, and my duck was tasty, although maybe a touch overdone. The only thing I didn't like were the peppercorns. I like when things are flavored with peppercorns, but I hate actually biting into them. The wife had a fusilli pasta dish with chicken and peppers. The toppings were good, but the pasta was way past al dente. Overall it was a good place and other things on the menu looking interesting to try as well.
And to close out the new restaurants post, we got take out from Alex's pizza last night. They are a little hole in the wall pizza place on the corner of Pechin and Leverington. The pizzas are smaller than some, a large fed 2 people well, but not too pricy ($9.50 with 1 topping). The pizza is fairly thin crust, a bit too crispy for my taste. The sauce was ok, could have used some more spices and the cheese was ok, but slightly lacking in quantity. Not a great pizza, but better than most of what you'll find around Manayunk.
On Friday night we went to Marathon Grill on 16th & Sansom. The place was not too large, but we had no trouble getting a table. The service was a little slow, but it was a Friday night. The menu sounded really good and I had a tough time deciding. The seafood bisque did not impress me, it was really just some shreded fish, almost like what you'd get out of a can of tuna. I had a turkey BLT with guacamole for dinner. Unfortunately, you couldn't really taste the guacamole, so it was just a BLT. The meal came with a side of potato salad that was good. The beer selection was nothing impressive, I believe a Flying Fish, Yuengling, and one other decent tap I can;t remember. Overall, an ok place, but not one that I'm in a hurry to get back to.
After dinner we went to Lucky Strike to bowl. Again I'd never been there before, so I didn't know what to expect. It was fairly posh for my normal drinking nights. I drank Sam Adams Octoberfest, which isn't my favorite octoberfest, but is still good. The bowling was of course fun, albiet a bit pricy.
On Saturday we started our night with a pre-dinner drink at Zot on Lombard between 2nd and Front Sts. The place is a beer bar, specializing in Belgians. They had 4 beers on tap, Karmeliet Triple, Blanche de Bruxelles, Delirium Tremens and I can't remember the other one. I had the Karmeliet which was very tasty. The wife had some wine, their wine selection didn't look too bad. After dinner we returned here and I had a few other Belgian beers, Gouden, Brugse Zot and of course more Karmeliet. Interesting fact, they run a happy hour with 1/2 priced drafts from 10-midnight. We of course took advantage of this. Overall, the place had a good Belgian beer selection, mostly in bottles, and was not nearly as crowded as a place like Monks or Eulogy (possibly because it is much newer). The food menu looked good, including about 20 kinds of mussels, but we did not eat there.
Between Zot visits, we eat next door at Bistro Romano. The restaurant runs some dinner theaters, although we didn't participate. We were seated downstairs at a booth. We had a bottle of Nero D'Alova which was good, and priced around $30. The wife and I split a smoked mozzarella appetizer which was very good, even though there wasn't much to it besides the cheese. I had a glazed duck for my entree. The portions were very large, and my duck was tasty, although maybe a touch overdone. The only thing I didn't like were the peppercorns. I like when things are flavored with peppercorns, but I hate actually biting into them. The wife had a fusilli pasta dish with chicken and peppers. The toppings were good, but the pasta was way past al dente. Overall it was a good place and other things on the menu looking interesting to try as well.
And to close out the new restaurants post, we got take out from Alex's pizza last night. They are a little hole in the wall pizza place on the corner of Pechin and Leverington. The pizzas are smaller than some, a large fed 2 people well, but not too pricy ($9.50 with 1 topping). The pizza is fairly thin crust, a bit too crispy for my taste. The sauce was ok, could have used some more spices and the cheese was ok, but slightly lacking in quantity. Not a great pizza, but better than most of what you'll find around Manayunk.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
hockey stats
The NHL has gone through several somewhat major rule changes over the years, which makes it somewhat difficult to compare players and teams across eras. So here's my attempt at rectifying this.
