Churchkey Pilsner. Pint $4
Two Beers Brewing, Seattle WA
My brother drove to this brewing right after picking me up from the airport, lol! I’d never been to it before, but it was really cool. It’s kind of hidden down in the industrial area. The beers were really tasty and the bartender was really cool and cute to boot, hehe.
Evolutionary IPA. Pint $4
Crooked Belgian Wit. Schooner $3
Hints of coriander and citrus peel.
Persnickety Pale. Schooner $3
With authentic Buffalo sauce served with celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing. 3 piece $6.99
Wingmasters Sports Bar, Seattle WA
Mmm, pork wings! They French these pork ribs for easy eating and slather them with your choice of sauce – heaven! This place is around the corner from my bro’s in Ballard so we often head over for food, drinks, and games.
Hefeweizen.
Decorative metal and glass fence, 24th Ave NW.
September 2013. With sweet ‘n hot sauce. 3 pieces $7.59
Looks like the price has gone up since my last visit!
September 2013. Celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing.
A refreshing citrus ale, Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat combines Lost Coast Harvest Wheat with natural tangerine flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts, and finished with Perle hops. ABV 5.0%. $4
Cheeky’s, Palm Springs CA
As you may know, I’m not a huge beer drinker but this was really tasty and refreshing! The tangerine flavor wasn’t overpowering, but it added just enough brightness to make things interesting. Yum!
Napkin ring with silverware.
Red cactus flowers (Cactaceae) at the Joshua Tree National Park visitors center.
There’s usually an occasion to warrant a work dinner for our group, but this time around I think we just wanted to grab some Korean BBQ in Japantown. What?! We don’t have a Korea-town in San Francisco, hehe. I’d never been to this restaurant, but it’s one of those places that’s all-you-can-eat for a set price. Or at least all-you-can-eat when the service feels like refilling your table. I’m not complaining, we had plenty to eat as you will see. Overall, I enjoyed the food and it’s always fun to hang out with my work peeps and their significant others. There were only six of us that night which made it easy to pass along food as they were ready off the central grill (and split the bill, lol)! $23.99 each, beer additional
YakiniQ BBQ, San Francisco CA
The grill is located in the center of the table and it does get dirty throughout the night, but they periodically replace the grill top. At one point, we had too much meat in the center which choked out the flame, so a server had to relight it. Oops! I tried to get a pic of everything we ordered, and I was mostly successful. We kept ordering multiple plates at once so it was a little difficult. You’ll get the general idea of the evening’s dining experience though, hehe!
Prime beef tongue and pork neck meat. I’ve never had pork neck meat before and it was really tender and delicious!
Prime beef tongue on the grill.
Small intestine. You definitely have to use the scissors to cut this and cook it to a crisp!
Honeycomb tripe. Not my favorite, but they taste better with some chili sauce on top.
Marinted short rib (gal-bi) and marinated beef (bul-go-gi) on the grill. Delicious standards.
Spicy chicken.
Beef brisket.
Pork skin. Again, the trick is to grill this to a crisp otherwise there’s no way you can even chew through it!
Garlic butter chicken.
Spicy pork belly.
Steamed egg.
Rice cake wraps.
Dipping sauces.
Banchan. Complimentary
Hite Korean beer. Large bottle $13
Hite beer in a Cass glass beer glass. It was my first time trying this beer and I enjoyed it. It was light and didn’t make me burp as much as other beers, lol!
Extra pale ale, ABV 5.9%, Atlanta, GA.
The Griffon, Charleston SC
This beer was pretty tasty and went down smoothly – I enjoyed it. The bartenders, however, were slow and had negative attitudes. When the bar is as empty as it was, you’d expect faster, friendlier service but the bartenders here didn’t seem to agree. Lame.
Stag hunting trophy covered in dollar bills. Most of the walls, ceilings, and decorations were covered in dollar bills that people write on and leave as a mark of their visit to this bar. I think it’s pretty cool, but perhaps this deer head wouldn’t agree, hehe.
Smoked, spicy pork and beef beer sausage on a French roll with grilled onions, hot peppers, and curry ketchup. $6
Rosamunde Sausage Grill, San Francisco CA
Wow, this thing is greasy as hell but SO delicious! I’m guessing the grease is mostly from the grilled onions but this is a must-have topping on my sausages. I also love that they have curry ketchup. The sausage itself is super flavorful and grilled to perfection!
7×7 Magazine’s The Big Eat San Francisco: 100 Things to Eat + Drink Before You Die – 2010, 2011, 2012
Outside tables at Rosamunde, Mission Street. On a bright, sunny day this is the best seat in the house. I just relax, enjoy my food, and watch the eclectic crowd walk by.
Holland, 5%.
All Bar One, London ENGLAND
We had been walking all day, so we really needed a drink break! This was a cute and clean bar/restaurant on our way to one of the shopping districts. We sat outside and enjoyed the warm sunshine.
Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Walk plaque. This is one of ninety plaques in the 7-mile long circular walking trail commemorating Princess Diana who died in a car accident in 1997.
Our pints of Guinness at various stages of pouring. Mine is the second from the right, a beautiful sight! Lol. Sláinte!
Discounted entrance which included a pint of Guinness €14.50
Guinness Storehouse, Dublin IRELAND
The Guinness Storehouse is purported to be Ireland’s number one visitor attraction, and somehow I believe it. To jumpstart our first full day in Dublin and kick off my friend Kryan’s pre-birthday celebration, we took public transit to this brewery/museum/beer haven! It’s housed in an old historic brick building, but the interior is quite clean, beautiful and spacious.
The central atrium is actually the world’s largest pint glass! Well, shaped like one anyway. If it were filled with Guinness, the seven story tall atrium would hold 14.3 million pints! At the bottom of the atrium, displayed beneath glass, is the 9000 year lease that founder Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 on the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.
The self-guided tour takes you through multimedia displays that explain the brewing process used to make Guinness stout. This projected video shows the harvesting of barley, one of the four natural ingredients used in brewing.
A long sheet of water cascades through the middle of one room. The displays are both interesting and interactive.
Chronology of Guinness. Among the artifacts used in the brewery process are displays like this one which recount the historical events that shaped this global brand.
Copper lid from 1936 which was probably from one of their many brewing tanks.
Old copper brewing tanks/vats. Weave in and out among these large tanks, some of which have been converted to video viewing rooms.
The Guinness Academy pouring station on the 4th floor. We decided to redeem our free pints while learning how to pour the Perfect Pint. This bar/classroom was really cool! They had 4 or 5 of these stations where groups would learn the craft of pouring pints from a Guinness Ambassador (yeah, kinda cheesy but we’re on vacay, ya’ll).
Of course my friend Kryan volunteered to help demonstrate how to pour the Perfect Pint. Well I guess he was the pre-birthday boy! I was a little disappointed that our Ambassador was from Michigan, what!? I would have preferred a native Irishman so I could listen to his cute accent but Michigan-guy was actually really nice and super informative. Some things I learned (which Kryan knew btw): Guinness is a ruby red color, pouring Guinness is a two-step process with waiting involved, aim for the harp when pouring the first round, it matters whether you pull or push the beer tap handle, etc.
My other friend David takes his turn to pour with guidance from our Michigan Ambassador.
After pouring our Perfect Pints, we grabbed a table and happily consumed all 198 calories each, lol! We even got cute certificates declaring us pouring experts.
Gravity Bar sits at the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse and offers 360 degree views of Dublin! It’s a fun relaxed space where seating can become scarce, but everyone seems a little jollier with their pints in front of them.
Kryan recounts his hour of glory as the Guinness Ambassador’s assistant. Sláinte, männliche schlampe! Love you, mean it!
My travel buddies David, Kryan, and Tristen!
Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on our Irish adventure!
And our Guinness Storehouse Experience was topped off with a Susan Boyle sighting, OMG! This lady is tiny! We saw her walk by our table and we had just decided to follow her and ask for a quick photo when a group of feral students mobbed her, ruuude! That’s ok because the following day good ‘ole Suze followed us onto our Dublin Bus Tour. What a stalker, right!?
Light amber in colour with a toasty, hoppy aroma and smooth smokey flavour. Half pint £2
The Harlequin Alehouse & Eatery, London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
Wow, after a long flight from San Francisco and a long layover before boarding for Dublin, I totally needed this! It was pretty good, but I’m no beer expert. I really think the British pound and coversion rates are gonna kill me, lol!
Stone Brewing Company’s (Escondido CA) India Pale Ale beer. $6
Secret Pizza, Las Vegas NV
Beer always tastes great with pizza for some reason! This random pizza joint at The Cosmopolitan is a little tricky to find but you’ll be happy you tried it.
“Bones Brew” amber lager. This beer wasn’t too heavy and tasted great with the barbecue I had for dinner. Pint $2.25
Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, North Charleston SC
Random door, downtown Charleston. I love random doors and windows and will often take photos of them if they look interesting or have an engaging color. This was a really cool door. I’m guessing that it’s some kind of loading dock since it’s above the level of the sidewalk.
A highly hopped, yet still balanced, double IPA. Multiple hop varieties, emphasizing Citra Hops, were used. We’re lovin’ the tropical goodness of this hop variety! 9.7% abv. Seasonal. Coast Brewing Company. $10
Poe’s Tavern, Sullivan’s Island SC
They had a limited quantity in the area of the Boy King beer during this trip so I couldn’t pass it up. I’m no beer expert but this was good – definitely on the hoppier side.
Canon at Fort Moultrie. Didn’t get a chance to check out Fort Sumter, but it was a beautiful day and Fort Moultrie was near Poe’s Tavern so I was able to check out this smaller, older fort.
Vittle Monster 