Rich Pawlak

Doing it now full-time, I'm in agreement with Steven; I'm just not into being a spy; I'd rather eat dinner or lunch or whatever, and take notes if I have to, scrounge a menu if I have to, or read from the detailed receipt if I have to; the skullduggery of some food critics just seems silly, as are the bounties supposedly put up for pics of food critics.

David, Judy is one lucky woman. Steps away from your hotel are two great coffee pastry places, Miel, of course, and, just above Walnut, as James mentions, Bonte, with Belgian waffles from heaven and La Colombe coffee. I'd second the Adolf Biecker recommendation from Katie, although the masseuses at Pierre & Carlo downstairs at The Bellevue are also quite exceptional talents. If you take her to Biecker, then make Sunday brunch ressies at Lacroix, for an extraordinary brunch. Robert Capella is the new chef at the new Le Jardin, and he is an incredible talent. Get there before he gets his annual case of wanderlust. And grab a sexy cocktail at the bar at Barclay Prime next door, a drippingly romantic bar. Jazz at Chris' on Sansom is the real deal, and not overpriced the way Zanzibar sometimes is.

Villotti-Pisanelli. Somewhat convenient in that they didn't have to scrape off all the old lettering on their delivery trucks. Someone mentioned Sarcone's. Who besides Sarcone's uses their rolls? ← Frusco's at 7220 Frankford Ave, a just a few blocks north of the Grey Lodge Pub, makes a fine cheesesteak and uses Sarcone's rolls, but for a $1 surcharge. Why, I dont know.

You can ship it UPS, which is easier; I have done it with cases of beer from Colorado after attending the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. All you really need to do is stuff the case with lots of newspaper to prevent bottle movement, and seal the case(s) prodigiously with good packing tape on every possible seam of the box.

I LOVE these joke posts!

PIZZA CLUB is open to anyone!

Denver's legendary Wynkoop Brewing Company has launched its annual search for the nation's most passionate beer drinker. The brewpubs's 2005 Beerdrinker of the Year search is underway. The three finalists in the search win an all-expenses paid trip to Denver, where they will be grilled by a panel of the nation's best beer minds. The winner wins free beer for life at the Wynkoop, $100 in beer from their home brewpub, and the lofty acclaim that comes with the Beerdrinker of the Year title. John Marioni, the pride of Bothell, WA won the 2004 Beerdrinker of the Year award. For those of you who are interested, resumes must be in by December 31, 2004. The contest is open to beer fiends in all 50 states of the USA. Ray McCoy and Cornelia Corey, previous winners of the coveted award, who have joined us here previously for a spirited Q&A, can hopefully offer advice and suggestions on composing one's resume and other helpful tips. The 2005 Beerdrinker finals are February 26, 2005, at the Wynkoop Brewpub in Denver. You have been duly warned.

And while you're in Princeton: Chuck's for legendary hot wings; Conte's for pizza; The Ferry House, a hip BYOB with an obsession with mushrooms; PJ's Pancake House, for, well, pancakes Qetzal, in Trenton's Chambersburg section for Guatamalan cuisine; Rossi's Tavern, also in Chambersburg, for its legendary burgers and homemade potato chips; Top Road Tavern, in Trenton, for its odd retro vibe and excellent tomato pies (see PA Forum, Pizza Club, pg 13).

My favorite time of the year! Festbiers, followed quickly by pumpkin ales and winter seasonals. It's nioce to try beers that dont rely on heavy hopping for their flavor, eh?

The website has to be dated, Bob; I know I've seen both flamenkuche and choucroute on the Caribou menu recently, and I would take a chance and ask Chef Olivier about it, if indeed the menu has changed since my last visit, which was in August.

Caribou Cafe at 12th and Walnut nails the brasserie ouvre very well, with good wines, beers and spot-on food, including, coincidentally, Alsatian dishes, owing to the birthplace of owner/chef Olivier de St. Martin. he'sa stickler for a good flamenkuche.

Klausthaler is decently drinkable when I have tried it.

