Yes, we can...

I realize, of course, that canning beer is anathema among many alcoholic malt beverage aficionados. As with a great many crafts, it's the ritual of the thing that matters. Would-be ebook converts don't because there is "something about holding a book". Would-be modern car enthusiasts don't because there is "something about tuning a carburetor". And, would be canned beer imbibers don't, because there is "something about a glass bottle". I enjoy the ritual of a thing. I'd rather use my trusty knife to scallop potatoes than spend a zillionth of the time with the food processor. I consider capping a bottle an artform, and have speed cappers all over the restaurant in case I need one at a moment's notice. Hundreds of them.

So yeah, canned beer. I know about Oskar Blues but never really bothered with it, until my distributor dropped off the entire line for me to sample. I'm not so arrogant as to not drink it, and I already have exceptions (the excellent Maui Brewing Coconut Porter, Murphy's, Young's Double Chocolate)... but IPA in a can? Scottish Strong in a can?

It turns out that the cans used by craft brewers are coated; aluminum should not ever touch beer. A can is, I grudgingly admit, superior for 1) keeping oxygen out, and 2) keeping light out. I do wish they'd find a way to get a bottle cap on the damn thing, because opening a beer shouldn't "feel" like opening a pop. A pop bottle is different from a beer bottle, and a beer can should be different than a pop can. In fact, a craft beer can should be different from a macro-brew can, which should be avoided at all costs, except to use to rinse glassware.

So the beer. Oskar Blues' entire line was impressive, from a well-crafted pils, to a hop-forward pale, to the Scottish Strong (fave), the double red, and the BIG stout. The flavor profiles translate perfectly, I was able to get a good pour, and the product was, as far as I can see, wholly unaffected by the canning process. Good enough that I'm considering bringing some on.

And if you think about it, it really makes a lot of sense. The shipping costs have to be many orders of magnitude cheaper. Imagine how much less the product weighs in light aluminum than in heavy glass. This also lessens the environmental impact of shipping. It makes stocking much more space efficient - cans can go high, bottles can't. They take up way less room in my bottle fridge. Which I suppose I could call a beer fridge, in that it holds cans now too. And wine. And juice. Liquid beverage fridge. The LBF. I keep it in the ol' LBF.

Oskar Blues was the first commercially successful craft brewery to can (there was a failed attempt prior), and now there are 52, and growing. The large craft brewers are even getting in on the action, partly because certain places (lake beaches, etc) don't let you bring bottles, but do let you bring cans. They're also less heavy to hike with. So you can still enjoy craft beer in the woods. If you've ever been camping (real camping, not "camping"), you know the pack-in pack-out rule. Well crushed aluminum is much easier to pack out.

Next time you're scanning the aisles of your favorite bottle (and can!) shop, grab something new, don't fear the cans; I no longer do.

HALLOWEEN 2009!!

Don't miss two days of Halloween fun! Crystal Awareness will be spinning some haunting ambient music for your listening pleasure Friday night, with DJs and live music on Saturday as well! Bring the kids, we'll have candy to hand out! At 9:00 catch Prize Pig in their BH Tavern Debut! Should be an amazing show - I know the bass player, and he's good. Really good. 9:00PM, and it will get CRAZY. NO COVER as always.

Also, GO SHARKS!

You don't understand... it's ENDLESS

Say you have the most number of something, ever. THEN, you realize "wait, I have more!". Such is the abstract concept of endlessness.

I really hate chain restaurants. I hate the pre-packaged badness, made without love, by people who don't care about food. People who cook at chain restaurants have no vested interest in the recipe. They simply cook exactly the same as everyone else at every location, like a robot. But not the cool Lost In Space robot that's all "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" although, it should be, because this sort of cooking is danger. DANGER.

So anyway, every year various chain restaurants have a limited time all-you-can-eat special. One of these atrocities is very close to my heart. And you know, it really is painful to admit, as I'm a restaurant owner who has really, really rad food made right by people who really love what they do.

