For People Who Don't Have a Rob of Their Own

The Summer of Cerveza Sundays: Pizza and the Yankees vs Red Sox

July is my favorite month of the year and this has been a great one. I am sorry to see it go, but of course that is how this whole thing works. "The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away."

My cousin Jonas has not featured as much on my blogs as his sister Emma, but I still love him, and he was here for the weekend. Plus the Yankees and Red Sox are always fun to watch. So a pizza party was in order.  

The scoring:

1: BAD. I didn't finish.

2: MEH. Probably not something I would ever get again.

3. GOOD. Would order if my only other choices are IPAs. 

4. VERY GOOD. Would happily drink any time. 

5. GREAT. Great. 

LA CUMBRE AZULITO BLUE CORN LAGER: 3

Refreshing, but much too hoppy.

Jonas: 4. "Good flavor. I like it."

THE BRUERY VIAJE BAJA-STYLE LAGER: 3

I don't know what "Baja-style" means. But it's tasty. Just a little too sweet for my liking. 

Jonas: "I give that a 3. Too sweet aftertaste. It sits on your palette."

THE BEER RESEARCH INSTITUTE VAMONOS MEXICAN STYLE VIENNA LAGER WITH LIME ZEST: 5

Beautiful. Just as good as New Belgium's lager with lime, which I freaking love. I wish everybody just made lime beers instead of "lime and salt" beers. 

Jonas: "I give it a 4. That's really good."

MASON ALE WORKS CERVEZA RESPETO: 3

Absolutely nothing special going on here. 

Jonas: "1. Way too sweet. This makes me nauseous."

WALTRIP BREWING COMPANY TWO TIME VAMANOS MEXICAN LAGER: 3

Too malty. 

Jonas: "4. I'm probably being too generous because I hated that last one so much."

MANCOS BREWING COMPANY METATE MEXICAN LAGER: 5

Tastes like sweet summer corn. 

Jonas: "5. That's the best one of the day!"

GOLDEN ROAD BREWING STREET CART LIME & SALT CERVEZA: 4

Probably the best lime & salt beer I have ever tried. Without question the best one this summer. 

Jonas: Didn't try it. "Holy shit, you can drink a lot of beer."

SKY RIVER SALT & LIME ARIZONA LAGER: 2

Way too salty. 

Jonas: See above.

STARBASE BREWING LUCKY LAUNCH DAY LAGER: 3

Too sweet and heavy. Also, the stupidest name of any "Mexican lager" I am going to try this summer. 

Jonas: See above.  

My parents had a pizza with peaches on it. WTF?

I made Alyssa a gluten-free pizza with pepperoni and jalapeno. She loved it. 

Marley guarded the beer. 

Roasted garlic and fresh basil. 

The last Sunday of July. What a great month.

That's Because You Live in Phoenix, You Dumb Bastard

ELEVEN (???) Condiments

 

My God, does that even count? I must be slipping. 

Mountain Time

I bought this case of 24 to share with you on my next return to Pasadena - because the 6-pack I brought on my last trip simply wasn't enough for the Wagyu burger night. 

I had hoped to come back in September for a few days to enjoy some of the last days of summer, but Hawkeye's vet bills have been brutal, so I don't anticipate taking any vacations soon. 

Maybe I will have to wait until January again. We will see. 

Station on the River

 

What a great boutique hotel. 

The Senate Bar & Grill

Since the brewery had such a limited menu, I decided to come here for dinner. 

I briefly considered walking back to Fuel & Iron, but I had already walked several miles in the triple-digit heat and wasn't entirely in the mood for another couple-mile round trip. 

And I had drank way too many beers at this point to drive. 

So I walked here, a couple-hundred yards away. 

And it was fine. 

Good, even. 

It's just... well, it was a fantastic afternoon. It deserved a better dinner. 

I had the boneless wings in "umami" flavor that I really liked. And I ate this entire bowl of homemade potato chips. 

Plus two giant glasses of Coors Light for $4.44 each (another happy hour). 

Game 7 of the Stanley Cup was on the TV, which, for some reason was about 12 feet off the ground. 

It was a good place to end the evening, I guess, before I spent the night in jail.

50 Asian Eats in Celebration of the 50th Birthday of My 3rd-Favorite Asian* and 3rd-Favorite Dentist** of All Time

1: SPICY SZECHUAN WONTON

2: LAY'S PORK BALL in BROWN SAUCE

3: STICKY GARLIC-TERIYAKI BONELESS WINGS

4: DUCK FAT POTATO WEDGES with SHICHIMI SEASONING & YUZU MAYO

5: CARAMELIZED GINGER CHICKEN

6: LAY'S FRIED CHICKEN WINGS with SRIRACHA

7: LAY'S TEXAS GRILLED BBQ FLAVOR       

8: LAY'S SWEET POTATO BROWN SUGAR

9: LAY'S LIME FLAVOR

10: CHIPS AND I FORGET WHAT THE HELL THEY WERE - MAYBE FRIES WITH SHORT RIB?

