Pipes

I’ve taken on a new hobby in the last 2 years, which has begun to account for much of my time, thought, and internet browsing.  For my birthday in 2008, Lois and some friends were kind enough to give me a nice pipe and some tobacco and supplies.  I enjoyed this pipe for many months, before delving more deeply into the hobby.

The more I read, learn, and smoke, the more I’m beginning to see the similarities between beer and pipe tobacco.  The same curiosity I found with beer, I’ve been finding with pipes.  There is an endless variety of pipe styles, materials, shapes, and tobacco blends.  The blends themselves are described with much of the same vocabulary as beer is (as is wine too, I’m assuming).  And what is more, pipe tobacco can be “cellared” much like beer.

I’m not going to fill up this blog with tobacco reviews and pipe talk.  Though I have been keeping a “tasting” journal, much like when I first started to appreciate beer.  Though I can’t promise I won’t make some pairing suggestions in the future.

And if you also smoke a pipe, please, bring in on the next ride!  As the weather warms up, I’m looking forward to enjoying a nice bowl of latakia under a spring sun!!

Feb 2010 ride recap

This past Saturday about 8 of us rode to the new Yards tasting room.  I woke up to snow falling, and it continued to fall all the way to the Art Museum.  It wasn’t that cold however, and the snow soon ceased, and left us with a rather nice winter day.  We weren’t sure how the paths would be, but it turned out Kelly Dr was clear.  We ended up riding out to the Falls Bridge and back (admittedly, this was mostly to kill time until Yards opened), and then straight over Spring Garden to Yards.

The new tasting room is great, with a large bar, long tables, and several booths.  The food is limited, but cheap and simple.  I only had time for one beer, so I opted for the Old Bart, which is a stellar English style barleywine.  They offered flights, which several of our riders went for.  I couldn’t stick around, but I heard that the tour was awesome, and that the tour guide was hilarious.

All in all, it was a great day and a great ride, though perhaps a bit too short.  Alas, that is the curse of the winter months.  I hope to have some longer rides and longer days in the coming months.

P.S:  Thanks Denine, for taking some pictures!

Mexican Hot Dog

Twice now, I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a nearly perfect bar snack at Cantina Dos Segundos.  Their mexican hot dog is only on the special menu, so I hope it’s not a temporary thing.  Because for $3, you get a grilled hot dog, topped with all sorts of delicious slop, including queso blanco and jalapenos.  Its simple, its messy, and its amazing.  The place itself can be hit or miss, but they have a great happy hour, and with this treat, its worth a visit.

Taco Loco

I’ve been slacking on my meat quest, or at least, in my posting of my accomplishments.  Yesterday I had a chance to check out a food truck that I had been meaning to get to.  I had heard good things about Taco Loco, at 5th and Washington.  In particular, a post over at Salt Pepper Ketchup touted their Cubana Torta.  So naturally, that is what I got.

It was a heck of a sandwich, with a laughable array of pig products.  Roast pork, ham, and a hot dog were topped with a fried egg, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and jalapeno.  It was a huge and messy sandwich, so I didn’t even try to snap a picture.  At $6.50, it’s not a steal, but certainly on par with the price and size of any good sandwich out there.  I’d go back, but I think next time I’ll try a taco.

February 2010 Ride

The ride for this month will take place next Saturday, February 27th.  As usual, we’ll be meeting at the Art Museum.  We’ll meet at 11am for a short (cold and snowy) ride, and end up at Yards Brewery’s new tasting room.  They opened this up recently and I’m really excited to check it out.  See you all then!!

Roller Racing at Triumph

A fellow Beer by Biker is helping organize this event.  It’s at the New Hope location of Triumph, but I think some of you will still be interested.  Go, support a good cause, drink some delicious beer, and have fun!  Its starts around 6pm or so

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=263607168890&ref=ts

Championship Roller Racing*
and Fundraiser
Benefits the Young Survival Coalition**

Wednesday, February 24th

Triumph Brewing Company
400 Union Square
New Hope, PA 18938
215.862.8300

Pizza Lover

I wrote a post for Lois’ site over at LoverMother today.  With thanks to our fellow beer, bike and food lover, Bryan P, for sharing the link, I wrote about my discovery of the perfect pizza dough recipe.  You may enjoy it.  Or you may enjoy the rest of Lois’ posts, pictures and videos about our family and her creative pursuits.  You might even get some ideas for ways to spend your snowy (and bikeless?) days

Jan 2010 Ride recap

I actually missed this month’s ride due to a scheduling conflict.  However thanks to the vigor and diligence of some dedicated beer lovers and bike riders, the ride happened and was quite a success.  I didn’t get the final headcount, but it looks like about 10-12 people rode a fun little loop through Fairmount Park on their way to Dock Street Brewing in West Philly.  While I couldn’t be there, I enjoyed this ride vicariously through pictures:

Pictures are courtesy of Denine over at the Bicycle Chef

Last minute ride plans

Meet at the Art Museum steps this Sat, 1/23, at 11am.  We’ll be doing some riding through the park then head over to Dock St in West Philly

Dec 09 Ride Recap

Man, this was a cold ride.  Temps were in the 20’s, and as soon as I left the house, the wind was fighting.  And it never let up.  We ended up riding out to the General Lafayette Inn, via the Valley Forge trail to Barren Hill Rd on the way there and Forbidden Dr on the way back.

I don’t know if I could imagine a better post-frigid ride setting.  Fireplaces, dark wood, low ceilings, and hand pumped beer.  It really was an oasis.  They had their Sunset Red and an old ale on cask, and they were perfect.  The place got crowded, but we stayed at the bar, had some lunch, and otherwise avoided having to go back out in the cold.

But we did, and made it safely back.  A lucky few of us enjoyed some homemade chili at Chateau Keenan.  This was definitely an epic and enjoyable ride