From the beginning of the NHL up to and including the 1998-99 season, points were awarded as follows:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 0 points
Tie - 1 point
This meant that for every game, 2 points were awarded. So the number of points in the standings was (# of teams) * (# of games in the season)
From the 1999-00 season until 2003-04 season, points were awarded as:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Tie - 1 point
The difference is the point for an overtime loss. The idea was that teams were playing for a tie in overtime rather than risk earning nothing, so they gave both teams a point going into overtime, then if someone scored they got another point. What this did was increase the number of points in the standings, making it (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games won in overtime). More than adding points, this also added variation to the number of points each season, leading to different playoff qualifying situtaions each year.
Since 2005-06, the scoring is:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Win in shootout - 2 points
Loss in shootout - 1 points
Ties are eliminated, so every overtime game will yield 3 points. Since shootout wins and overtime wins are identical from a points perspective, I'll just refer to both of these as OT wins. So the number of points in the system is (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games going to overtime). We still have variation and an even larger number of points than the other two settings.
So who was better, the 05-06 Red Wings with 124 points, 01-02 Red Wings with 116 points, or 97-98 Stars with 109 points?? (These are arbitrary comparisons)
One option is to look at the ratio of points earned to the average # of points a team earned in those 3 years.
97-98 teams averaged 82, ratio is 1.33
01-02 teams averaged 86.03, ratio is 1.35
05-06 teams averaged 91.47, ratio is 1.36
We can alternatively look at the number of standard deviations each is away from the mean:
97-98 Stars - 1.71
01-02 Red Wings - 1.995
05-06 Red Wings - 1.976
The 109 points is clearly not quite as impressive, but the 116 and 124 look very close. The ratios are nearly identical, with the 116 being more SDs away from the mean, largely due to the increase in variance in points under the current system. Of course, the evidence is really telling us that 116 in 01-02 is roughly equivalent to 124 in 05-06 (or any year in today's system). So always be weary of comparing team points without acknowledging the system under which it was obtained.
So what does it mean for this season?? Well last year 22.8% of games went to OT. So far a sixth of the way into this season, only 13.9% of games are going to OT. So instead of 2741 points last year, we're on pace for 2631 points, which is only slightly more than we saw in the previous points system. If this keeps up (I don't have game by game data to see if this is possibly a typical early season trend), expect teams to need fewer points to reach the playoffs. Instead of 93.75 (the average in the past 2 years), a team might need only 90.
Of course if Ottawa keeps hogging all the points, things could change.
The other implication of the new system is on goalie stats, but that will need to wait for another post.
From the beginning of the NHL up to and including the 1998-99 season, points were awarded as follows:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 0 points
Tie - 1 point
This meant that for every game, 2 points were awarded. So the number of points in the standings was (# of teams) * (# of games in the season)
From the 1999-00 season until 2003-04 season, points were awarded as:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Tie - 1 point
The difference is the point for an overtime loss. The idea was that teams were playing for a tie in overtime rather than risk earning nothing, so they gave both teams a point going into overtime, then if someone scored they got another point. What this did was increase the number of points in the standings, making it (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games won in overtime). More than adding points, this also added variation to the number of points each season, leading to different playoff qualifying situtaions each year.
Since 2005-06, the scoring is:
Win in regulation - 2 points
Loss in regulation - 0 points
Win in overtime - 2 points
Loss in overtime - 1 points
Win in shootout - 2 points
Loss in shootout - 1 points
Ties are eliminated, so every overtime game will yield 3 points. Since shootout wins and overtime wins are identical from a points perspective, I'll just refer to both of these as OT wins. So the number of points in the system is (# of teams) * (# of games in the season) + (# of games going to overtime). We still have variation and an even larger number of points than the other two settings.
So who was better, the 05-06 Red Wings with 124 points, 01-02 Red Wings with 116 points, or 97-98 Stars with 109 points?? (These are arbitrary comparisons)
One option is to look at the ratio of points earned to the average # of points a team earned in those 3 years.