Here is the list of Great American Beer Festival winners for the just concluded 2004 gathering in Denver this past weekend. As a side note, I am endlessly fascinated by the creativity displayed in some of the beer names, alwasy worth a good chuckle. My favorite this year: "The Legend of the Liquid Brain", from the Bull & Bush Brewery in Denver. To wit: Great American Beer Festival Awards 2004 Category: 1 Non-Alcoholic (Beer) Malt Beverage-5 Entries Gold: Old Milwaukee NA, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Silver: Coors NA, Coors Brewing Company, Golden, CO Bronze: Odoul's Amber, Anheuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis, MO Category: 2 American Lager/Ale or Cream Ale-23 Entries Gold: Red Dog, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI Silver: Special Export, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Bronze: Genesee Cream Ale, High Falls Brewing Company, Rochester, NY Category: 3 American-Style Wheat Beer-20 Entries Gold: Summer Solstice Wheat, Chelsea Brewing Company, New York, NY Silver: Bullfrog Ale, Issaquah Brewhouse-Rogue Ales, Issaquah, WA Bronze: Shiner Winter Ale, The Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX Category: 4 American-Style Hefeweizen-25 Entries Gold: Hefeweizen, Pyramid Ales & Lagers, Seattle, WA Silver: American Wheat, Upstream Brewing Company, Omaha, NE Bronze: Mueller Unfiltered Wheat, Springfield Brewing Company, Springfield, MO Category: 5 Fruit and Vegetable Beer-36 Entries Gold: Raspberry Tart, New Glarus Brewing Company , New Glarus, WI Silver: Chile Beer, Six Rivers Brewery, McKinleyville, CA Bronze: Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Chippewa Falls, WI Category: 6 Herb and Spice Beer-49 Entries Gold: Somer Gras Citrus Ale, Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver, CO Silver: Heather Ale, Amherst Brewing Company, Amherst, MA Bronze: Santa's Lil' Helper, Newport Beach Brewing Company, Newport Beach, CA Category: 7 Coffee Flavored Beer-18 Entries Gold: "Cup of Mud" Java Porter, Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant, Topeka, KS Silver: Cup of Joe, CJ's Brewery & Grill, La Jolla, CA Bronze: Double Espresso Stout, Barley Brothers Brewery & Grill, Lake Havasu City, AZ Category: 8 Specialty Beer-13 Entries Gold: Dubbel Down Brown, Santa Barbara Brewing Company, Santa Barbara, CA Silver: Morimoto Soba Ale, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR Bronze: Maple Wheaten, Pyramid Ales & Lagers, Seattle, WA Category: 9 Rye Beer-12 Entries Gold: Rye On, Chama River Brewing Company, Albuquerque, NM Silver: Roggenbier, Rock Bottom Brewery-Des Moines, West Des Moines, IA Bronze: Right on Rye, Rock Bottom Brewery-Bethesda, Bethesda, MD Category: 10 Specialty Honey Lager or Ale-20 Entries Gold: Midas Touch, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE Silver: Thunderstorm, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN Bronze: Orange Blossom Pilsner, Unique Beers, Orlando, FL Category: 11 Experimental Beer-29 Entries Gold: Samuel Adams Millennium, Boston Beer Company, Boston, MA Silver: Benevolence, Cambridge Brewing Company, Cambridge, MA Bronze: Palm Island Porter, Big Horn Brewing Co. @ The Ram 1, Tacoma, WA Category: 12 Wood- and Barrel-Aged Beer-47 Entries Gold: New Glarus Brown Ale, New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI Silver: 2002 Casked Barley Wine, Schooner's Grille & Brewery, Antioch, CA Bronze: Bourbon Russian, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant #2, Wilmington, DE Category: 13 Beer With Yeast-8 Entries Gold: Triumph Kellerbier, Triumph Brewing Company of New Hope, New Hope, PA Silver: Moonmen, SandLot Brewery at Coors Field, Denver, CO Bronze: The Detroit Dwarf, Detroit Beer Company, Detroit, MI Category: 14 Smoke-Flavored Beer-19 Entries Gold: O'Fallon Smoked Porter, O'Fallon Brewery, O'Fallon, MO Silver: Triumph Rauchbier, Triumph Brewing Company of Princeton, Princeton, NJ Bronze: Alaskan Smoked Porter, Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, AK Category: 15 German-Style Pilsener-37 Entries Gold: Provo Girl Pilsner, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT Silver: Ptarmigan Pilsner, Backcountry Brewery, Frisco, CO Bronze: Sierra Nevada Summerfest, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA Category: 16 Bohemian-Style Pilsener-29 Entries Gold: Gordon Biersch Czech Lager, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Chattanooga, TN Silver: Pallavicini Pilsner, Pug Ryans Brewery, Dillon, CO Bronze: La Plata Pils, Carver Brewing Company, Durango, CO Category: 17 Münchner-Style Helles-25 Entries Gold: B.S. Helles, SandLot Brewery at Coors Field, Denver, CO Silver: Helles, The