Quaffable Potions and Damn Fine Chow

Man(and wo-man) cannot live on posts about surf sessions alone. That would be boring. Hence, the occasional music or wetsuit review along with some anecdotal whimsy from the parental trenches. No. I'm sensing this online missive needs some more flave. I'm thinking that I need to wax rhapsodic about beer and restaurants.

First up....restaurants. I took my wife to Hungry Mother in Cambridge on Saturday night. Here's a tip, I don't know how long in advance you need to book a rezzie but take my advice, book one. I called before we got there at 6:30-ish and the dining room was going to be filled for a while. Their small bar section is dog-eat-dog, however and we were able to score a couple of seats at the bar.

Although, I was interested in some of their beers on tap, I acquiesced to WoEM's request that I get some wine so that she could have a sip or two(she's pregnant). As far as white wine goes, I dig the occasional Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, so our very helpful bartender recommended and let me sample the Chateau du Trignon Viognier, which fit the bill nicely. Apres that, we ordered the Deviled Chip In Farm Eggs, the featured pork plate of the day which was their own ham and a local swiss cheese on baguette, the Rocket Salad and the Cornmeal Catfish with dirty rice and mustard brown butter. Whenever I go into a place that is working a Southern/soul food vibe, I get catfish. Most of the time, there's a hint of that muddy flavor but at Hungry Mother...nix. Not too heavy on the cornmeal, spiced just right, meaty, yet mild and the dirty rice was incredible. I'm looking forward to going back. The hype is well deserved.

Beer. I was at James' Gate a while back and sampled something they had on tap by local "beer and ale project", Pretty Things. The beer is Jack D'or and I wasn't sure I liked it after my first sip but as I continued to taste it, I found myself enjoying it. Fast forward a couple of months and I decided to track it down. Thankfully, Berman's in Lexington(shout out) stocks it and I've been bringing home the occasional deuce-deuce to re-acquaint my palate. Jack D'or is Pretty Things take on a Belgian saison, also known as a farmhouse ale. I've never tried one before, but if Jack is indicative of the style...damn. It's a complex beer but extremely drinkable. Sort of peppery on the front end and very smooth on the back. I don't know that I can do the flavor justice but I will say this, if you like good beer...TRY IT.

The Author Revealed

Yes, that would be your humble scribe playing on some post eye-gor leftovers at Nantasket. It was kind of a weird day out there. Rather than staying near the curl, it paid to get out in front towards the shoulder(if you timed it right) as any turn onto the face close to the peak usually ended up exploding in a wall of whitewater. In this pic, it might even appear that I should have taken the wave frontside but if you look behind me, you can see the wave already breaking. I still had fun but I'm jonesing for some nice clean faces.

What else?

Well, after approximately a year and a half, I return to work, albeit in a part-time capacity(for now) at Brandeis University. It's a relief but also feels rather strange to not be performing my usual day-to-day as SoEM's chief playmate. There's also the fact that WoEM is...pregnant again. To say that this is going to be a major period of transition and adjustment is beyond stating the obvious. Should be an interesting time.

Reigning Sound - We Repel Each Other - Gonerfest 2

Trunkin' It AND Heavy Rotation Part Deux

September is starting to shape up nicely. Unfortunately, when the last swell came through, I had pinched a nerve in my back, effectively keeping me out of the water for a bit. I cleared myself for a surf on this past Monday and headed up to the unnamed beach break for an end of the day sesh with new-ish surf potna Tony P. It's been hotter than hayl all this week and I brought my 3/2 but also threw my trunks and jacket in the car as well. Glad I did it too because that's all that was needed. The water was warm and while the waves were smallish, I had fun and stayed out until the sun was down and crappy near-sightedness/poor night vision made identifying incoming waves an issue.

Sidenote - I don't know what it is but folks on this coast are kind of short on etiquette. I noted some definite beginners in the line-up and perhaps they don't know better but there was also an ok female out there who was a drop-in artist extraordinaire. She pulled that shit on me a couple of times and I felt like I should say something but let it drift. In any case, yeah, I try to be cognizant and refrain from snaking but in general, it's kind of a jungle out there even when it's not all that crowded.

Trunked it again at Jenness yesterday with Tony P. It looked great from the parking lot and then once we were actually in the water, waves that looked lovely would roll right under you and close out close to shore OR break outside and then reform. I don't know. I still had fun and made one legit drop at the beginning of the sesh. Paddled into a right, popped up and the wave almost got away but I jumped to the front of the board to weight it, slid into the trough, shuffled back, popped a hard bottom turn and somehow stayed on my feet. It wasn't pretty but I didn't eat it.

Now then, the following album was actually released in 2004 but probably didn't pop up on too many radars and still remains somewhat unknown. Hell, I just discovered it in the last year. The band is Reigning Sound, the album is Too Much Guitar, the title of the album is apropos. My wife hates this album. I play the hell out of it. Ironically, she would probably like the first two albums by Reigning Sound; Break Up, Break Down and Time Bomb High School as they're somewhat mellower affairs with a heavier country tinge. Too Much Guitar, however, is a different animal that harkens back to frontman Greg Cartwright's former bands, The Oblivians and The Compulsive Gamblers as it stabs the pedal firmly to the floor with opening cut, "We Repel Each Other" and barely slows down long enough for a breather. In short, if the term, "balls out rave-up" is in the dictionary, you'll find this record's sleeve staring out at you. 60's garage punk, Memphis soul, a little country...it's all on here and it kills. I'm sorry I missed them when they played TT's in June. Peep the video in the above post to pick up what I'm puttin' down.