Dog Blog

Peanut butter and jelly, french fries and ketchup, grilled cheese and tomato soup… some things are just meant to be together. Well, my friends, sometimes there is just a union between two entities that is so life-changing, it needs its own festival to celebrate the caliber of such a pairing. I’m talking about the second annual Bacon and Beer Festival, where local restaurants and breweries bring their best microbrews and pork inspired dishes to be sampled ‘til your heart explodes with joy. Tickets were sold out, and bets were placed on who we’d encounter at such an event; foodies, frat guys, hipsters, old motorcycle-riding men in leather jackets…? Turns out, it was a little bit of everyone!

You walk in and they immediately give you a cup and a spork and set you free in a sea of meandering individuals. My first stop was the Sam Adams booth, where they made an Oakwood Ale specifically for the event. It was smoky and robust, perfectly complimenting the occasion. I also paid a visit to Wachusett Brewing Co.’s table just to get some classic Wachusett Blueberry, which happens to be a personal favorite. However, the big attraction seemed to be the Kevin Bacon Ale that Cape Ann Brewing Company concocted. I’m not sure if it was supposed to taste like bacon, or Kevin… but it was delightful nonetheless. Other breweries that attended were Shipyard, Long Trail, Magic Hat, Harpoon, and Blue Hills. One thing I most definitely appreciated was that all the brewers had their beers on draft, which is respectable considering some just had a 5ft table to work with.

The restaurants were presenting everything from just plain, crispy bacon to savory, fancy delectables. I went from table to table like the Tasmanian devil, armed with my spork and a sense of wonderment. I ate pork wrapped in bacon, I ate pasta with bacon meat sauce, and I ate a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich with chocolate covered bacon. Keep in mind these were all small portions, like finger-food size or tapas, but oh man… there was one particular dish that I’m still thinking about.

A restaurant called The Fireplace had this succulent little cut of pork belly on a bed of the most smooth and flavorful polenta I’ve ever eaten. In fact, I had never tried polenta until this day, but later that night I actually went to the grocery store and purchased some myself just to have that flavor all the time. However… I could not recreate their recipe. There’s tasted like magical mashed potatoes, whereas mine just tasted like sand…. and I’ve got friends who can vouch for my cooking skills. But anyway, I digress. I also tried this little piece of baked beer bread with chopped bacon, roasted tomatoes, sprouts and sweet vidalia onion sauce.

I liked it, but there were a lot of competing flavors going on so it was a little confusing to the palate. There was also bacon chili, bacon hushpuppies, and numerous other oddities and rarities that I just couldn’t get my hands on because the lines were so long. Overall, the event was crowded but obviously a success and it’s definitely something I’d go to again next year. Get tickets early, as it’s sure to gain popularity quickly.

Our world is comprised of so many conveniences that many of us would ultimately be screwed in a post-apocalyptic universe. Our food comes from the store, water from the faucet, heat from the vents. Most United States cities are nowhere near self-sustaining. However, a fairly recent social movement has risen, encouraging folks to grow their own food and support local growers and suppliers of the like – the food movement.

Farmer’s markets have sprung up all over the place, bringing young and old alike out to shop vegetables, dairy, baked goods, meat, honey products, natural skin care…the list goes on. People are taking the initiative all over to create and vend their own products – a pleasantly natural alternative to the super market world. America is a funny place, though. The food movement is spectacular… local grocers and farmer’s markets full of fresh and locally grown produce and the like, packed with supporters adorning reusable shopping bags. On the other side of the spectrum lies another craze. Perhaps this one not so beneficial to our health, yet in a post-apocalyptic world quite resourceful – extreme couponing.

We’re not just talking save $1 here and buy-one-get-one there, extreme couponing is a bit of a lifestyle. Consumers have learned to save 70-100% of their order in the grocery lines, clipping coupons upon coupons upon coupons. But, hold on…have you ever seen and episode of TLC’s Extreme Couponing? These people have literally quit their jobs to find and clip enough coupons each week to get 62 free bottles of mustard and 100 candy bars for $1. Truth, these coupon extremists have enough goods to stock a warehouse but to what benefit? All the food they’ve got major quantities of are processed and packaged. Extreme couponing doesn’t get you a lifetime supply of cucumbers and bananas.