Cowboy Restaurant & Brewery, Scottsdale, AZ Bronze: Augsburger Golden, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI Category: 18 European-Style Pilsener-25 Entries Gold: Mueller Lager, Springfield Brewing Company, Springfield, MO Silver: Pilsner 500, Prescott Brewing Company, Prescott, AZ Bronze: Herman Brau, SandLot Brewery at Coors Field, Denver, CO Category: 19 American-Style Light Lager-33 Entries Gold: Rainier Light, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Silver: Old Milwaukee Light, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Bronze: Michelob Light, Anheuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis, MO Category: 20 American-Style "Light" Amber Lager-9 Entries Gold: MoJo Lager, Starr Hill, Charlottesville, VA Silver: Henry Weinhard Amber Light, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI Bronze: Coastal Light Pale, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA Category: 21 American-Style Lager-14 Entries Gold: Old Milwaukee, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Silver: Milwaukee's Best, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI Bronze: Schlitz, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Category: 22 American-Style Premium Lager-14 Entries Gold: Coors Original, Coors Brewing Company, Golden, CO Silver: Miller High Life, Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI Bronze: Pabst Blue Ribbon, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Category: 23 American-Style Specialty Lager-19 Entries Gold: Samurai Malt Liquor, Rock Bottom Brewery-Long Beach, Long Beach, CA Silver: Schlitz Malt Liquor, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Bronze: St. Ides Malt Liquor, Pabst Brewing Company, San Antonio, TX Category: 24 Vienna-Style Lager-25 Entries Gold: Genesee Red Lager, High Falls Brewing Company, Rochester, NY Silver: Schild brau Amber, Millstream Brewing Company, Amana, IA Bronze: Vienna Lager, Squatters Pub Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT Category: 25 German-Style Märzen/Oktoberfest-52 Entries Gold: Oktoberfest, Sprecher Brewing Company, Glendale, WI Silver: Octfest, Old Dominion Brewing Company, Ashburn, VA Bronze: Oktoberfest, Stoudt's Brewing Company, Adamstown, PA Category: 26 American-Style Amber Lager-31 Entries Gold: Old Scratch, Flying Dog Brewery, Denver, CO Silver: Extreme Amber, BJ's Restaurant & Brewery-Woodland Hills/Oxnard, Huntington Beach, CA Bronze: UBER BRAU, Big Horn Brewing Co. @ Humperdink's, Addison, TX Category: 27 European-Style Dark/Münchner Dunkel-21 Entries Gold: Dunkles Bock, Boundary Bay Brewery, Bellingham, WA Silver: Dark Munich Lager, Rock Bottom Brewery-Desert Ridge, Phoenix, AZ Bronze: Penn Dark, Pennsylvania Brewing Company, Pittsburgh, PA Category: 28 American-Style Dark Lager-9 Entries Gold: Beau Rivage Bock, Coast Brewing Company/Beau Rivage Resort, Biloxi, MS Silver: Michelob Amber Bock, Anheuser-Busch Inc., St. Louis, MO Bronze: Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Chippewa Falls, WI Category: 29 German-Style Schwarzbier-28 Entries Gold: Black Forest Schwarzbier, Squatters Pub Brewery, Salt Lake City, UT Silver: Kings Peak, Uinta Brewing Company, Salt Lake City, UT Bronze: Goose Island Schwarzbier, Goose Island Beer Company, Chicago, IL Category: 30 Bock-15 Entries Gold: Butt Head Bock, Tommyknocker Brewery, Idaho Springs, CO Silver: Hops 15th Anniversary Bock, Hops Grillhouse and Brewery, Madison, GA Bronze: Mai Bock, Sprecher Brewing Company, Glendale, WI Category: 31 German-Style Strong Bock-20 Entries Gold: Capital Autumnal Fire, Capital Brewery Company, Inc., Middleton, WI Silver: Broken Keg Ice Bock, Port Brewing Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA Bronze: Eisbock, New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI Category: 32 Golden or Blonde Ale-38 Entries Gold: All Nighter, Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV Silver: Mother Lode Golden, Laurelwood Public House & Brewery, Portland, OR Bronze: Big Horn Blonde, Big Horn Brewing Co. @ The Ram 2, Wheeling, IL Category: 33 German-Style Kölsch/Köln-Style Kölsch-36 Entries Gold: Guido's Kolnerbrau, Snake River Brewing Company, Jackson, WY Silver: Biloxi Blonde, Coast Brewing Company/Beau Rivage Resort, Biloxi, MS Bronze: Mammoth Gold, Mammoth Brewing Company, Mammoth Lakes, CA Category: 34 Classic English-Style Pale Ale-22 Entries Gold: Starr Hill Pale Ale, Starr Hill, Charlottesville, VA Silver: Millennium Ale, Coast Brewing Company/Beau Rivage Resort, Biloxi, MS Bronze: Pitchfork Pale Ale, Jarre Creek Ranch Restaurant and Brewing Company, Castle Rock, CO Category: 35 English-Style Summer Ale-26 Entries Gold: Cascade Golden