97-98 teams averaged 82, ratio is 1.33
01-02 teams averaged 86.03, ratio is 1.35
05-06 teams averaged 91.47, ratio is 1.36
We can alternatively look at the number of standard deviations each is away from the mean:
97-98 Stars - 1.71
01-02 Red Wings - 1.995
05-06 Red Wings - 1.976
The 109 points is clearly not quite as impressive, but the 116 and 124 look very close. The ratios are nearly identical, with the 116 being more SDs away from the mean, largely due to the increase in variance in points under the current system. Of course, the evidence is really telling us that 116 in 01-02 is roughly equivalent to 124 in 05-06 (or any year in today's system). So always be weary of comparing team points without acknowledging the system under which it was obtained.
So what does it mean for this season?? Well last year 22.8% of games went to OT. So far a sixth of the way into this season, only 13.9% of games are going to OT. So instead of 2741 points last year, we're on pace for 2631 points, which is only slightly more than we saw in the previous points system. If this keeps up (I don't have game by game data to see if this is possibly a typical early season trend), expect teams to need fewer points to reach the playoffs. Instead of 93.75 (the average in the past 2 years), a team might need only 90.
Of course if Ottawa keeps hogging all the points, things could change.
The other implication of the new system is on goalie stats, but that will need to wait for another post.
At a loss for words
As of yesterday, the writer's guild is officially on strike. While I'm not a person who will automatically side with unions, I am definitely on the writers' side here. The main reason for the strike as I understand it is the negotiations over newer forms of media including internet content. The studios (and probably most management) tends to try and create the rules or carry over old rules when new forms arise. Similar instances occurred when the home video market took off.
The last writers strike was in 1988 and lasted 5 months. I have no idea how long this will last, but hopefully it will be quick.
Supposedly reality shows will be unaffected by the strike, but I hate most reality shows, so this does not bode well for me. Two of my favorite shows, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are already on re-runs. I've read that the Office and Scrubs have a few episodes written that they can shoot, although it must be somewhat confusing for the office when half their stars are also writers. (See this site for more Office discussion). The other rumor is that Scrubs will not have a series finale.
I'm also curious how other shows with continuously running themes such as 24 will handle the strike. Ignoring the fact that the premise of 24 is that a season is 24 episodes, I would imagine that no more than a third of the season is written. If the strike could last until spring, then they might be better off delaying the start of the season (scheduled for January).
I'm guessing movies will be least effected since writing takes place far earlier in the production timeline. Plus if you watch TV and movies you get the impression that Hollywood has billions and billions of scripts floating around.
So I guess I'll be spending the next few months catching up on movies and shows I've missed over the past few years and watching more football and hockey. If anyone has heard info on other shows, please comment.
The last writers strike was in 1988 and lasted 5 months. I have no idea how long this will last, but hopefully it will be quick.
Supposedly reality shows will be unaffected by the strike, but I hate most reality shows, so this does not bode well for me. Two of my favorite shows, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are already on re-runs. I've read that the Office and Scrubs have a few episodes written that they can shoot, although it must be somewhat confusing for the office when half their stars are also writers. (See this site for more Office discussion). The other rumor is that Scrubs will not have a series finale.
I'm also curious how other shows with continuously running themes such as 24 will handle the strike. Ignoring the fact that the premise of 24 is that a season is 24 episodes, I would imagine that no more than a third of the season is written. If the strike could last until spring, then they might be better off delaying the start of the season (scheduled for January).
I'm guessing movies will be least effected since writing takes place far earlier in the production timeline. Plus if you watch TV and movies you get the impression that Hollywood has billions and billions of scripts floating around.
So I guess I'll be spending the next few months catching up on movies and shows I've missed over the past few years and watching more football and hockey. If anyone has heard info on other shows, please comment.
