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John Harvard's Spring '07
Visited John Harvard's in Lake Grove earlier this year for lunch after some late winter skating at Sports Plus next door. Slow service on the bar side of the restaurant, but the food and beer are worth it. This time enjoyed:
Long Island Light - crisp and beery
John Harvard's Pale Ale - a solid and flavorful standard
Antolini Rye Ale - very nice red ale - the rye bite was an unusual twist
Mad Tom Old Ale - cask-conditioned and creamy
Abbey Dubbel - light, with some roasted barley flavor
Cream Stout -- more roasted barley than I like, but a good stout nonetheless
Saturday, April 21, 2007
7:34 PM
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Beer Happenings
Happy Thanksgiving weekend! This always seems to be the time to begin getting caught up on my beer and wines, both tasting and posting (and visiting the boards at RealBeer.com). Let me mention a few fun places I've visited in the past months.
Went out twice to Blue Point in Patchogue this summer, to enjoy the Friday tastings. Blue Point has a friendly little tasting room, some more space out back for the kids to run around, and lots of good beer. While in the neighborhood, we walked up to the Brick House Brewpub for some more beers, dinner and to catch the summer Patchogue street festivals--fun!
Made it to the Black Forest Brew House two weekends for their Octoberfest--always a good time. I've gotta get there more often. The kids enjoy the music, and running around on the grass and patio, too.
In Greensboro, NC a couple weeks ago, visited the Liberty Steak House and Brewpub in High Point with my sister and brother-in-law. Nice big place, very good food and a good array of beer.
Finally, stopped in for a couple hours at Natty Green's in Greensboro--they always have the widest selection of good beer--it's tough to pick a favorite!
Friday, November 24, 2006
11:55 AM
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On Finishing 'Ulysses'
This very name of this blog, "Wandering Rock," comes from one of the chapters in James Joyces's Ulysses. I've been toting around Ulysses, reading a few pages at a time, for years--perhaps as far back as the summer of 1998, when Modern Library named it the best novel of the century. This summer, I finally finished it off. Wow.
For a (very) quick overview of Ulysses, see Ulysses for Dummies, an inspired little cartoon encapsulating each chapter of the novel into one animated gif. It's the early internet at it's best.
I can't say I got a whole lot more than that out of the novel, though. Much of it isn't too tough to read (and the famous final unpunctuated 'Penelope' chapter went surprisingly smoothly), but then you bang up against paragraphis like this:
"INELUCTABLE MODALITY OF THE VISIBLE: AT LEAST THAT IF NO MORE, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read, seaspawn and seawrack, the nearing tide, that rusty boot. Snotgreen, bluesilver, rust: coloured signs. Limits of the diaphane. But he adds: in bodies. Then he was aware of them bodies before of them coloured. How? By knocking his sconce against them, sure. Go easy. Bald he was and a millionaire, maestro di color che sanno. Limit of the diaphane in. Why in? Diaphane, adiaphane. If you can put your five fingers through it, it is a gate, if not a door. Shut your eyes and see."
And that's just the ineluctable modality of the visible. Wait till you get to the ineluctable modality of the invisible!
But some things did come through - Leopold Bloom's kindness, his longing for is dead son, the streets and people and food and life of Dublin, the many turns of phrase like "Shut your eyes and see."
It's a very deep well - no one gets everything out of it the first time....
Sunday, October 29, 2006
7:21 PM
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New Mac In Town
With some funny sounds coming from my nearly five year old iBook hard drive, and it's 15 Gig full all the time, it was time to buy a new home Mac. So here I am with a brand new Mac Mini 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo with 1GB of RAM, a new Samsung SyncMaster 931b monitor and a MacAlly iKeySlim mouse and keyboard combo. Yep, it started right up and just worked.
Things I like from the get-go:
The new Mac's setup utility copied over my old applications and setting from the iBook as part of it's start-up process, via firewire cable - and I was in business.