Ale, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR Silver: Chasing Tail Ale, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT Bronze: Surfer's Summer Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR Category: 36 English-Style India Pale Ale-26 Entries Gold: Squatters India Pale Ale, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT Silver: Goose Island India Pale Ale, Goose Island Beer Company, Chicago, IL Bronze: Newcomb's IPA, McCoy's Public House and Brew Kitchen, Kansas City, MO Category: 37 American-Style Pale Ale-74 Entries Gold: Duckdive Pale Ale, Bill's Tavern & Brewhouse, Cannon Beach, OR Silver: New River Pale Ale, New River Brewing Company, Atlanta, GA Bronze: Dillon DAM Extra Pale Ale, Dillon DAM Brewery, Dillon, CO Category: 38 American-Style Strong Pale Ale-37 Entries Gold: Avery India Pale Ale, Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO Silver: Boss IPA, Laurelwood Public House & Brewery, Portland, OR Bronze: Fairweather IPA, Moose's Tooth Brewing Company, Anchorage, AK Category: 39 American-Style India Pale Ale-93 Entries Gold: India Pelican Ale, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR Silver: Wipeout IPA, Port Brewing Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA Bronze: IPA, Schooner's Grille & Brewery, Antioch, CA Category: 40 Imperial or Double India Pale Ale-48 Entries Gold: DoHeny Double IPA, Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, CA Silver: Frank Double IPA, Port Brewing Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA Bronze: Pliny the Elder, Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, CA Category: 41 American-Style Amber/Red Ale-67 Entries Gold: Hoptown Paint the Town Red, Hoptown Brewing Company, Pleasanton, CA Silver: Red Nectar, Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA Bronze: Arch Amber, Angelic Brewing Company, Madison, WI Category: 42 Imperial or Double Red Ale-19 Entries Gold: Hop Whompus, Oggi's Pizza and Brewing Company, San Clemente, CA Silver: Hog Heaven, Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO Bronze: Shark Attack, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA Category: 43 Bitter-29 Entries Gold: Drop Top Amber, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR Silver: Buckin' Bitter, Bottoms Up Brewing Company, Pinedale, WY Bronze: Sunnyside Pale Ale, Snipes Mountain Brewing, Inc., Sunnyside, WA Category: 44 Extra Special Bitter or Strong Bitter-41 Entries Gold: The Wise ESB, Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, WA Silver: Alaskan ESB, Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau, AK Bronze: Bachelor ESB, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR Category: 45 Scottish-Style Ale-20 Entries Gold: Smokin Scottish Ale, Calhoun's Restaurant & Brewing Company of Harrisonburg, VA, Harrisonburg, VA Silver: Hope & King Scotch Ale, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN Bronze: Charlie's Barley, Ham's Restaurant & Brewhouse, Greenville, NC Category: 46 Irish-Style Red Ale-26 Entries Gold: Fountain City Amber, 75th Street Brewery, Kansas City, MO Silver: McIlhenney's Irish Red, Alpine Beer Company, Alpine, CA Bronze: Casco Bay Riptide Red Ale, Casco Bay Brewing Company, Portland, ME Category: 47 English-Style Brown Ale-42 Entries Gold: Buster Nut Brown, SKA Brewing Company, Durango, CO Silver: Nut Brown Ale, Island Brewing Company, Carpinteria, CA Bronze: Nut Brown Ale, Long Valley Pub and Brewery, Long Valley, NJ Category: 48 American-Style Brown Ale-37 Entries Gold: Bitch Creek ESB, Grand Teton Brewing Company, Victor, ID Silver: Bearcat Brown Ale, Big Horn Brewing Co. @ The Ram 1, Tacoma, WA Bronze: Slow Down Brown, Il Vicino Brewing Company, Albuquerque, NM Category: 49 German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier-26 Entries Gold: Alt, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR Silver: Four Alarm Alt, Pumphouse Brewery & Restaurant, Longmont, CO Bronze: Otis Alt, Elk Grove Brewery & Restaurant, Elk Grove, CA Category: 50 South German-Style Hefeweizen/Hefeweissbier-55 Entries Gold: Hefeweizen, Yazoo Brewing Company, Nashville, TN Silver: Weathervane Weissbier, Jarre Creek Ranch Restaurant and Brewing Company, Castle Rock, CO Bronze: Liquid X, Rock Bottom Brewery-Bethesda, Bethesda, MD Category: 51 German-Style Wheat Ale-17 Entries Gold: CBC Ultimate Weiss, Chicago Brewing Company, Las Vegas, NV Silver: Nodding Head Berliner Weisse, Nodding Head Brewing Company, Philadelphia, PA Bronze: Wasatch Hefeweizen, Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT Category: 52 Belgian-Style White (or Wit)/Belgian-Style Wheat-34 Entries Gold: Nit Wit, BJ's Restaurant & Brewery-Boulder/Chandler/Clear Lake, Huntington Beach, CA