A few years ago I was mindlessly cruising the internet and discovered Etsy. There are some fabulous jewelry designers selling on that platform and I fell down the rabbit hole quite quickly. Falling can be dangerous, not to mention expensive… so I make a point of avoiding it now.
Until Facebook decided I needed to go back and purchase this rather strange assortment of items.
.
.
Um… no.
If I can’t have an authentic mummified head from the Ptolemaic dynasty? No fully toothed polymerised head will do.
.
.
For the love of all that’s holy, no.
What the utter f*ck!
.
.
Interesting, but alas we have already built our man cave bar. For considerably fewer thousands.
.
.
All season cat shelter?
It’s a Rubbermaid tub with holes. I’ll pass.
.
.
Sure. Nothing could go wrong here.
.
.
Support your carefree jumping youngster with two eyelet hooks that are already splitting the wallboard.
As I said in my last post, if you visit Ebenezer’s you won’t be disappointed. Unless you’re a beer hating wretch who prefers eating at McDonalds. And if you are, please take your bad taste elsewhere. I don’t have room in my life for that kind of negativity.
Ebenezer’s is not a large establishment and seating at the bar is limited.
.
.
But oh what a bar it is. With hovering vultures and hand blown glass beer taps.
.
.
The bar area is small but filled with unusual beer signs. I’m unfamiliar with this brew, but there are ostriches involved… so I’m firmly on board.
.
.
Decor aside, one look at the impressive draught list will make you an instant devotee.
.
.
We lucked out and visited at the beginning of their annual Belgian festival and may I just say? It was delightful. My choice for the afternoon?
A Hanssens OUDE GUEUZE LAMBIC. 5.8% – Strong tart and funky, notes of earthy wood, apple and grass $14.
Yes, grass.
.
.
I drank green beer and loved it. And it wasn’t even St. Patrick’s Day. Smooth, herbal, with just a slight pucker. Consider me a fan. I liked it so much I didn’t even try anything from their second page, except ….
.
.
Did you see it?
.
.
A beer that will invert your penis? Who could say no to a taste of that!
They brought me a shot glass full because it’s quite potent. The taste? Oddly sweet and more reminiscent of whisky than beer. I liked it, the husband hated it. But then I don’t have invertible genitals so that may be understandable.
One of our favorite restaurants has been letting us down lately.
.
.
And while the cocktails and atmosphere are still wonderful ( fresh blueberry mojito, yum!) the quality of the food has been going downhill. Garlic Parmesan wings? Dry and tasteless.
.
.
Pricey pan seared scallops on risotto? Over cooked seafood on a soggy bed of mush.
.
.
Burgundy braised short ribs? Chewy shoe leather. It all looked good, but wasn’t. So we’ve decided one of our favorite dinner restaurants will now just be one of our favorite watering holes.
.
.
Cucumber and elderflower cooler? Yeah, I’m not giving that up.
And the regular bar crowd is a hoot.
.
.
Mr. I Drink My Jameson With A Cover and A Straw In Case I Spill was back, and you have to appreciate a man who knows his limitations.
The husband and I hit another antique store yesterday, but failed to find any appropriate vintage beer or whisky crates for my vinyl collection. (okay, I did see a Budweiser crate but even I have standards)
I’m afraid the search is proving fruitful in only one aspect.
.
.
And that’s enlarging the number of albums I need to house in the first place. But I was happy to find 13 of the same records I lost decades ago. A few covers are in rough shape, but for $2 each I won’t complain.
And lest you think the husband came home empty handed, he found a treasure for the man cave as well.
.
.
A wood bound mixed drink recipe book from 1941.
.
.
It’s a hoot and has some interesting drawings.
.
.
.
.
.
As with anything the husband purchases, he always tells me to look it up and see if he paid too much.
This was the first listing I saw.
.
.
Yikes! I was impressed he only paid $15 until I saw a bunch of others ranging from $20-100.
Good luck wdan1351. If you manage to sell it for that price? Please let me know.
Of course it happened on the day we’d invited friends over for adult beverages and pool in the man cave. I’d gone out early to set up some tasty snacks and heard an awful noise coming from under the bar.
.
.
My mini mixer fridge.
Oh, the horror!
.
.
Frozen solid and ready to burn out the motor. I unplugged, emptied, laid down a towel and propped open the door to defrost. Thinking our not even two year old expensive appliance was ready to die, I did some research. Turns out over packing a mini fridge is common and once the air flow is blocked it freezes up.
.
.
And yes, I was certainly guilty of that. Club soda, tonic, Coke, ginger ale, Sprite, Bloody Mary mix, Tom collins mix, premixed margaritas, cranberry juice, lemonade, lime juice, orange juice etc. I have a well stocked bar, I need a well stocked mixer fridge!
I’m happy to report the 24 hour defrost worked with no apparent damage. Fridge is back up and running though with considerably less inventory this time around.
Thankfully we have a much larger beer fridge for the overflow.
As you know, our cat Lord Dudley Mountcatten is spoiled. He is not however, ill mannered.. and never tries to jump on the dining room table during meals. But for those of you who have misbehaving felines? I offer a solution:
.
.
You’re welcome.
.
.
What do you do when a friend recommends a fabulous blueberry vodka but you have no space on your man cave bar shelves?
.
.
You pack them a little tighter and hope the shelves are up for the extra weight.
.
.
We seem to be down to three baby woodchucks from seven. I prefer to think this is a result of momma chuck kicking a few of the kids out of the den and not the result of predation. But this little guy?
I love finding a new watering hole, and recently we hit the jackpot.
.
.
The Blind Pig Tavern. So named because sympathetic policemen were known to turn a blind eye to speakeasies back in the day.
.
.
This place has a modern rustic feel, randomly placed pigs and the most fabulous craft cocktail list I’ve seen in years.
.
.
Ooh la la!
From the breadth of selection, I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.
.
.
First up? The raspberry basil martini. I’m a sucker for mixing fresh herbs in alcohol and this was sheer perfection. The bartender must have known I was in it for the long haul because she brought me the bonus amount as well. Waste not, want not.
.
.
Next up was the pineapple sage gimlet. As it was being served, the bartender told me she went easy on the sage because a few people said it tasted like tree bark. Amateurs! I took one sip and asked for the full strength version. It was sublime.
.
.
And lest you think all I do is drink, there was food as well. Parmesan garlic brined wings to share…
.
.
And a pulled pork Mac and cheese that was rich, creamy, delicious and enough for three meals.
.
.
There was also a blackberry violet sour. The bartender said a few people told her this one tasted like soap…. which made me marvel at the masses of unrefined drinkers who came before. Go back to the 7-11 and pick up a pack of Bud you heathens! This cocktail was tart, sweet, fragrant and complex. A layered masterpiece.
.
.
As we rounded toward evening, I ended on the Butterfly martini. With gin, St. Germain, violette liquor, hibiscus simple syrup and rose water it was a veritable flower garden in a glass.
.
.
Random picture of the husband’s giant bowl of haddock chowder because yes, he was there too. Someone had to drive me home after all.
.
.
Cute touch. I left the bartender a big tip, but no bucket for the kitchen this time around.
The Blind Pig has earned the top slot on our visited once, have to go back list. So many cocktails, so little time…
River's world..... 