Jonesinforfood

I’m painting all the wood trim in our house.  It sucks.  This is weekend #2 spent bonding with my paint brust and roller and it’s clear that I’m going to see another of these weekends in the near future.  Blech.

After a couple of hours of rolling and swiping, it was snack time.  With 2 avocados calling my name from the kitchen, and half a baguette left from Friday’s soup, I decided on some crostini with guac.

First, I sliced the baguette thinly, laid out the slices on a piece of tin foil (so I wouldn’t have to scrub a  cookie sheet), drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled them with sea salt.  Then I threw ‘em in the oven on 350 to toast up.  Easy enough.

While they were toasting, I took the pits from the avocados and put the good stuff in a medium sized bowl.   I added diced red onion.  A handful, I suppose…I mean, this isn’t rocket science.  Add what you like.  2 cloves of garlic put thru a garlic press, then 2 dashes of Worchestershire sauce, a dash of lime juice, 3 shakes of my cayenne pepper (usually I’d use one whole jalapeno, but there was none to be found in my kitchen today), and a sprinkle of sea salt.  Mashed it up with a fork and voila! 

I pulled the crostini from the oven, spread each with a nice thick layer of heavenly guac, and yelled down the stairs to D.Jones to come up.  “Should I bring a beverage?” he yelled back?  Hmm….  Let’s see.

1.  Cooper’s napping – check!

2.  I’ve been painting for about 3 hours.  (manual labor?)  Check!

3.  It’s Sunday…what the heck!?  Check!

“Sure!” I yell back…”I’ll split something with you.”

D.Jones emerges from the lower level shortly, with a 1 pint, 6 oz. bottle of Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas Brewing Co., out of Petaluma,  CA. 

At a claimed 102 IBU level, and 7.7% ABV,  I was glad I had said I’d split one with him or who knows where the remainder of the paint could end up.  I didn’t intend to paint the floorboards, too, right?

Bartender D.Jones poured ‘em up and the glasses filled up with a nice golden Ale.  They aren’t kidding that this one is hoppy.  It’s very hoppy.  Though I read on Beer Advocate that someone who reviewed it said it could go toe-to-toe with Hopslam…I think he wrote that he wasn’t sure which he’d prefer, and that’s a layup for me.  This is good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not Hopslam.

D.Jones called it “average” as far as the super-hopped, American IPAs go.  He said it’s full-flavored and decent, and that he likes it, but there are a lot of better beers in the same class.  He went so far as to say it’s not even in the same class as Hopslam, and that it can’t compare to Surly’s Furious.

Anyway, with a hint of sweetness, it was a great compliment to our guac crostinis and made this Sunday’s afternoon snack all too perfect.  Though I think I’ll give the rest of my half to D.Jones to help him numb the ugly Wisconsin loss this afternoon.  Plus, I’ve got painting to do.  Cheers!

My almost three year old often dictates what we’re going to do for dinner on the nights I decide not to cook.  He’s well-versed on some great places in town and usually picks a place that D.Jones and I are also happy to go.  Last night was no exception when, around 4:30 in the afternoon he said “Mommy, I’m hungry.  Can we go to Common Roots?”  Bravo, my boy, bravo!

Now, I am beginning to tire of touting the fabulocity of Common Roots.  Not because they are no longer fabulous, but because last week when I attempted to take my friend Alfred there, we realized there was a lineup of folks looking for a table about 6 deep, so we had to leave to find some place else to go.  I beg of you small business owners, will someone please open another internet cafe in S.Mpls that offers lots of outlets, great food and fantastic beer & wine?  Seriously.  In one night Alfred and I attempted to find a table at Common Roots, Gigi’s and Wilde Roast, almost to no avail!  Thankfully a tiny little corner table at Wilde Roast opened up for us to squeeze into.  Wait.  You know what?  I take that back.  Forget about opening a different internet cafe, instead I beg of owner Danny Schwartzman to open a second location.  Pleeeease?  Pretty please?!  I mean, there’s not a thing wrong with this place.  The food is consistently wonderful, fresh, organic and tasty.  The beer selection is local.  The wine selection is affordable and offers some good organic wines (which are hard to find, in my humble opinion) and they are the most socially conscious, green spot in town.  Cue one standing “o” for Common Roots….and what we need is another one!  I heart them in a big way.

So, when Cooper suggested good old Common Roots for dinner last night, we were happy to oblige.  Plus, D.Jones knew that they had a keg of Surly’s 16-grit available and he’s been dying to try it, so off we went.

When we got there I was overjoyed to see that there wasn’t much of a line.  I’m sure we were right on the early side of the dinner rush, so there were even plenty of tables available.  Score!  Then I saw the little sign indicating they also had their Creamy Tomato Basil soup available.  Double-score!  Man that soup is good!  D.Jones inquired about the 16-grit, holding his breath thinking that they may already have run out due to the limited release and they still had it!  Excellent all around!

We ordered one white bean burger, one grilled cheese, a cup of creamy tomato and a cup of curry squash soup, plus a Surly 16-grit.

The food, as always, was spot on.  Not a thing that could have been better.  And you know they work a miracle in the kitchen when little Cooper Jones asked us to get him a second cup of the curry squash soup.  Wow.

 Now on to the beer….

Surly released the 16-grit, a double-IPA, as what they state on their website was a “farewell to growlers”.  They have released it in limited availability at a few different places around the city. 

In the glass it showed as a gorgeous dark golden hue.  A bartender friend of D.Jones’ had said it was going to be like “Furious-times-three.”  It wasn’t.  It was smoother than Furious to me…perhaps slightly more drinkable.   Maybe because the malt is more apparent and the hops are toned down a little from Furious.  D.Jones would definitely pick a Furious over the 16-grit, and granted, lots of folks are looking for the majorly hopped-up beers when they think of Surly, but to me, to have it a little more subtle was nice.  Now, don’t get me wrong and think I’m saying this is a subtle beer.  It’s anything but!  This beer is bursting with flavors…the citrus of the hops apparent and the overall taste slightly sweet, but balanced.  Very full bodied, as always with Surly.  I mean, Surly has never disappointed us, and this one certainly didn’t.  I’m just bummed that in probably a couple more days they won’t be any more to be had….

D.Jones and I hit the South Lyndale Liquors final day of their wine sale tonight and stocked our wine rack with some fabulous buys.   Well, my wine rack, that is….   D.Jones stocked his beer fridge instead, and tonight tried something new.  It’s Sierra Nevada’s 12th Release Harvest Wet Hop Ale.  Approximately $5 for a 24 oz bottle, at 6.7 ABV.  D.Jones says it’s a nice intro to hoppy beers for someone who’s not as much of a hophead as himself.  It’s good, balanced, clean, and definitely worth the $5.  The hops are nice and citrusy like he enjoys, and the finish is dry with a hoppy taste that lingers for a little while, which is an added bonus in his opinion. 

In summary….D.Jones recommends it.  Cheers!