It seems I've made somewhat of an impression on people already. I am okay with that. On Wednesday,
Stadium Grille in West Chester, PA offers their full rack of ribs for $9.95. A drenching of honey BBQ (Gold), hot, or mild are the flavor options. Fries and a side are included. Tasty! This is fast becoming a regular order for me on Wednesdays. Today, myself and a co-worker, both opted for the full rack of ribs. He got the hot sauce and baked beans on the side. I got the honey BBQ with the potato salad on the side. Quite tasty, though the amount of baked beans, potato salad, and other sides leaves some to be desired. Thankfully, when I finish every piece of this meal, I feel perfectly full and not overly bloated. This is a good deal. Without further ado, on to the photos!
It helps to wash down these amazing ribs with some Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea. Now, I must point out, I dislike this sweet tea when it is in the large, plastic container. It is merely okay in the glass bottle. In the $.99 can, that is where the flavor really shines:
As you can see, this meat is "hickory smoked" to perfection. The meat is so tender that it falls off the bone as you slowly bite into it:
If this is causing you to salivate, I've done my job! A short time after these landed on my desk (17 minutes to be exact), each delicious rib, every french fry, and all of my potato salad was gone!
I admit, 5 hours after I laid my hands on these puppies, I am once again craving more! Unfortunately, the rain/snow is beginning and I am not too enthused about heading back outside. I'm going to sit here on my couch, flip on my TV, and look forward to eating some Rita's, drinking some beer, and watching movies with my incredible girlfriend later this evening.
Speaking of beer, I'm going to make a confession. I personally am not a huge fan. I've tried the majority of typical beers out there from Guinness to Keystone, Corona to Natty Ice, Bernards to Bud Light. I'm honestly not too thrilled with any of them. I have recently been introduced to one brand that has turned all this around. My buddy Matt, his girlfriend Amanda, and our friend Jay recommended a brand Lindemans. An hour or two later I did as I normally do and forgot all about it. A couple months later my girlfriend and I went out to a bar in the Fairmount/Art Museum area of Philly. This bar is called
The Belgian Cafe. While there, she recommended that I try a beer she had enjoyed while in Brussels (Belgium). So, try I did. Boy, was I HOOKED! The label read Framboise Lambic Lindemans. Odd. I had this inkling that the beer was familiar, though I had no idea why. I didn't put two and two together 'til a few days later. This was the same beer that my friends had recommended, but I brushed off. Thankfully, because of my friends suggesting it, and girlfriend recommending it while we were out, I now have a favorite beer!
The Framboise, or raspberry, is quite good! We also sampled the Kriek, or black cherry, and the Peche, or peach. My personal favorite is the Peche. When it hits my lips and tongue it tastes almost like some sort of peach juice, with a slightly hoppy finish. This I can deal with. The way they get this amazing taste is due to the fermentation process of the beer. Let me quote the
Lindemans website: "
In origin, this sweet-acid drink was obtained by adding fresh black cherries to a barrel Lambic of 6 months young. The addition of fruits provokes a new fermentation in the oak barrels. After another 8 to 12 months, only peels and stones left and the Kriek-Lambic is ready to be filtered and bottled. The residual sugar can be adjusted with straight-on fruit juice to give a refermentation in the bottle. This traditional type of fruit beer is more acid and less fruity." Much more detailed information is available on the link by clicking their name prior to the quote.
After that night at the Belgian Cafe we began searching for suppliers of Lindemans. The small (12 oz if I recall correctly) bottles were nearly $10 a piece. I found this pretty steep, though I am aware of all the work involved in the brewing and export process. Upon searching, we could not find many local places that carried these beers, without purchasing a case for $125+. This, too, was not the route I wanted to take. Thankfully, luck was on our side as we made a stop at our usual super market,
Wegmans. Boy were were surprised!! As you can see from the Wegmans link, not only does Wegmans carry Lindemans, but they also have a larger, 25.4 oz bottle for the same price as the bars 12 oz bottle! We could not have been happier. We snatched up a few bottles each and headed out to partake in what we knew would be an amazing night! Cut to a couple months later, and this is only 1/8th of the bottles we have finished:
They even fit in my motorcycle tank bag:
And, on that note, I leave you with something more personable. A photo of my girlfriend and I out on my motorcycle in Valley Forge National Historic Park, as well as a photo of us on her birthday last year (It's food related!):
Thanks for reading and have a great night!