The remote control, that handles iTunes playback, along with photos, videos and DVDs, makes the monitor into one big iPod screen. And it scrolls fast!
GarageBand--I've got to hook up my electronic piano!
The speed. Well, of course. It's competing against a 600 MHZ G3 with a half-gig of RAM.
But there have been some issues:
I 'authorized' the Mac for my iTunes account, and I can play all my purchased music without a problem from iTunes itself, but for some reason playing purchased songs via the remote still throws up a "you're not authorized" error.
Even with just the stock OS, I've got a lot of programs that need to be updated via Software Update... that takes awhile.
It's hard to get to one of the four USB ports on the Mini - they're all on the back. I use flash drives and I'm used to plugging them in and out quite a bit with the laptop. I've got to remember I have one free on the back of the keyboard!
The keyboard is soft for typing, but not too bad. I like the mouse, but it's motion is a little rough. Perhaps I need to find a better surface/mousemat for it. Nowadays, there are inexpensive wired mice and keyboards, and expensive wireless ones, with no high-end wired systems in between.
Some of my old software just won't work: Word and Excel 2001, and Graphing Calculator, so far. Of course, I still have the laptop!
7:03 PM
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John Harvards
Went to John Harvard's by the Smith Haven Mall a couple times this spring with the family, once while we were out at Stony Brook for ICon, and once when we took Hudson skating at Sports Plus. John Harvard's always has something good brewing, and they do a good job on food as well. I do wish their samplers were more generous -- they provide five beers, while there's often twice that number on tap. And Sam is not a fan of some of the scarier paintings (but there are fewer on the bar side).
Don't have detailed notes, but did enjoy these brews:
Pale Ale (always a favorite)
Double Trouble Bock (nice treat!)
Celtic Red
John Harvard's Nut Brown (malty but good!)
Schwarzbier - smooth, not bitter
Apis Mellifera Honey Brown
Irish Dry Stout (a bit too much roasted barley for my taste)
Sunday, June 04, 2006
5:20 PM
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1986 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico
See, this is what happens when you have kids and leave your wine collection unattended for six or seven years.
This once-probably-quite-good wine is a long time past peak. Although the aroma stayed appealing, a taste last night was cringe-inducing. After letting it breath for a day, and getting it off its sediment, I find it a tart and mildly drinkable. Eliz will have nothing to do with it.
On the plus side, at twenty years, it's the oldest bottle (besides the Ports) in the basement. Maybe I'll have better luck with the '88s.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
9:34 PM
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Pugliese 2000 Sangiovese
Dipping into the wine cellar, I had a moment of despair catching a vinegary aroma when I opened this bottle, but it wound up being quite tasty and smooth. I've got much older Long Island wines down there - wish me luck!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
11:53 AM
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Hanna 2001 Two Ranch Red
A special over at Edel Wine, this Sonoma County Red is the wine of the moment at our house. Very rich and flavorful!
11:50 AM
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Greensboro, Deleware Trip
Went to Greensboro last weekend for my folks' 50th Anniversary!
We had a great dinner with family and friends at Cooper's Ale House, where I enjoyed Carolina Beer's Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale most of the evening, recommended by my brother-in-law.
Also had a chance to stop in at Natty Greene's downtown for a late lunch one day -- a very good variety of brews -- Eliz got a sampler with about 10 different beers!
On the drive back home, I realized a beer lover's dream by having dinner with Eliz and the kids at the famous Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach, DE. We had the RealBeer.com top beer - Dogfish's 90 Minute IPA - along their 60 Minute, Shelter Pale Ale, Raison De Etre, Indian Brown, and Chickory Stout. Good dinner, too.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
3:07 PM
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Beer Mapping Project
Saw this mentioned on RealBeer: BeerMapping.com's Beer Mapping Project - a Google Maps 'mash-up' detailing the locations of breweries and brewpubs across the country. Let's go!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
9:44 AM
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