About 14 (holy pancakes that's long), years ago, I met my then-future wife, Jellyfish, whose real name is Mirjam, which you all know and love if you read my blog, which you do, dutifully. So we were in college in New Hampshire which is where you end up if you go northeast until you can't go northeast anymore, except for Maine, which is populated entirely by lobsters. The food in New Hampshire is mediocre, by which I mean awful, except for a few things which are done well (pancakes, fish-n-chips). Everything also closes REALLY early. So at one point we end up at a Red Lobster. Red Lobster is a weird name for a restaurant. Lobsters turn red when you cook them. It's a bit like naming a restaurant "Brown Burger" or "Yellow Omelet" or "Pink Hippo". Anyway, in typical chain-restaurant fashion, they have a large menu which is really about 3 things prepared slightly differently.

That night, however, they had ENDLESS SHRIMP.

And we were hungry.

I'm actually surprised that a marine conservancy foundation didn't contact us with a lawsuit for endangering the... well, most likely, farm raised Chinese shrimp. We ate a few billion shrimp, and have done so every year since. Halloween, for us, brings thoughts of endless piles of mediocre shrimp, served by a teenager, along with huge glasses of mediocre beer. I think, at least, they carry SNPA these days.

We were talking about endless shrimp at the bar last night, and our patrons were equal parts sickened and intrigued. Therefore, we've decided, that next year's Endless Shrimp will be a group effort, complete with video and perhaps team jerseys.

More on Endless Shrimp tomorrow, for we go tonight.

The Fest!

Oktoberfest was a huge success this year! Thank you all for coming out. I'm still waiting for some of the images from various peoples' cameras, but here are a few of you enjoying Oktoberfest!

OKTOBERFEST 2009 Oct 2-4!

CLICK IMAGE FOR MENU! DON'T MISS OKTOBERFEST, THIS WEEKEND!!!!!

OKTOBERFEST 2009 Oct 2-4!

It's that time again! Oktoberfest is traditionally a 16 day festival, held in Munich through late September, and ENDING in October. Last year, we held a three-day long fest in late September, but this year, we've moved the festivities to early October (so as not to conflict with various other area events). This year's three day long Oktoberfest will feature live music, and a 100% Bavarian menu for all three days! This is not in addition to our regular menu. That's right - we are going German for a full three day weekend! The menu will be posted shortly, but will feature all of your favorites from last year, plus a couple new ones.

Oktoberfest, of course, would not be complete without full authentic 1 Liter steins of proper German beer, including the very traditional Marzen style. Last year we sold out QUICKLY and will be ordering extra, but get yours EARLY. Details will be posted Saturday!

Cheers! Prost!

Starlight Wine Bar and Restaurant

When we're not eating at the pub, we LOVE the Starlight in Sebastopol. We are very sad to report that Thad, our good friend is undergoing cancer treatment. Starlight is holding a benefit for Thad, click here for donations or details. If you've never been to the Starlight, you have to go; it's this fantastic converted train car in Grav. Station (headed toward Santa Rosa on 12), and some of the best food (and company) in town. If it's been a while, head down there and tell 'em that Barley and Hops sent ya! All our best to Thad, and to a very speedy recovery.

Monday Night Football Specials!!

Barley and Hops Tavern is the place to be for Monday Night Football! The best wings in the area, totally organic, and with 4 homemade, mouth-watering flavors, for .75 / wing (bar only)! That's $4.50 for a half-dozen authentic wings! As many as you like at .75/ea - 6 min per style. We'll also have rotating draft specials during the game (bar only), and the game on the big plasma! Come early - the bar can fill up fast!

In other news, the Hockey season is starting up - get ready for a big Sharks season this year, with a few slapshot specials. Stay tuned for details!

Follow this blog!

Want to stay up-to-date with my latest rants, music calendar, and such!? Follow my blog by clicking here: http://www.blogger.com/follow-blog.g?blogID=8591577930762304407

Real Tacos

So it really was inevitable, as usual when you get your expectations high for something. Let me tell you something that will take you far as both an eater and a cooker.

Now listen up, because I'm only going to say this once, and there WILL be a test at the end, and it WILL be graded and go on your permanent record, which is, you, know, PERMANENT. Here it is. Right.... now:

Authentic food is best defined by what's not in it.
Not all good food is authentic.
Not all authentic food is good.

