I went back up to Amherst again this past weekend to visit Ian one last time before he wraps up at UMass. Seeing a friend is nice, but the big draws were the chicken wings at the Hanger and the brewing perfection at the Amherst Brewing Company.
This place is a restaurant/brewery in downtown Amherst (famous for Emily Dickinson). They serve food there, but really, a person should not waste money on solids here and should stick to drinking their calories. I can’t speak enough praise of this place and their brewmaster’s skills. Over two Amherst trips (and 4 or 5 trips to ABC?), I’ve tried every regular beer and a good number of seasonals. Without a doubt, every beer is fantastic and often the best I’ve ever had in that particular class.
7 standards: pilsner, pale ale, IPA, ESB, brown, porter, stout
Ian and I enjoying some pumpkin ale. the best pumpkin ale ever obviously!
Harrison knows beer and water are all you need. Well, beer is at least. I don’t really know what a “Seeing Crooked Inciner B.B.C.”. Anyone?
Crooked Antler Pumpkin Ale close up and Ian’s busted cell phone.
Ian’s going back to Hawaii at the end of the year and I’ll miss going up the western Mass and drinking beer here. But, this place really left an impact on me and you might see me opening up something like this on the west coast at some point during my life 
With that said, Moore Beers starts its first batch in December, after I get back from my 2 week California turkey trip.
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Published by Matt in Humor on November 18th, 2008
Published by Matt in Culture on November 16th, 2008
The Muscles from Brussels is back. How did this sneak under the radar and open last Friday with such little fanfare??
JCVD Trailer
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Published by Matt in Culture, Food on November 14th, 2008
It is with great pleasure that I present to you the Mobile Fried Chicken truck.
This truck is located deep in the Financial district, right next to a couple of client buildings I work at from time to time. It seems like everytime I’m down there with a camera, the truck is truly in its mobile state and is far from its normal turf. However, now that I am a smartphone owner, I was lucky enough to capture the truck in all its glory. My coworkers looked on in confusion as I snapped this pick and reveled in the satisfaction of a goal completed.
Next on my list: eat the mobile fried chicken.
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Published by Matt in Culture on November 11th, 2008
Today is a monumental day, not because it’s Veteran’s Day, but because today marks the birth of one of the music industry’s most epic heroes: Jim Peterik of Survivor! I’m not sure how old he is, but I do know that some sides of beef need to be devastated with some fists anytime you hear Eye of the Tiger. Here are some lyrics for inspiration and check out the vid below!
Risin’ up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I’m back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive
Chorus:
It’s the eye of the tiger, it’s the cream of the fight
Risin’ up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he’s watchin’ us all in the eye of the tiger
Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry
They stack the odds ’til we take to the street
For we kill with the skill to survive
Live Eye of the Tiger
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Published by Matt in Activities, Food on November 10th, 2008
One of my friends who made the move from the OC last year to this part of the world was nice enough to invite Audrey and I to a taping of a new Food Network show. The cool part is that it was at Haru, a pretty legit sushi restaurant in the financial district. That meant free fish and sake, all for signing a waiver and having our faces shot for an hour and a half. Whatever…I’ve done far worse for free food before.
This man was prepared to make a mean ball of rice and defend the raw fish from the ravenous crowd.
A beautiful arrangement of the carcass remains from the night
Audrey was so happy she could kiss a fish
As for the show, we don’t know what it’s called, but we do know the host is the guy who got second place in their “Next Food Network Star” show or whatever it’s called. This episode should show at some point in the spring, but who knows if Audrey and I will make the final cut.
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Published by Matt in Food on November 3rd, 2008
So one of those things you hear about New York is how great the hot dogs are. Central Park + Hot Dogs = Tubed Meat Bliss…right? Well I had yet to be impressed, so I went to what everyone claims is the epic win of NYC hot dogs, Gray’s Papaya.
They have this meal called the Recession Special, which gives you two wieners and a cup of some juice/sugary-frothy liquid for under $5! Sounds great!
Unfortunately, these sausages had a pretty limited girth and were pretty dried up and wrinkled. Not too appealing. The papaya juice I got tasted like a Crystal Light smoothie and was generally pretty gross. Damn it New York, you’re making a Costco hot dog look like the Cadillac of seasoned meat purees.
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I love freakshows more than pretty much anything. The Halloween Parade in the West Village is about the biggest freakshow you can find, so I was pretty stoked to go the other night.
Much fun was had with tens of thousands of New Yorkers and of course the NYPD was there to shut down streets and generally impede on the fun that was to be had keep us safe from ourselves!
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Published by Matt in Activities, Culture on October 31st, 2008
Yoda Pug says “Have a happy Halloween you will!” I’ll be at the West Village Halloween parade this evening, which is supposed to be a real crazy time.
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Published by Matt in General on October 29th, 2008
Finally the music videos have returned! Yes, it’s online, but MTV Music makes me smile. If this doesn’t get you excited, you might be dead, or just hate hair metal:
Guns N’ Roses |MTV Music
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