BrentKulman

I saw that market the other day when we tried to go to El Loco Pollo for lunch. Sadly, that place is out of business as my wife and I have a craving for their cilantro infused chicken soup. Thanks for checking it out and reporting what you found.

I haven't had the Titan but its on my list to try as I have heard great things about it. Knocked off the Stone's! Must be darn good.

Lambics are meant to be very tart and are definitely an acquired taste. I like some of them but have not yet found a way to enjoy a pure lambic, which has no fruit flavor at all. Lindemann's, however, deviates from the style by producing a relatively sweet (for a Lambic) product. Lambic lovers (of which I am not one) look down their noses at Lindemanns as they view it as the alco-pop of lambics. I'm not taking a position on the debate; just sharing some information.

I went for Brunch there recently based on its high ranking in the City Search reader's poll and would have to concur. Possibly the worst brunch I have ever eaten.

It's going stong in the Carolinas. In Charlotte, we have two homebrew supply stores and the local homebrewing club, Carolina Brewmasters, has well over 100 members and operates a website and message board. Other cities in the two states also have healthy homebrew scenes.

Since there has been some recent talk of Michigan breweries, I am enjoying a Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca right now. I'm not a big fan of witbiers but I picked this up on a recent trip to Orlando and decided to drink it now, even though the weather has turned chilly in North Carolina. Jolly Pumpkin is an artisanal brewery that uses traditional open fermentation techniques and I am looking forward to trying the other two beers they made that I also bought on my trip. I have also been drinking a lot of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale lately. That beer hits all the high points for me.

Grasshopper has been, honestly, a struggle. I'd like to say that it's been great from the outset, but... A few weeks ago, I went in and made a major personnel change in the kitchen and focused all my efforts there in order to right the ship. I'm pleased with the results now and think that we're finally headed in the right direction. Certainly there have been a mistep here and there since then, but I can honestly say that we're doing a good job now. Dishes we were doing poorly have either been fixed or eliminated and the good comments are starting to vastly outnumber the bad. ← I took my family to Grasshopper this past weekend when we were in town for a parent's weekend and we all were very pleased. The server was personable and knowledgeable and each dish was well-received. I particularly enjoyed the seafood curry but the dumplings were also good as was the firecracker shrimp. The vegatable greens were also full of flavor.

Both of those beers are still in the line-up. The consensus has been that the beers remain as good as ever. Thus far, the early concerns about the impact of the takeover have not been realized.

We ate at Machon last night and had an absolutely superb meal. Some of the menu items have changed from Tony's original posting, bu many were familiar. Among the highlights: The mushroom sampler was a huge hit, particularly the duxelles crostini - the rich buttery flavor of the creme fraiche that was spread on top of the bread proved took the flavors of the mushrooms to new heights The oysters were as delicately flavored as any I have ever eaten. I must admit that I usually clobber my oysters with horseradish and hot cocktail sauce. Since there were three, I tried one with the cocktail sauce and one with the lemon granite (which was like a lemon scented broth). For the decisive oyster my fork headed straight to the granite, to my surprise. A new dish, that was not on Tony's posting, was the lamb shank on top of a bed of orzo in a rich creamy sauce that reminded me of grits. And I'm not talking about the Quaker instant grits but old fashioned stone milled grits that have been cooked for an hour with cream that is refreshed each time the liquid cooks off. What a satisfying cooler weather dish. The lamb shank was so enormous I thought of Fred Flintstone eating those dinosaur shanks. We were absulutely full but bravely headed into the desert course where the lemon tart with the homemade marshmallows was the highlight. A spritely combination of sweet and tart flavors that always does the trick for me. Thanks, Tony, for posting here as we would never have known about your restaurant otherwise. Anybody who is seriously interested in food should make Machon a priority when visiting the theme parks at Disney. To miss it would be a real shame.

I have had the same experience and often hesitate to go there when I am in the area for exactly that reason. I have also found that having the right server helps, too. The last time I was there I had a college-aged server and when I asked for "Outside Brown" he looked at me as if I was from Mars. In any event, that meal was one of the off days.

I agree with your viewpoint entirely and like your choice of places. One quibble. Allen & Sons can provide superb BBQ. But whether it is Eastern NC style is up for debate. By my definition, Eastern NC BBQ has to be whole hog and the sauce has to be nothing but vinegar and spice flakes, primarily pepper and certainly not sugar. Allen & Sons cooks shoulders only (which, by my definition, makes it Lexington style) and while I'm not sure whether there is any tomato in the sauce, it is slightly sweet and most assuredly contains melted butter, which makes it unique, I think, but again, not Eastern NC style.

I like the Horn Dog Barleywine and the Gonzo Imperial Porter.

It's been almost 20 years since I lived in Melbourne and used to visit the Yarra Valley wineries from time to time. Two of my favorites at that time were St. Hubert's and Mount Mary. I have no idea whether they are still around or open to visitors - I seem to recall at the time that Mount Mary was not.

Not sure whether the typo pun was intended, but it is adjuncts (corn and rice) that have ruined mass-produced American beers.