While I have to admit it would be pretty cool to have an endless supply of Mounds bars, it sort of goes back to why I don’t eat ice cream every night for dinner like I swore I would do when I was a kid. As a (somewhat) active member of society and as (somewhat) of an adult on my own, I think making healthy choices is important. I don’t want 40 cases of soda for free because you know what? I’ll drink them. Rather than spending my weekend finding ways to get junk for free I’d much sooner hit up my local farmer’s market. Support the local food movement! Grab your loved ones and a coffee and head to a farmer’s market near you. It’s more of a pleasurable experience than weaving down isles of the supermarket and waiting in line behind those extreme couponers, guaranteed.

Have ya’ll heard of Groupon? It’s my latest obsession and about the only app I find useful anymore on my phone. Let me present a mini crash course on the subject.

Everyday Groupon presents a handful of deals from locl businesses specific to your area, depending on which city you choose to browse.

Deals vary from local restaurants to fitness clubs to home services. And we’re not talking 10% here, save $20 here – these are significant daily deals that make your browsing worth every second.

When you’ve chosen which Groupon(s) you’d like, simply purchase online and present at time of use! Like anything, however, make sure you read the fine print before your purchase. Most Groupons must be redeemed before a certain date or 1 per customer.

Got a smart phone? Get deals directly to your cell by downloading the Groupon app where you can see deals listed in your area in a clean, simple format that make choosing the best deal as easy as pie (Well… as easy as choosing which incredibly cheap deal to buy CAN be). You can also use your smart phone to present your Groupon to businesses as a paperless redeeming option.

In case you’re all wondering, I haven’t been to the dentist in YEARS. Well guess what? Thanks to Groupon, I’ll be getting x-rays, a full exam and a cleaning – a $329 value for…drum roll, please…

$59!

So, head to Groupon today for daily deals in your area. You can thank me later!

“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

I was watching CNN for a good part of the day yesterday, like many others, for coverage of Bin Laden’s demise. As I tried to grasp my feelings on the matter, I realized that I was moreso relieved to no longer be bombarded with Royal Wedding coverage rather than that Bin Laden was dead.  Much of what I saw on TV depicted celebration in the US by citizens young and old smiling and cheering, drinking cheap beer in the street. Yes, we were celebrating the death of a terrorist – but we were celebrating a death. I was horrified.

Much of the jubilant reaction to Bin Laden’s death is in association with 9/11, of course. Many Americans are feeling much needed closure on the devistating tragedy which I believe to be completely understandable. However, televising Americans jumping for joy in the streets holding signs saying “Osama got Obama’d” makes us look like barbaric idots, to be frank. America is for the greater part a civilized and humane society, but what does it say about us when we’re celebrating a violent death?

9/11 was an act of savage terrorism – while the United States took the necessary steps to rid the world of an evil entity, it doesn’t merit celebration. While most feel that justice has been served, there’s a certain note of decency that I believe is fair to be expected in the United States. “An eye for an eye” has never been a part of modern law in this country, and although the acts commited on 9/11 killed thousands of innocent civilians we as a society should ask ourselves how we want to be viewed. Are we a people that retaliates hate with hate?  We’ve already begun mocking Bin Laden’s death and celebrating it like a World Series victory. Time Magazine’s epic cover of a bloody ‘X’ marked over Bin Laden’s face shines over Times Square in New York. How morbid can you get?

The death of Osama Bin Laden has prompted us to remember those lives lost in 9/11. Can’t we remember and celebrate the lives of all those who were tragically killed rather than screaming ‘USA!’ and ‘Bin Laden is dead!’ paired with a Miller Lite? What is that accomplishing? In Pamela Gerloff’s Huntington Post Article, ‘The Psychology of Revenge: Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Laden’s Death’, she writes - “Think of it. If a leader in our country were killed by another government in the manner in which Osama bin Laden was killed, as “justice” for his acts of aggression in the War on Terror — and people from that other country were shown proudly chanting the country’s name, singing their national anthem, and demonstrating in the streets — Americans would likely feel more sickened than joyful, don’t you think?”

Think about it.

That’s right… I wrote a poem about my jury duty service. I decided to recite everything that happened in rhymes because the craziest things inspire me… (Oh, and I was terribly bored.) The title is an exact quote from the defendant, which I found hilarious! Enjoy!

Ode to Jury Duty: You Know How to Lawyer, I know How to Build Houses