Food which claims to be authentic, but isn't, is never good.

See? That wasn't so hard. Now I understand that you find this cynical. It IS cynical because authentic food is HARD TO FIND even in places where it should be. It's cynical that most food is so inauthentic, that it's easier to define it by whatever does NOT have a bunch of crap in it that doesn't belong, but it's a fact, more and more.

Suburban sprawl, which is the only geographic setting that makes me want to assplode into a million pieces like the death star, is the main reason for this dumbing down. You know the area, the one where an entire shopping center is designed to look like a city center, but feels more like a b-movie set; vaguely reminiscent of the thing it mockingly imitates, but ultimately fails. It's filled with restaurants which serve food which is vaguely reminiscent of the thing it mockingly imitates, but ultimately fails. It is prepared, factory style, by cooks who aren't even vaguely reminiscent of chefs, and described on menus which are filled with indescribably insulting ethnic-ish phrases which ultimately mean nothing, or, at best, mean crappy bland food. Like "Loco Fajitas!" or "Super-Volcano Flingoes (R) with Chipotlaise (R)!"

Such travesties are typically followed by head-punchingly stupid descriptions which PRIDE themselves in their bastardizations of once recognizable food.

"First, we take our Ranchorita guacomolita and SMOTHER it on our godzilla tacos, THEN we deep fry it in..." you get the picture.

More accurately would be:

"First, we find a food that is inexpensive, technically edible, cheap, and lasts 10000 years on a shelf (liquid cheese product!), then add frozen, pre-portioned, identical meat of any variety, then pay people to reconstitute this travesty and pass it as food... with attitude!"

Bah. People would still eat it.

Now wait a second. You're thinking: "what about tex-mex, and other natural fusion?" This stuff is good, AND authentic. Corned beef and cabbage wouldn't exist without Irish immigrants and Jews living together in New York. New York pizza wouldn't exist, nor would a lot of things. This is good, it's authentic, it was built out of love for food, necessity, and using tradition combined with what was available locally. This is my favorite sort of food. This is not what I'm talking about.

So anyway, dad and I drove from Vista (Southern CA) to Nashville, and ate a lot of chicken tacos along the way. I was hoping to find Authentic tacos but would settle for good ones. First, let me demonstrate my prior statement, about authenticity being defined as what is NOT present. An authentic taco does not have any of the following:

1. Yellow Cheese
2. Crunchy shells (this actually exists in parts of Mexico, but is still sort of chewy, not the rock hard factory shells you get at taco-hut)
3. Ground beef.
4. Sour cream
5. Anything canned

So, with many regional variations, we're talking a double corn tortilla, usually some raw onion, grilled or stewed meat, lime, cilantro, occasionally cumin, pepper. Extra authenticity points for queso fresco, sliced radishes and lime wedges, and may or may not have salsa or pico as a garnish.

Not one. You can get 'em in LA, San Jose, and taco trucks in Oakland, and lots of areas, but in Vista, which is nothing but suburban sprawl, I didn't get one.

They did have good ones at one place. Not authentic (not by a mile) but made with love.

Another good regional variation, and the best on the trip, was in New Mexico. This is real fusion - using traditional methods with local ingredients. The tortillas were hand made, the salsa was exceptionally well made, the chicken flavorful and seasoned tex-mex, but not over the top, and not out of those F(*@#$ing @#$@##$@ damned, Son of a @#$ Pelican@#$@#$ popsicle@#$@#$@#%* ing stup3@#$ @#$ shakers of pre-made rub. (I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really hate these dimes worth of nearly flat spice mixtures. Don't do it, it's inauthentic, and not good. If you buy anything labeled "taco seasoning" you're an idiot. Yes YOU. An idiot. I can't believe you are even capable of reading this. A smarter person must be translating it for you. It's about as authentic as cooking noodles, and dumping on powdered "spaghetti seasoning". BAD.