For freshly milled grits, the definitive recipe for luscious creamy grits has to be Hoppin John Taylor's. Make them with heavy cream; it's a whole different thing from the usual runny grits. Hoppin John Taylor's Creamy Grits

Well, a pilsner is a type of lager and a stout is a type of ale, but you do have a point. When I think of seasonals, this is roughly how I think of them: Winter - Double stouts and winter warmers Spring - Bocks Summer - Hefeweizens, witbiers and wheat beers Fall - Oktoberfests and Pumpkin Ales

You are in luck, my friend. Head over to the Pioneer Supermarket at 289 Columbus Ave. (between 73rd and 74th) for one of the best beer selections in NYC. A whole aisle is devoted to craft brews and imports in standard bottle sizes. Great selection of most of the top northeastern craft breweries that distribute into NYC - Smuttynose, Victory, Stoudt, etc., along with a number of Eastern European beers to boot. I've seen better selections of British, Belgian and German beers but that is a quibble. You also have a bar with a terrific beer selection, George Keeley's, at 485 Amsterdam Ave. (between 83rd and 84th). Check out this list on tap: George Keeley's beers on tap

I don't care that much for lagers but I will add my endorsement to this recommendation. The Blue Point Toasted Lager is terrific. I'll also heartily endorse the Brooklyn Pilsner, too. While it is not local, keep your eyes peeled for the Victory Prima Pils, which is also available in NYC. If you are interested in some local ales, the Sixpoint Craft Ales are stunningly good. This is a new, small brewery that I believe is destined for greatness if they can make the business end work. (And I know nothing about that end of their business - just a general comment.) Sixpoint Craft Ales

The citrusy hops, mostly. Maybe the bottle you had wasn't the freshest? ...Or maybe it's just not your cup of tea. My own word for the kind of hops flavor that I am drawn to is "zesty" citrus. That might not be descriptive to anybody but me, but it comes to mind when one hoppy beer appeals to me more than another. This was interesting to me also because the citrus seems more lemony than many that we are able to buy. I suppose some might think this beer is too one-dimensional. Has anybody tasted the Mojo IPA? ← That's one hoppy beer you've got there. I generally like hoppy beers but Hazed and Infused was a disappointment to me. I thought it was too unbalanced with hardly any malt presence. While I picked up the lemony flavors you liked, I also got a piney, bitter and resinous quality that I didn't care for. Remember, this beer is supposed to be an American Pale Ale, and I look for more balance than I found here. I also really like a different citrus profile, which I would characterize as more grapefruit than lemony. Some APA's that I really like are: Great Lakes Burning River Smuttynose Shoals Three Floyds Alpha King Poleeko Gold (Anderson Valley)

I was going to suggest an IPA as well, but I see others have beat me to the punch. To be somewhat more authentic (ties to the British Empire and all that), you might consider an English IPA rather than an American. They tend to be less hoppy and a better choice unless your audience is familiar with and enjoys the American IPA style. A handful of recommendations: Fuller's India Pale Ale Samuel Smith's India Ale Bad Elf Pride of Romsey IPA

I had one just last week. Here are my tasting notes: Appearance: Pours a clear golden yellow body with a frothy white head; not a great deal of retention, however, but it does leave some lacing before it disappears Smell: Herbacious and grassy (after a brief bout with the dreaded skunk) with some underlying sweetness Taste: Starts out rather sweet and then a citrus lemony and herbcious flavor joins the party; a bit rough on the back of the tongue with a long solvent aftertaste Mouthfeel: Light and crisp with good carbonation Drinkability: An OK Euro Lager but I just can't get excited about the style Since I really don't care much for Euro pale lagers, particularly those packaged in green bottles, it's hard for me to compare this beer to others. I just don't drink them very often. I don't particularly care for the herbacious aroma and flavor elements and the spartan finish.

Still not sure what you have against BA, but Buffalo Bill's is rated "3.15 - Not recommended" on that site. Out of 89 pumpkin beers, Buffalo Bill's ranks 80th. For comparison, I also checked RateBeer.com, where Buffalo Bill's received an even lower score, a 2.99. I've never tried Buffalo Bill's, so I really cannot comment on it. Anyhow, sorry to hijack your thread so I'll take it back to the Saranac. I'll be at the Charlotte Oktoberfest today and I see the beer is listed on the beer lineup, so I am looking forward to giving it a try and comparing it against some of the other pumpkins that will be there.

I disagree, but that's why they make vanilla and chocolate.

I'm seeing lots of Pumpkin beers in Charlotte, NC at the Total Wine - in fact as you walk in the door there are three or four of them featured, so they must be getting traction outside of the beer geek community. I don't see how you could use pumpkin as a malt substitute as you could not get enough fermentable sugars out of it. I think you would have to use it as an adjunct. I think what may be going on is that as craft beer sales pick up they are being driven by ales rather than lagers and Oktoberfests and bocks are being left behind as beer drinkers explore the wider range of flavors that ales provide.

I agree with Holly. When I was at grad school in Philadelphia in the late 70s, I saw all this first hand. I was stunned by the headlines of this thread, too, as my first reaction was the same as Holly's.