Tavern

I headed over to Tavern in the Square last night to hang with my friends from Brookstone, after stopping in at the store to see who was working. I got to hang out with Tommy, Nick and Kevin for a bit (walking into the store was like visiting one's old elementary school classroom while in high school - it looked a LOT smaller than I remembered). Then at 6:30 it was over to the restaurant.

Mike & Cody were in the parking lot, so the three of us went in, grabbed two booths (we wound up only needing one, but better safe than sorry), and had a round and two appetizers between us. We got cheese & bacon waffle fries and a calamari to share, and I got a tall Harpoon IPA.

The other guys arrived an hour later and we all got dinner and hung out until around ten. What a good time. I missed that group of guys, and I can't believe it'd been six months since we all got to hang out. I plan to make it more frequent. Side note: the staff of the Burlington location was top-notch.

Dinner menu: I had the Cowboy Burger (cheddar, apple smoked bacon, BBQ sauce and onion fries) medium well with french fries and a Cisco Grey Lady. What a good beer! Oddly spicy, and I didn't finish it, but I plan on getting it again soon, most likely when I head down to the lake.

MQ 2014 - One: Gap Mountain

It was a sunny dry day, in the low 50's as I drove up to Troy, NH to hike Gap Mountain. It was kind of windy, and very muddy, with patches of snow on the ground and lots of running water. The hike was great. No one on the mountain at all, except for at the summit (a nice couple in their 20's and their dog Allie, taking professional-grade photos of the girl, who must have been a dancer with all of the bending and stretching she was doing). I took a few vista photos myself (including Mount Monadnock), and headed back down with the music of The Beatles, Duncan Sheik, and St. Etienne on my older iPod. I stopped at Kevin's on the way home, and ate Oreos (chocolate and vanilla inners) while we watched David Ortiz help beat the Rangers 4-2 with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th inning.

Steak & Beer

I don't drink when I am not with friends (I just don't love it enough to make it a daily occurrence), but occasionally I like a beer with supper.

So last night I cooked a steak with salt & pepper, buttered up some crusty bread, and sliced a tomato, and ate them with a Wachusett Imperial Black IPA. Great beer (though I only drank half of a pint), and an even better steak.

Unda Da Sea ♫

I drew this yesterday while drawing with my nieces Jackie, Helena and Georgia
at my brother Kevin's house.

I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Steak & Eggs

I salted & peppered a steak (both sides) and let it sit for about 90 minutes. I scrambled 3 eggs (salt, pepper, a little 1% milk, in a slightly-buttered nonstick pan). I sliced up a tomato. I buttered 2 slices of bread. I filled a pint glass with ice water, and a smaller glass with the last of my orange juice. I cooked the steak medium-well.

I ate...

Inspiration From the Past

This is a photo of me from 1987.

Time to get serious.

'Nuff said.

Cheeseburger Madness

I never cook cheeseburgers at home. It's too much work to feed just one person, and all of the grease, smoke, etc... make it an unappealing endeavor 364 days of the year.

Today I used 93% lean ground beef with salt & pepper between butter-grilled slices of Vermont Bread Company whole wheat bread (no high fructose corn syrup!), added aged cheddar, sliced tomatoes, pickles and a spreading of mayo. It may not be pretty, but I wound up eating the best cheeseburger I've had in ages: