Catching Up in the Kitchen!

Sorry it's been forever since I last posted! The latter half of 2014 was VERY busy, from the road trip to Wrigley Field right through the couple weeks I spent in NYC in December (ostensibly for the purpose of helping launch Amzn's most recent FC in Manhattan) but y'all know I was really there for the beer! This post would be much too long if I tried to dump all this on the table at once, so I'll drop a bit of it at a time, to avoid boring both my devoted readers to tears!

Wrigley Field celebrated its 100th year in 2014, so I figured I'd better haul my butt up there for a game and the full tour.

The tour was money well-spent! They dragged us all over the ball park, so you got to see a lot more than you would just catching a game, and learn a lot of Wrigley history in the process.

Of course, after the tour, we had a couple hours to kill before the game. Fortunately, Goose Island Beer Company has a brewpub location just up the street from Wrigley. They are swamped on game days, so they have a "fixed flight" menu (three of their most popular beers and one seasonal offering, absolutely no substitutions.) So I was only able to try one new beer that day, a Belgian Brown Ale called Hagglethorn. It rated a 4.5, so it turned out to be a good choice. 

 Their menu consisted of typical bar fare. Sounded and looked great. Unfortunately, they were so busy their fried options had that greasy "not quite cooked through" taste and feel you get when your fryer is set to too low a temperature...or you're so busy your fryers can't keep up with the volume. So if it's game day, I'd take a pass on the food. Have some great beers and grab a couple dogs at the game!

And back to the game! I was in the cheap seats, but I managed to grab an Old Style while the Cubs lost. Mebbe this year will be "Next Year!"

After the game, we headed for Munster, Indiana and Three Floyds Brewing Company. Showed up at 8:45 on a Saturday night, and there was still a 45 minute wait to be seated. Very much worth the wait, though! Our wait was shortened somewhat by the party ahead of us: they decided to buy a six pack at the "to go" kiosk off to the side of the brewpub to tide them over while they waited, despite the signs warning guests in no uncertain terms that they would be asked to leave. 

Anyhow, I was able to try a couple of amazing beers while there. On the left is Deesko! a Berliner Weisse that was absolutely delicious. It's not a year-round offering, but can be found outside the brewpub. On the right is Speed Ball, a coffee stout that was also fantastic. Unfortunately, it is only available at the brewpub (so far.) They also had the most amazing fried cheese curds ever.

 The staff was super friendly, the beers and food were amazing. Well worth the trip and the wait!