Silver: Katerina Wit, Main Street Brewery Lamppost Pizza, Corona, CA Bronze: Celis White, Michigan Brewing Company, Webberville, MI Category: 53 French- and Belgian-Style Saison-21 Entries Gold: Cave Aged Hennepin, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY Silver: Saison de Carbs, Rio Salado Brewing Company, Inc., Tempe, AZ Bronze: Farm House Reserve, Fitgers Brewhouse, Duluth, MN Category: 54 Belgian- and French-Style Ale-15 Entries Gold: Oro De Calabaza, Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, Dexter, MI Silver: Grand Cru, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery, Minneapolis, MN Bronze: Bavay, McKenzie Brew House, Glen Mills, PA Category: 55 Belgian-Style Sour Ale-18 Entries Gold: Le Woody, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA Silver: Southampton Belgian Red Ale, Southampton Publick House, Southampton, NY Bronze: Sour Prick, Bitter End Bistro & Brewery, Austin, TX Category: 56 Belgian-Style Abbey Ale-38 Entries Gold: Abbey Belgian Style Ale, New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO Silver: Bishop's Tipple Trippel, Main Street Brewery Lamppost Pizza, Corona, CA Bronze: Tripel, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant #1, Wilmington, DE Category: 57 Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale-27 Entries Gold: Sterk Wit, The Alchemist, Waterbury, VT Silver: Damnation, Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, CA Bronze: Cuvee De Tomme, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA Category: 58 Robust Porter-48 Entries Gold: Snipes Porter, Snipes Mountain Brewing, Inc., Sunnyside, WA Silver: Black Sand Porter, Kona Brewing Company, Kailua-Kona, HI Bronze: Edmund Fitzgerald, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH Category: 59 Brown Porter-41 Entries Gold: Pete Brown Tribute Ale, Bear Republic Brewing Co., Inc., Healdsburg, CA Silver: St. Charles Porter, Blackstone Restaurant & Brewery, Nashville, TN Bronze: Pyramid Porter, Pyramid Ales & Lagers, Seattle, WA Category: 60 Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout-25 Entries Gold: Seaside Stout, Pizza Port Solana Beach, Solana Beach, CA Silver: Boulevard Dry Stout, Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO Bronze: Blarney Sister's Dry Irish Stout, Third Street Aleworks, Santa Rosa, CA Category: 61 Foreign (Export)-Style Stout-32 Entries Gold: Custer's Last Stout, Montana Brewing Company, Billings, MT Silver: Tsunami Stout, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR Bronze: Obsidian Stout, Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR Category: 62 British Stout-49 Entries Gold: Snowplow Milk Stout, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Portland, OR Silver: Oatmeal Stout X, Rock Bottom Brewery-Long Beach, Long Beach, CA Bronze: Barney Flats, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Booneville, CA Category: 63 Imperial Stout-43 Entries Gold: First Date Stout, Steelhead Brewing Company-Burlingame, Burlingame, CA Silver: Imperial Stout, Silver City Brewing Company, Silverdale, WA Bronze: The Legend of the Liquid Brain, Bull & Bush Brewery, Denver, CO Category: 64 Strong Scotch Ale-23 Entries Gold: Scotch Ale, Sprecher Brewing Company, Glendale, WI Silver: Founders Margarets Scotch Ale, Founders Restaurant & Brewing Company, Alexandria, VA Bronze: AleSmith Wee Heavy, AleSmith Brewing Company, San Diego, CA Category: 65 Old Ale/Strong Ale-31 Entries Gold: Fat Tuesday Strong Ale, Redfish New Orleans Brewhouse, Boulder, CO Silver: XXX Exultation, Eel River Brewing Company, Fortuna, CA Bronze: Freeride, Big Horn Brewing Co. @ The Ram 1, Tacoma, WA Category: 66 Other Strong Ale or Lager-26 Entries Gold: Dragonstooth Stout, Elysian Brewing Company, Seattle, WA Silver: Roggenbock, Il Vicino Brewing Company, Albuquerque, NM Bronze: Small Craft, Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD Category: 67 Barley Wine-Style Ale-37 Entries Gold: Big Woody, Glacier Brewhouse, Anchorage, AK Silver: Old Bounder, Boundary Bay Brewery, Bellingham, WA Bronze: Old Crustacean, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR 2004 Great American Beer Festival Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards: Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year: Miller Brewing Company Dr. David S. Ryder Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year: Widmer Brothers Brewing Kurt Widmer Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year: Sprecher Brewing Company Craig Burge Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year: Elysian Brewery & Public House Dick Cantwell Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year: Pizza Port Solana Beach Tomme Arthur