Mad Dog
One of my favorite pitchers of all time, Greg Maddux, re-signed with the Padres for another year. Obviously at 41 he's no longer the pitcher he was in the mid 90s, but he's still a slightly above average start who stays healthy. Since 1988, the fewest starts he's made in a non-strike shortened year was 33!! For comparison's sake, Pedro Martinez has started 33 games 3 times, but thats the most he's ever started.
In fact, as scary as this sounds, if Maddux pitches 3 more seasons and gets 100 starts (I know its a big if, but a pitcher of his style can last), he'll be only 8 starts shy of tying Cy Young.
Since we know he'll pitch in 2008, lets look at some numbers.
He's 7 wins shy of Clemens at 354, which he should get easily (assuming Clemens actually retires). He's 14 shy of Kid Nichols and 16 shy of Spahn. Last year he had 14 wins, so this range is possible.
If he stays healthy, he'll end the season in 4th for all time games started, passing Clemens (they are tied), Carlton and Niekro
He's currently 16th in innings pitched and could pass Clemens, Bobby Mathews (who??) and Blyleven.
He never was much of a strikeout guy, but still sits at 11th all time. He should pass Niekro.
I can't say how long he'll pitch, but I'll be rooting for him.
In fact, as scary as this sounds, if Maddux pitches 3 more seasons and gets 100 starts (I know its a big if, but a pitcher of his style can last), he'll be only 8 starts shy of tying Cy Young.
Since we know he'll pitch in 2008, lets look at some numbers.
He's 7 wins shy of Clemens at 354, which he should get easily (assuming Clemens actually retires). He's 14 shy of Kid Nichols and 16 shy of Spahn. Last year he had 14 wins, so this range is possible.
If he stays healthy, he'll end the season in 4th for all time games started, passing Clemens (they are tied), Carlton and Niekro
He's currently 16th in innings pitched and could pass Clemens, Bobby Mathews (who??) and Blyleven.
He never was much of a strikeout guy, but still sits at 11th all time. He should pass Niekro.
I can't say how long he'll pitch, but I'll be rooting for him.
Monday, November 5, 2007
random thoughts
The Gmail inbox always has a link on top to some random website. The title of the website is related to whatever emails you've recently been reading. These are quite humorous to me, especially when the keywords in the email they read have multiple meanings.
Our neighborhood (Manayunk) has lots of college students and other young adults, so weekend parties are common. Walking around on a Saturday or Sunday morning will show you the evidence of the parties such as beer bottles sometimes with a little beer still in them. Usually the beer is crap, but yesterday I walked by an empty bottle of Flying Dog Dogtoberfest and I smiled.
Daylight savings time ended this past weekend, which gave us an extra hour!! This year the switch was made a week later than usual, but many people had calendars printed before the change was implemented and possibly got confused. My parents very nearly would have missed a flight if I didn't mention it to them. Is the change in DST worth the potential confusion? I say no.
My DVR is set to record a bunch of series, but it won't record them in HD. Even if I set the recording on the HD channel, it will resort to the regular version of that channel. Anybody else encounter this problem?
My office instant message program has a feature where you can select people and invite them to a meeting on the spot. However, if you don't select anybody it will invite everybody in your list, which can be quite long. I just got one of these invites. It doesn't bother me too much, I laugh at it, partially because I committed this error when I started working here.
The Sunday night football game yesterday consisted of the broadcast being "green". This does not mean people wore their Eagles jerseys, but rather that the broadcast was eco-friendly, including the studio being in darkness. Excuse me if I'm not impressed with an event that flies hundreds of people around the country and then turns the lights out. I hate these bullshit, purely symbolic acts.
Our neighborhood (Manayunk) has lots of college students and other young adults, so weekend parties are common. Walking around on a Saturday or Sunday morning will show you the evidence of the parties such as beer bottles sometimes with a little beer still in them. Usually the beer is crap, but yesterday I walked by an empty bottle of Flying Dog Dogtoberfest and I smiled.
