Booze...in 50 Words or Less: Harp Lager

Harp LagerLeaving brother's house on Easter, I was struck with fear! "What if I ran outta beer before epic night of Justified (OnDemand), Game of Thrones, and Mad Men?" Grabbed Harp Lager out of fridge for later consumption. Typical, bland big-box lager. (You can close your mouth now, Gift Horse!)
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The Pizza Project
Just a nibble: http://twitter.com/ThePizzaProject
Single slice: http://www.facebook.com/ThePizzaProject
The full pie: http://thepizzaproject.blogspot.com/

Booze...in 50 Words or Less: Smithwick's

Smithwick's
Other night, a friend was drinking Guinness, saying he was "getting ready for St. Patrick's Day." While I don't go crazy for St. Patty's, I figured I'd attempt to get into the spirit by drinking this ale from the makers of Guinness. Offers fairly lively malt flavor, but that's it.

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The Pizza Project
Just a nibble: http://twitter.com/ThePizzaProject
Single slice: http://www.facebook.com/ThePizzaProject
The full pie: http://thepizzaproject.blogspot.com/

Booze...in 50 Words or Less: Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale

Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale
I'm Irish, but I don't pretend like Grandpa just got off the boat from the homeland to increase my street cred. Don't love the Sawks. Don't drink Guinness. Don't listen to Dropkick Murphy's unless I'm watching The Departed. But this is smooth and earthy with a malty, caramel-tinged feel.

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The Pizza Project
Just a nibble: http://twitter.com/ThePizzaProject
Single slice: http://www.facebook.com/ThePizzaProject
The full pie: http://thepizzaproject.blogspot.com/

A Very Civilized Night at Chap's Taproom

Chap's Taproom is definitely the best bar in the Norristown area. They have a very diverse, rotating selection of beverages. They have the requisite large televisions for viewing of the local sports teams. They have a very friendly, accomodating bar staff. They have a very good menu, with the Works roast beef and the wings serving as the unquestioned highlights. Hell, they even have a set of attractive twins working as servers!!! (I don't know...it's just cool to think about when bombed.)

But the really awesome thing about Chap's is that they are always looking for that next thing. They don't remain static. Sometimes their ideas are misses (from what I heard, their first venture into Comedy Night was an unmitigated disaster), but sometimes they really hit the right notes. And with a little work, the event we went to the other night could really be a hit. It was a beer dinner, and in this post I will give you the play-by-play of this inaugural event.

Course 1

When myself and the wife first rolled in (we were meeting our friends V and D - names omitted to protect our anonymity), we were greeted by our pal, a bartender named Mark, with a Samuel Adams Boston Lager. At first, we were really worried that the beers we would be served would be thimble-sized to preserve the aura of true fanciness. Instead, we were each poured a full 16-ounce glass. The food course that this beer accompanied was a cheese plate, along with grapes. Personally, I am not a big cheese person. But I ate it. It was fine. And the grapes were...grapes. I've yet to meet a person who could f*ck up grapes. So no complaints...other than the fact that I don't consider Sam Adams to be a very good beer. It is really just a step above the Miller Lites and the Bud Lights and the Yuenglings of the world. I would have liked a little more at a beer dinner.

That's the F*cking Ticket!

Uh...I don't know. You might want to know how a bearded bastard with a douchey black ski cap who drinks Natty Ice makes a Black and Tan! See how he gets "a small amount of head" while he is at it!

The Recipe Files: Irish Pizza

Happy St. Patty's Day! Although the Irish aren't exactly known for their fine cuisine, I figured I would google Irish pizza and see what came up. Not only are there several pizzerias across the country serving such a thing today, but I also came across a recipe so you can try it at home:

Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves: 2 medium (14-inch) pies