Ate at The Inn at Phillips Mill last week, drippingly romantic, and astonishingly inexpensive. Classic dishes, like Crab Louis salad (outstanding) and Coquilles St Jacques (very good) were a nice break from trendenista food. Ask for a table upstairs or on the enclosed patio, but really, every table is beautiful. Manon in Lambertville is also, to me, very very romantic and small and gently Gallic, with very good food.

1. Michelob Ultra, followed quickly by 2. Aspen Edge ("Coors Master Brewers" my ass!) 3. Busch 4. Old Milwaukee 5. Keystone

Capital Grille, from apps to meat to dessert, is far better than the Palm will ever be. Or The Prime Rib. And their wine list embrasses the previous two, and Smith and Wollensky, too. Do not omit the spicy calamari appetizer from your meal.

While you're galavanting around the city post-Xmas, stop into McGillin's Old Ale House 1310 Drury Lane, the oldest continually operated tavern in the city (1860), second oldest in the country to that dirty dive, McSorley's, in NYC. Once inside, grab a beer from local breweries like Yards (their ESA) or Victory (their Hop Devil, Fest and Storm King positively rock), or NJ's Flying Fish (especially if their Porter or Grand Cru are on tap) , almost always on tap at McGillin's. To really dive into the local beer scene, I would also recommend a stop into the Nodding Head brewpub, 1535 Sansom St, to drink from one of only two actual brewpubs in the city limits.very good stuff there, especially the Grog, a nice brown ale.

And we're ALL invited to the soft opening, yes? No pun intended.

Buona Fortuna, Craig; I have learned so much about wine from you, you can't even imagine. I owe my love of Pugliese wines to you. And so much more. And thanks for having faith in me to host the Beer Forum.

The Whistlers Inn on Rte 130 in Cinnaminson is doing an Oktoberfest the entire month of October, with true festbiers on tap and in bottle (including New Jersey's own Flying Fish Oktoberfish, a VERY fine brew), as well as German food to accompany the quite tasty BBQ that the place regularly offers. Javing chatted with their operations manager recently, I'm planning a trip over there post haste this weekend!

I have similar plans, for an extended, long weekend. I would love several knockout restaurant ideas, cheap to expensive, as well as a lunch or two, and definitely some suggestions for must-do, indiginous Washington eats, similar to cheesesteaks and hoagies in Philadelphia.

This is from a steak-obsessed friend in Spring Lake: The best steaks in NJ consistantly is : Brennen's Steak House (No web site) Address: 62 W Sylvania Ave, Neptune, NJ 07753 Phone: (732) 774-5040 I've been hearing a lot about this place, but just havent made the effort to visit.

Marigold was one of my favorite places to eat off campus during my college days at Penn and afterward. One of the very first places I remember taking a bottle of wine and doing the BYOB thing. I even mentioned it in my first piece for STYLE magazine. I really loved their meatloaf, too, Holly, and the chicken fricasee. I'm now dying to see what they do with the place.

I dont think its open yet.