So look for the real thing, and if you can't find the real thing, look for something made LIKE the real thing, but with local ingredients. My nana (mexican step grandmother) uses longhorn cheese because she likes it, and prepares it like they've done for hundreds of years. What? Everything. She loves the stuff. It's a good enough cheese, even though I probably prefer fresco or blanco, but it isn't out of a can, and it's made with love. Stay away from the chains in the suburban sprawl. They don't care about their food, they care about your money.

And that's a fact.

Chow down, baby

We've just been reviewed on Chow.com as part of an article called "A West Sonoma Road Trip", by Lessley Anderson.

This is a fairly comprehensive guide to great places in the area, including our own (see about 3/4 down the page). They even compare us to our biggest competitor, in Sebastopol, and say we are the best place to get a beer, compared to their "Chili's"-like atmosphere.

HAH!

Hannah Jern-Miller all August!

Our usual Friday Night music with the lovely Jen Tucker is on hold, while Jen enjoys a much-deserved vacation. Luckily, Hannah, one of our favorite local up-and-coming musicians will be taking her spot, Every Friday! Don't Miss!

Check her out at http://www.myspace.com/hannahjernmiller

Obama chooses fake beer.

In the widely publicized meeting between Henry Louis Gates, and Sgt. Crowley due to some unpleasantness at Cambridge, Obama offered up some brews to settle everyone down and have a conversation. Unbelievably, as the leader of the greatest brewing country in the world, the Obamanator chooses.... bud light?

Are you @#$ing me?

I'm less concerned that it's not technically American, as I am that it's not even technically beer, what with rice adjuncting, crappy 4 row malt, and hardly a trace of (high alpha, low flavor) hops. What a let down! I mean, Sam Adams is brewed just a few hours away, and is named after... Samuel Freaking Adams!

I might have to vote independent next election.

Or start a beer party.

Speaking of beer parties, stay tuned for our Second Annual Oktoberfest!!

One year later, Sam

Maybe it's the way that the shadows bobble when you look up. Those rattan fan blades weren't doing much of a job making me feel like I was sipping rum out of a Pineapple while my squeeze danced the hula in a grass skirt, but they did a fair job of making me feel like I was out on the ole roof again, more of the clear than the red in the ole arteries.

But it wasn't the sauce, and I wasn't lit up; not this time. It was cold hard reality with warm edges, like a dame's backhanded slap to the jaw. We'd just been chewed up and spit out, and lived.

It started simple enough, you know this one - some dame, some Sam, cook up some real goofy scheme, only at the time, it doesn't seem that way. Everyone is smart, until they're put wise. A few telephone calls, sure, that's all it is. Then you jaw with some Sam or Jane - sure just ideas, not a commitment.

Next thing you're the owner of a real classy joint. No hash-house; a real venue, not just boozers, but the canary singing away, the lookers preying on some Sam like me, only not me, because I'm sweet on my kitten, ball, chain, and all. Everyone wants to drink out of the same bottle, chew your ear, slap your back, and tiptoe back into bed. Occidental. Occidental's got bulls like I've got the key to Fort Knox...Sure, there's fights, but the old slugger keeps the Sams in line; nobody wants the wooden shampoo with me as your barber...

The paper is real friendly; everyone likes the grub, and loves the brew. Even when it's slow, there's someone to jaw with and something coming down over the wire to look forward to. They all say we should be content, even blissful with so many friends, and having work. I wonder if anyone tells Sisyphus he should feel lucky, because he's a king.

One year later we have a crack team of dolls and Sams-- all aces, every one of them. I owe them all a story of their own, but that will have to wait a tick. Our eats are better than your grandmother's, and I don't care how freshly she stumbled off some boat. The brew- oh the beer- a glass full of life with bubbles. Don't take my word; ask around. Ask anyone. The word is out, and the mouths keep repeating it. And we keep working harder. My doll, she's no Gretta Garbo glamorpuss. She's a dish, but she's tough. The cooking side of things is real trench warfare; her and Big Mike operate the works, and what comes out is the real McCoy. She's a newspaper dame, not grill jockey, but she does what needs doing and nobody does it any better. Myself, I'm the mugshot on works. I handle the jack, the suds, the Sams, the Janes, the dishes, the dogs, the real Brunos and the daisies. We make it work, but it's not as easy as we make it look.