11: MINI WONTONS, CHICKEN KARAAGE, & TEMPURA SHRIMP

Trader Joe's, of course.

12: VEGETABLE BIRD'S NESTS IN BLACK GARLIC & CRISPY ONION SAUCE

13: TEMPURA SHRIMP with SWEET & SOUR SAUCE & YUM YUM SAUCE

14: CHICKEN KARAAGE with SHIBUMI KANZURI SAUCE and YUZU MAYO

This is in the Top 3 of things you'll see here today.

15: SLIPPERY SHRIMP

I used beer-battered shrimp to make a clone of Yang Chow. 

16: SLIPPERY CHICKEN & GARLIC GREEN BEANS 

I used leftover chicken karaage. Not as good as the shrimp

17: ASIAN DINNER TO IMPRESS A LADY #1 

I made this for a member of the club one night after closing and it worked.

 

18: PORK & GINGER DUMPLINGS with DYNAMITE SAUCE

On a trip to Boulder in November 2023, the kitchen wouldn't tell us the recipe for their Dynamite Sauce - one of the best Asian sauces I have ever tried - but they did give me the ingredients. This isn't perfect but it's pretty damn close and I make it a lot, as you will see here today.

19: SHRIMP FRIED RICE

I wanted an excuse to buy this Kinder's "Japanese BBQ Cooking Sauce." 

I used it all. I won't buy it again. 

20: ASIAN DINNER TO IMPRESS A LADY #2

This did not work as well as dinner #1

21: SWEET CHILE GLUTEN-FREE BONELESS WINGS

22: FRIED WONTONS with SPICY CHILE SAUCE

23: SPRING ROLLS with SWEET CHILE SAUCE

24: CHICKEN KARAAGE with STICK + TINE GINGER SCALLION SAUCE

Holy shit, this sauce was awful. 

25: PORK BUNS

26: PRIVATE SELECTION SESAME GINGER SHRIMP DUMPLINGS

27: BIBIGO GREEN ONION STEAMED DUMPLINGS

28: TEMPURA SHRIMP with SHICHIMI TOGARISHI

29: CHICKEN XIAOLONGBAO with DYNAMITE SAUCE

30: CHICKEN & WATER CHESTNUT SHUMAI with DYNAMITE SAUCE

31: CRISPY SHANGHAI BEEF

32: KFC KOREAN BBQ SAUCY NUGGETS

Way spicier than I anticipated!

33: KFC HONEY SRIRACHA SAUCY NUGGETS

My second visit to KFC in years; also my second visit of the week. 

34: UNCLE BEN'S CHILE GARLIC RICE

35: SHRIMP FRIED RICE & TEMPURA SHRIMP

I thought maybe Subway's Sweet Onion Sauce would be a nice complement to the shrimp. It was.

36: LAY'S CHARCOAL GRILLED CHICKEN & SOMTUM

37: GLUTEN-FREE POTSTICKERS

38: GLUTEN-FREE SHUMAI with DYNAMITE SAUCE

Not bad, but so freaking weird. They fell apart at the slightest touch.

39: SHUMAI with SPICY GARLIC-GREEN ONION SAUCE

40: GLUTEN-FREE GENERAL TSO'S  CHICKEN

Not great, but not awful 

41: LAY'S EXTRA BARBECUE

Really just "extra salty." Still good.

42: TRADER JOE'S TEMPURA SHRIMP & SHRIMP BAO

43: GLUTEN-FREE POTSTICKERS with SUNOMONO & DYNAMITE SAUCE

44: BEEF, PORK, & BLACK PEPPER SOUP DUMPLINGS & CRAB CROQUETTES

Maybe the best frozen soup dumplings I have ever had. 

45: SPRING ROLLS

God, I love fried spring rolls and hot mustard.

46: CHICKEN SOUP DUMPLINGS in DYNAMITE SAUCE & GLUTEN-FREE MISO-MUSTARD CHICKEN NUGGETS

Also, radish salad I got at HMART in Denver last month. 

47: BOURBON RED SHRIMP with YUM-YUM  SAUCE

`

48: KOGI SWEET GARLIC TERIYAKI SHRIMP with TRADER JOE'S SHRIMP BAO & BLACK GARLIC CHICKEN NUGGETS

49: SHUMAI with SIGNATURE SELECTS DUMPLING SAUCE

The shumai were just an excuse to try the sauce. Which sucked. I think I got this at Pavilions in South Pasadena in January. Don't recommend.

50: GLUTEN-FREE ORANGE CHICKEN

The General Tso's was okay. This was awful. 

*#1 is his daughter; #2 is Shohei Ohtani

**#1 is his wife; #2 is Bright Exai, DDS