FlaSoxxJim

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 29, 2011 -> 06:17 PM) Just ordered the following wines from Wine Insiders; 2005 Geja’s Big Bold Red Black Fox Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Bayshore Pinot Grigio 2008 Pinnacle Cabernet Sauvignon Monarch Glen Merlot 2008 Tinto Figuero I'll report back. I've had the Pinnacle cab sav - not sure of the year - and I thought it was very good.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 29, 2011 -> 05:56 PM) map rooms the only one worth going to. Sheffield's is awful. that's a shame to hear. I went to Hopleaf years ago and at the time it was easily the best in Chicago for Belgian taps and bottles - better even than Map Room. I didn't care much for the Yuppie-Cubbie clientele, but it sure didnt hurt the beer any. Has Clark St. Ale House dropped sufficiently in quality so as not to make that list? they never had the bottle selection of some places, but thy always represented the best of Midwest well on tap and the location is great - especially back when my buddy Steve had the Mango restaurant open just a couple doors away. I had my first Three Floyd's Alpha King at the Ale House so it will always have a soft spot in my heart.

I'm pretty amazed at how worldly well-traveled some of the Soxtalkers are. Working overseas, a year studying abroad, just up and heading off somewhere, etc. I think we need to add a SoxTalk Travel Gnome award.

QUOTE (3E8 @ Jan 28, 2011 -> 01:31 PM) Would post all these pics in here, but they're pretty big. http://s-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/we...96072301-17.jpg http://s-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/we...96072318-25.jpg http://s-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/we...96072331-18.jpg http://s-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/we...96072342-18.jpg http://s-ak.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/we...96072353-19.jpg Those are pretty good!

I am so miserably sick that I would welcome death as an old friend right now.

Buncha fockin' Jags in Jacksonville.

QUOTE (G&T @ Jan 25, 2011 -> 04:03 PM) I have no access to any remotely decent orgeat (or any other syrups) without buying online. Then, if it sucks, I'm stuck. I actually really enjoy cooking it and playing with recipes. Plus, I might have a side business on my hands if I'm good at it. I totally enjoy doing the homemade syrups and extracts as well. If I get really daring I might try my hand at some different bitters as well. As for small business opportunities, both Trader Tiki and Small Hands started out as home stovetop operations. either of those lines is sold anywhere near me or I might be tempted to use their stuff and not DIY.

It's never too early to indoctrinate your daughter into the culture of Tiki. Mai Kai in Ft. Lauderdale is the only surviving authentic Tiki Palace in America. The Polynesian review is fun, the food is good, the outdoor gardens are very nice, and the drinks are excellent.

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 24, 2011 -> 12:45 AM) Do you realize we're floating in space? You just blew my mind.

QUOTE (G&T @ Jan 23, 2011 -> 08:10 PM) Best Mai tai I've ever had. Home made orgeat ftw. Yep, homemade orgeat makes all the difference in the world. I'm ashamed to say it took me about three years after discovering the joys of a real mai tai before I ventured into making my own orgeat. You are a quick study.

Making your own syrups. . . wow, I'm impressed!

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 23, 2011 -> 11:10 AM) I still say if you can find Hoegaarden on draft, you'll be hooked. Try to have the draft Blanch side-by-side against the Hoegarden and I'll do the. Same. That comparison is a conversation worth having here I think.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 22, 2011 -> 06:55 PM) I tried it last night and loved it. It tastes like what Blue Moon was going for. That sums it up perfectly. Blue Moon is a decent enough approximation of a Belgian wit from an American mega but there's nothing like the real thing. As much as I laud and love the Hoegarden, right now I'm totally loving the draft Blanche de Bruxelles ("Mannekin Pis"). I'll always hold Hoegarden in highest regard as THE brewery that revived the witbier style, but damn if the Blanche doesn't edge it out by just a bit. A little more complexity and depth I think, with a bit more of spice burst — although I have yet to find a local beer bar that has them both on tap for an honest side-by-side comparison.

Make it a good one!

Of course the chapter in Hawk's Book of the Cosmos dealing with sepernovas and dying stars would be titled: "Gas . . . Gawn!!!"

QUOTE (shipps @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 03:40 PM) I slipped and fell on a pea in AuBonPan today. Very embarrassing. I single frickin pea. Lawyer up and sue the f*** out of those Frenchy bastards!