A year gone by, I remember the parties, the fun, the yelling, the nutjobs, the wiseguys, the crackpots. The feds want their cut. The town wants their cut, even the record companies that recorded some canary yammering on wax wants an annual cut. It all looks good on paper until you realize what a shakedown it can be. We're in the pocket and staying, Sam, and it's been a bumpy ride. Next year though. We'll get the jump on next year. It won't know what hit it.


Now, if there's nothing more, it's time to take a powder, wet the whistle, and get some grub at Barley and Hops.

4th of July

Father's Day Specials!

Entree: 16oz Top Sirloin, prepared with an espresso black pepper crust, with a pan sauce of Fuller's ESB

Served with: Classic Idaho Jacket Potato with a balsamic compound butter and fresh grilled asparagus spears

24.-

Also Available: A fresh spinach salad with applewood smoked bacon pieces and hardboiled egg with a tarragon vinaigrette. 8.-

Dessert: Our Brownie / Blondie duo 6.50

Don't miss!

Hours

Just a slight update to the hours of operation, we've extended weekend dinner hours (fri-sat) to 10:00pm, and the rest of the week to 9:30pm. Enjoy, ya dirty vultures!

NEW MENU

Is now live! Check it out here

Farmer's Markets, Live Music, Menu Changes, New Chefs, and Lots of Beer

In our continuing effort to remain the only establishment necessary for going out to eat, I have an entire wheelbarrow full of fun, exciting, and also rad announcements-

1. Farmer's Market: You may not know this, but Occidental has a Friday Farmer's Market, right in the street, every Friday starting this Friday. What's really sweet is that it's an evening thing, because who in the name of popcorn balls wants to get up at 7:00AM to buy crafts, eat sausages, and drink beer? Wait. What? Okay.

So for nearly a century, and by a century, I mean 6 months, I've had these big plans to serve beer at the Farmer's market. It starts at 4:00pm, it's hot, there's live music, and lots of great food. Seems a cold brew would be just the thing! So we check with the ABC's website, which has an event form for only 25 bucks to allow me to sell beer outdoors! I count on this, and tell EVERYONE, including the president, my cat, and Santa, that we will be selling beer there. I'm all ready to build a jockey box, (which is neither a box, nor a vessel for holding jockeys) for dispensing beer, and getting small kegs lined up. Turns out that this form is only good for NON-PROFITS. I didn't know this, because it doesn't say so anywhere on the form(!).

Our hopes are dashed, we return home, tails between legs, crying, arms outstretched skyward, periodically wailing in agony that we've been forsaken by all creatures, big and small, and are in an eternal hell which we've wrought, unwittingly, and which lays waste to all that is good and true; the harbinger of destruction and chaos, bringer of ill-being, and...
Well it sucked. Nonetheless, we will probably sell our world-famous soft pretzels, and grill sausages, and eventually do some draft (root) BEER. So come out every Friday at 4:00 for a great time, and get your beer across the street, at BH Tav, because the ABC doesn't want you to have any fun. They hate fun. And kittens. Yeah. The ABC hates kittens.

2. Live Music. This entire month will be music-tastic (take that Shakespeare). We have a band playing every Saturday evening, so don't miss, check calendar for details. Do you know someone who is in a really rad band, that rules? Send me a link or a sample. We pay in beer and food. No covers. Because ASCAP also sucks (see earlier blog).

3. Menu Changes. By this time tomorrow, we will be unveiling our new menu. Unveiling is sort of an odd term, because it implies that things walk around in veils all the time. Who or what besides a bride is veiled? Weird. Anyway, we have this meatball sando which will blow your mind. It's really good, mainly because it has meatballs, which are really good. We make them. If you have a restaurant with meatballs and you don't hand-make them with love, then you should go jump off something. Nothing too high, I don't want anyone getting badly hurt, but high enough that you think twice about using fake meatballs. Also, our new Chef, Mike has brought his culinary educated, bad-ass self into the mix, and we have some spectacu-licious new desserts, seasonal specialties, and other assorted deliciousness. Check out the new menu tomorrow. It's still affordable down-right cheap, homemade, and rad.