Daylight savings time ended this past weekend, which gave us an extra hour!! This year the switch was made a week later than usual, but many people had calendars printed before the change was implemented and possibly got confused. My parents very nearly would have missed a flight if I didn't mention it to them. Is the change in DST worth the potential confusion? I say no.
My DVR is set to record a bunch of series, but it won't record them in HD. Even if I set the recording on the HD channel, it will resort to the regular version of that channel. Anybody else encounter this problem?
My office instant message program has a feature where you can select people and invite them to a meeting on the spot. However, if you don't select anybody it will invite everybody in your list, which can be quite long. I just got one of these invites. It doesn't bother me too much, I laugh at it, partially because I committed this error when I started working here.
The Sunday night football game yesterday consisted of the broadcast being "green". This does not mean people wore their Eagles jerseys, but rather that the broadcast was eco-friendly, including the studio being in darkness. Excuse me if I'm not impressed with an event that flies hundreds of people around the country and then turns the lights out. I hate these bullshit, purely symbolic acts.
When life gives you lemons ...
some people make lemonade.
I make limoncello.
For those unfamiliar, limoncello is an Italian liquor made from lemons (obviously) that is often served (chilled) as an after dinner drink.
I got a recipe from my parents and decided to make some. The process is fairly easy, although zesting lemons can be tiring. I finished it this weekend and had some last night. It was pretty good. I was very worried about the amount of sugar added. I didn't want an overly sweet or overly bitter drink, but it came out very nice. The good news is I have 5 1/4 liters (about 1.3 gallons), so it will last me a long time.
Stop by if you want to try.
I make limoncello.
For those unfamiliar, limoncello is an Italian liquor made from lemons (obviously) that is often served (chilled) as an after dinner drink.
I got a recipe from my parents and decided to make some. The process is fairly easy, although zesting lemons can be tiring. I finished it this weekend and had some last night. It was pretty good. I was very worried about the amount of sugar added. I didn't want an overly sweet or overly bitter drink, but it came out very nice. The good news is I have 5 1/4 liters (about 1.3 gallons), so it will last me a long time.
Stop by if you want to try.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Tennis update
Federer lost to Nalbandian again.
Did I just write that?
Anyway, we're down to 6 as Berdych loses missing out on Nalbandian's gifts and the 8th place holder heading into Paris (Haas) also loses.
Gonzalez can't like Federer going out, but he'll still advance unless Youzhny beats the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final OR Robredo plays the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final.
Robredo is in ok shape. He must win against Baghdatis (who is up 5-3 in the first as I write this). That could be enough, but may not be, we'll see.
Gasquet/Murray - Again these two are paired because the winner will make the semis. If Robredo loses, that will likely be enough, if he wins, they'll need to win another match as well.
Youzhny - Beat Nadal, beat the Robredo/Baghdatis winner, win in the final and he's in.
Baghdatis - Still needs to win, and also needs the Nalbandian/Ferrer winner to advance to the final. Much better chances than yesterday, but not fantastic.
Did I just write that?
Anyway, we're down to 6 as Berdych loses missing out on Nalbandian's gifts and the 8th place holder heading into Paris (Haas) also loses.
Gonzalez can't like Federer going out, but he'll still advance unless Youzhny beats the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final OR Robredo plays the Gasquet/Murray winner in the final.
Robredo is in ok shape. He must win against Baghdatis (who is up 5-3 in the first as I write this). That could be enough, but may not be, we'll see.
Gasquet/Murray - Again these two are paired because the winner will make the semis. If Robredo loses, that will likely be enough, if he wins, they'll need to win another match as well.
Youzhny - Beat Nadal, beat the Robredo/Baghdatis winner, win in the final and he's in.
Baghdatis - Still needs to win, and also needs the Nalbandian/Ferrer winner to advance to the final. Much better chances than yesterday, but not fantastic.
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