Cheese.

We spent this past weekend on Long Beach Island. We also ate some delicious cheese.

My favorite was the square cut one pictured above. An aged sheep milk Manchego Reserve with black truffles and anchovy. It was unreal.

The cheese in the center is a goat cheese that was aged in grape leaves. It was super creamy and smelled like death. It tasted great though.

The cheese in the bowl was a super soft and creamy cow's milk Camembert d'Isigny. It was really strong. This was my least favorite but others loved it.

The other cheese is your standard Brie which is always delicious.

I picked up all the cheese at Downtown Cheese in Reading Terminal Market.

Legumes.

So I was at the Phillies game last night and I got to thinking...

Is there a better ball park food than peanuts? I really don't think so.

The following are my top 5 reasons why peanuts are better than any other ball park food:

1 - Cheap.
2 - Fun to eat.
3 - If you drop one you can still eat it (as long as you didn't open the shell yet)
4 - More bang for your buck...it takes a solid 45-60 minutes to eat a bag properly...compare that to the 30 seconds it takes for me to eat a hot dog.
5 - Healthy.

If you disagree I would love to hear why. But just keep in mind you are wrong.

IPA <3

Man I love a nice India Pale Ale.

This weekend was no exception.

1 - Boulder Mojo IPA - Very hoppy. Strong notes of citrus. 9/10 frosty mugs.

2 - Dogfish Head 90 Minute - Pours very dark for an IPA. Almondy, creamy taste. Delicious. REALLY high ABV (9%) 10/10 frosty mugs.

Bishops Collar.

Saturday night a group of us went to the Bishops Collar in Fairmount for Madams birthday dinner.

Most places in Fairmount are tiny little hole in the wall type places that try to cram as many people into the smallest space possible, charge outrageous prices for mediocre food, and offer a crappy beer selection. This is not the case at the Bishops Collar. The place has ample seating and has seating for outdoor dining as well. The food was more than reasonably priced (not one item on the menu is more than $10) and the portions are generous.

We had a group of 8 and we didn't make reservations so I was a little nervous about not being seated right away. But as soon as we arrived we were ushered to our table and ordered our drink. Madams and I both got Yards I.P.A. (8/10 frosty mugs) Martha got a Blue Moon. Her drink came with a lemon slice as opposed to the typical orange slice which I thought was a bit odd.

I ordered the flank steam and provolone sandwich with fresh cut french fries. It was nice and sloppy with a ton of caramelized onions and at least 3 slices of provolone. The steak was tender and perfectly cooked. 8/10 growling stomachs. Martha got the turkey burger with brie cheese and roasted red peppers. I only had a bite of her sandwich but I liked what I tasted.

All in all I had a really good time here...largely in part to the great crowd of people I was with. So if you are in the Fairmount area (right down the street from Eastern State Penitentiary) Swing by the Bishops Collar for a cheap meal.

Broiled fresh caught flounder.

As I mentioned earlier I went fishing on Sunday morning. Later that night I got to reap the benefits.

Broiled Flounder with Lemon:

Ingredients:

- 4 fresh flounder fillets
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- the juice of 2 small lemons
- 1 sliced lemon
- rosemary or thyme (if you want)

Preparation:

- preheat oven to 375 F.
- pour half of the olive oil into the bottom of an ovensafe pan
- lay the fillets evenly into the pan
- pour the lemon juice evenly over the fillets
- do the same with the olive oil
- add salt and pepper to taste
- place lemon slices on the fish
- cover with aluminum foil and bake for 12-15 minutes

Overall I would give this 8/10 growling stomachs. That's a generous 8 only because I busted my ass catching the bastards and I was out on the water by 7:30 A.M.

Stone I.P.A. and Victory Golden Monkey.

About a week or two ago I got a six pack of Stone IPA. It was great. Had a thick head for an IPA and a strong lacing remained on the glass as I drank it. 9/10 frosty mugs.

m and I picked up a six pack of Victory Golden Monkey to compliment our pizza from Acropolis. Wow. 2 beers and I was wasted. That's what happens with this Belgian Trippel style ale with a 9.5% ABV. Regardless of the high alcohol content the beer is really clean and too easy to drink. I could see people getting into trouble after too many of these. 10/10 frosty mugs.

Harpoon summer variety case.

m and I got a case of Harpoon Summer Variety this weekend.


1 Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen - Super smooth. Easy to drink. Light body. Aftertaste has a noticeable bite. 8/10 frosty mugs.

2 Harpoon UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen - One of the best beers I have had in a long time. Great aftertaste. The raspberry didn't overwhelm the taste of the beer but was still noticeable. I have noticed that with a lot of fruit beers the fruit either overwhelms or underwhelms the actual beer itself. 10/10 frosty mugs.

3 Harpoon I.P.A. - My God I love a nice I.P.A. This has a pretty high ABV (5.90%) So needless to say I was feeling pretty nice after a few of these guys. Dark body. Nice carbonation. 9/10 frosty mugs.

4 Harpoon Summer Beer - A Kolsch style summer beer. It was just OK. Very light body. Highly carbonated. Smooth taste. Easy to drink. Typical summer brew. 7/10 frosty mugs