4. Last and most importantly, we have a plethora, a cornucopia, a..er... SEVERAL! new beers. Wait to you check out Little Sumpin' by perennial fave Lagunitas, Sierra Summerfest on draft, Racer 5 now on draft, La Chouffe ... ahhh which brings me to:

GLASS OF THE MONTH!

Very often, I'm asked "Kind Sir, might I purchase this article of glassware, that I may bring it home and enjoy beer properly whilst not present at your Tavern?" to which I universally reply "No. And don't steal it, 'neither, see?" Then I punch the person square in the nose for talking how I imagine the Monopoly guy with the monocle sounds. BUT NOW, for a mere 4 bucks (with beer purchase, wise-guy) you can take home the fancy Belgian glass from which you tip your tipple. This month: La Chouffe, a fantastic Belgian Blonde.

Stay tuned for the menu update tomorrow.

Don't you love your mother?

If you did, you'd take her to the pub. I mean, if you hate her, and don't care if she's happy on Mother's Day, you could go ahead and take her somewhere else, like applebees or restaurants that aren't Barley and Hops tavern. But, on the other hand, if you actually want her to enjoy herself... be a good boy. 707-874-9037. Make a reservation.

We'll be doing our full menu, and some special specials. Which is why they're called specials. If they weren't, we'd call them mundanes, and they'd be made from things like melba toast and condensed soup. But they aren't, and they're not.

Crab bisque from FRESH dungeoness crabs (yeah, fresh. We're THAT close to the ocean). Three types of quiche. Yeah. That's right. THREE. Which is way better than two. One of them is even vegetarian, in case you hate the food chain, and the circle of life. Or if you're like me, and just like vegetables a lot. One of the quiches has bacon. It's not the vegetarian one. Vegetarians don't eat bacon, except when nobody is looking.

Make your reservation early. We'll get packed. 11am-9pm.

Lagunitas Night!

COME OUT THIS SATURDAY!!! 5/2/09

The owner of Lagunitas, Tony, will be out playing some music. Dollar off all Lagunitas beer. And I have a lot of good stuff. The very last Farmhouse in existence, some of the final draft Censored, and of course, Pils, my Vintage Gnarlywine, and the new Pale. In bottles, we'll have some hop stoopid, a little Ruben and the Jets, Undercover shutdown, good ole IPA, and more. DO NOT MISS THIS FREE EVENT. If you do, you're an idiot, and I hate you. A lot.

Also, we're going to run our legendary pulled pork special, homemade spicy baked beans, and more...

Also, Porter the Cat says meow.

New Extended Hours!

You begged for it. Every day. It's all you could think about, like a mosquito of awesomeness, gnawing at the flesh of restaurant hours, reaching for that juicy nectar of more...

Yeah.

Now open 7 days. (no more tuesdays closed). Just for you.
Also, now open an hour earlier on Sunday. 11-9 kitchen on Sunday.

Because we care.

Lucky Otis THIS SATURDAY!

This one is going to be very slick. This Saturday was going to be musicless due to a scheduling hole, but Lucky stepped in at the last minute get a show rocking. Check him out at http://www.myspace.com/luckyotis. I wouldn't pidgin-hole him into one category, so give it a listen yourself. The show will go on in the evening, probably around 8:00PM. Don't miss this show.

From Lucky's myspace:

Otis, the "Grandson of Rhythm & Blues", is a true L. A. native... hailing from a musical family, he was born & raised in the heart of the black community. Having been heavily exposed to African-American roots & culture much like his father, star child prodigy / guitar super-hero Shuggie Otis ("Strawberry Letter 23"), and his grandfather, legendary R & B pioneer / Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Otis ("Willie & the Hand Jive"), Lucky realized his passion for music & began his studies at an early age. In addition to singing & playing a vast multitude of various instruments, he has also remained highly active in the composing, arranging, & recording of his own original material since the start of his already lengthy career.

Foolish fools, ASCrAP, and the great hunt

One thing I like about small towns, besides the earthiness conveyed when telling someone that you're from a small town, are the quirky festivals. Sure, Geneva on the Lake, near Cleveland has the Grape Jamboree, Gilroy has it's Garlic Festival, and Punxatawnee, PA has Groundhog Day, and Camden, NJ has the annual "New Potholes on the Garden State Parkway" Jubilation.

Occidental has the Fools' Day Parade.

Located in Downtown Occidental, (which is like saying the East Wing of a studio apartment), the streets...er...single road is blocked off so that scantilly clad hippies, crazies, zanies, kids, riffos, and pop-a-squeals (I made up some of those), come out of the woodwork to dress up in silly hats and attire (mainly fish this year), and dance to marching bands and floats. It's a several-hour event with lots of live music, and hungry/thirsty patrons. We had our favorite local band, Peanut Butter and Jam play, outside on our smallish deck, as well as Kosuke spin the best indie music you've never heard of. Which brings me to ASCAP.

ASCAP is an acronym for: Draconian Trade Organization, Hellbent on Raping Small Businesses.

Basically, they represent musicians and composers and make sure that people pay for the rights when profiting off of their copyrighted creative work. Fair enough. We like that. It makes us happy, and gleefull, and also warm and squishy, and also happy. And Joyfull. Anways, the problem is that, without conducting any actual research, they try and bill small businesses (who may not be aware of the copyright act provisions protecting small businesses), whether or not they have actually violated the law.

A small pub is allowed to turn on the radio or TV if it is below a square footage and speaker number, under what we call the Homestyle Exemption. Without checking, ASCAP assumes I'm liable because I have live music (I allow only originals) and have a radio. I don't owe them anything. If I do DJ's, I can pay a FAR smaller amount (a few hundred a year). Fine. Covers Karaoke too. Neat. But I got a bill for thousands of dollars which I don't owe. If I hadn't gone to lawschool, I'd have probably payed it also. I explained the situation to the (befuddled) lady from ASCAP, and she relented, telling me I only need to pay a small fraction for unlimited rights to have DJ's.

This sort of nonsense hurts small businesses.
It hurts 'Merica.
It kills kittens.
Yeah that's right. Every time ASCAP wrongfully sends out a letter like this, a kitten spontaneously poofs out of existence.

Also, we're hiring an experienced line-cook! See our CL ad before appling
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/fbh/1114795658.html

St. Patty's Day (Yes, we're opened)

I'm aware that updates have become less frequent of late. This is mainly due to the fact that, as it turns out, taxes and accounting are not simple for brand-new restaurants. The amount of data that must be collected, categorized, collated, and continuously counted is astounding. While accounting is a less than facinating blog subject, St. Patrick's day is just the sort of thing one would expect to see the tavernkeep posting about.

Right off the bat, I hate green dyed beer, and so should you. Here's a quote from MSNBC. Brew lovers know Thomas Dalldorf well:

“The worst thing we've done about St. Paddy's Day is to put green food coloring in bad beer,” laments Thomas Dalldorf, editor and publisher of Celebrator Beer News. “The Irish think we're absolutely foolish for doing that.”

And he's right. Not only does it wreak havoc on a draft system, it's tacky and unforgivable. If the pub you're at puts food coloring in the beer, you are at the wrong pub. Luckily, this practice has fallen out of favor somewhat, as good Irish beer other than Guinness (which is also good), has become more readily available.

I'll be showcasing some special Irish beers for comparing and contrasting, and for enjoying with our St. Patty's menu, which will be revealed later. While green beer is non-Irish and tacky, corned beef  is non-Irish, and innovative. In the 1800's Irish and Jewish immigrants lived near eachother in New York. Irish bacon, traditionally served with cabbage back in Ireland, was totally unavailable. The Irish immigrants discovered that corned beef, which is basically brisket brined with saltpeter (which is why it stays red) makes a very tasty substitute, and the rest is history. While not eaten in Ireland, it's eaten by Irish-Americans and Jews alike. This is pretty cool, and by cool I mean delicious. We'll have plenty to go around.

So, even though we're not opened on Tuesdays, we are opened on St. Patty's starting at NOON! Come EARLY to get a good seat. Live music at around 8:00PM, Good music throughout the day. No cover. Special Irish beer.