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jan 21, 2011 -> 08:53 AM) There is no "I believe" about it. If that star is 640 light years away, then we're observing things that happened 640 years ago. Yeah, I was demure in my response because I didn't want to come off sounding like a braniac knowitall. Don't you just hate those posters?

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jan 20, 2011 -> 11:31 PM) Wait a minute... Betalgeuse is 640 light years away. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mean that the light we observe from the star is light from 640ish years ago? Because I have a hard time believing that light from a super nova can eclipse the speed of...well...light. I believe you are correct, and the explosion will witness at some point in the future may well have happened centuries ago.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 20, 2011 -> 11:26 PM) How is this Star Wars-esque? I assumed it was a reference to the twin suns of Tatooine, as originally seen in Ep IV

QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 20, 2011 -> 02:55 PM) Diaper Genie Absolutely. seal up that diaper full of stinky baby biohazard ASAP.

QUOTE (Chi Town Sox @ Jan 18, 2011 -> 04:27 PM) I've been there a couple times but haven't ventured too far off of University Drive and the City Walk (was there for work both times), anyone have any recommendations on other nightlife (besides Howl at the Moon/BB Kings) and any good restaurants near the convention center or in downtown? Also, does anyone know an easy/cheap way to get to the UCF campus without paying $ 60 for a cab ride....like say a shuttle from a bar or something like a train system that I am just not seeing anywhere? In the same center as Bb Kings (Point Orlando) is a rum bar and Cuban restaurant called Cuba Libre that might be worth a look. There's also the restaurants on Disney property at the Downtown Disney complex - including the Irish pub Raglan Road and the dinosaur-themed T-Rex Cafe which is like a Rainforrest Cafe. there is also a lot of development around the Church Street area in the wake of the building of the new Orlando Magic stadium. it's been a few years but there was one good tiki-themed bar and food place in the Wall Street end of that area that was very good. It says something about the general quality of restaurants in Orlando that I can't immediately come up with more than that. Orlando sucks food-wise compared to other comparable cities.

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Jan 20, 2011 -> 03:49 AM) Yes http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1bua4w/www.y...h?v=wiu_IX14wLI That is wild. I used to sell beer from a stand at Bears games in college and waiting for the head to go down to top off the cups took a lot of time and backedvthe lines up. That device would have tripled the pour speed. The gaskets on the cups have to be a bit of special engineering I assume. I wonder what that does to the unit price of each cup.

I have had three exceptional beer nights at three different places and I did next to nothing to pull strings to make it happen. Thursday night was the Dogfish Head night out at a beachside beer bar that we quite accidentally walked into. Then Friday was my daughter's birthday and a work travel day had me up in near the place where she and my wife wanted to meet me out for dinner so I had a couple of hours to kill at a new World of Beers location I hadn't made it out to yet. 36 tap and 300+ bottles. I had a Draft Rodenbach Flemish red sour, a bottled Duchesse De Bourgogne Flemish sour, and a bottled Lagunitas A Little Sumpin Wild. Then yesterday after spending the morning and much of the afternoon helping my daughter at school with her science fair project my wif called to let me know that a school friend of hers she hadn't seen in 10 years was in town and made plans to meet up with them at the third good beer bar in the area for dinner, drinks, and watching football. Enjoyed more Rodenbach draft, a draft Blanche de Bruxelles, a taste of the last of a keg of He' Brew Vertical Jewbelation (They had a side-by-side tasting of six Jewbelations and the Verticl earlier in the week that I missed), a Cigar City Jai Alai, and another bottled Flemish sour that I'd never seen before and can't remember the name of. Coming home later last night I was sort of let-down to crack a Meantime IPA I had really been looking forward to. Overcarbonated and a bit oxidized, it became more drinkable on warming and offgassing a bit, but it still was a disappointment. I now have two hardcore crunch days to get a lecture put together to give to about 700 people for my institute's public lecture series, so I don't think I'll be having nearly as much beer fun for a while :-(

QUOTE (G&T @ Jan 15, 2011 -> 11:15 AM) I have to try that. I love the style but whenever I go to the beer store I completely forget about it. Dead Guy ALE(!) is delicious but it comes off as nothing like a traditional maibock no matter what the brewer and the review sites will have you believe.