Trusty Rusty

With all of the bars and restaurants in Portsmouth that come and go, sometimes it’s easy to take for granted those places that are just solid and reliable. I found myself thinking that way as I ate dinner at the Rusty Hammer the other night.
There’s nothing special or spectacular about the place. But it’s one of the few places in town that you can go anymore and get a decent, filling meal and a beer without breaking the bank. The Friendly Toast used to be one of those places, but its prices have gone through the roof, and I always felt weird ordering a beer at a breakfast place anyway.
Over the years, the Rusty Hammer has hardly changed its menu, yet I keep coming back. It’s one of the best places in town for lunch, but it’s also a pretty good place to watch a sporting event. In fact, in the year or so that we’ve been running this blog, I think the only time I even mentioned the Hammer was in the list of best places to watch a game. Yet, both The Beer Drinker and I ate there on different days this past weekend.
Like I said, there’s nothing flashy about it. Great burgers, good sandwiches, usually a seafood special, but not much else. And the beer selection’s nothing to write home about either. Just the basics — Bud, Bud Light, Red Hook, Sam, Guinness. But there’s something to be said for a place that offers good food at a reasonable price.

– Mr. X

Signs of life at Gracie’s?

According to Friend of The Beer Drinker (FOTBD) Rachel Forrest over at the Herald, the former Gracie’s diner has a new owner. It’s Eddie Barton (not to be confused with our boy Eddie Day, the new beverage manager at the Gaslight), the same dude who just sold Bella Luna, which is supposed to reopen this month under the new name Bella Sol.

According to Rach, the new place at the old Gracie’s will serve up BBQ and comfort food, and will do breakfast, lunch and dinner. No word yet on what the beer situation will be, but we’ll keep you posted.

– Mr. X

Beware of winter mixers

I enjoy trying new beers — especially beers that are hard to find. And I always enjoy bringing an unusual mix of beers to a party.
So I’ve long been a fan of the 12-pack seasonal mixers that many breweries put out, typically in the summer, fall and winter. Back in the day, I’d always try to pick up one of the Sam Adams winter mixers, because I’m a big fan of their Old Fezziwig Ale and I haven’t figured out ay other way to get my hands on it (to my knowledge, it’s not sold individually). A couple months ago, I brought a Smuttynose mixer to a cookout, and it was a big hit. And just this week, The Beer Drinker and I sampled Magic Hat’s winter mixer, which consists of Lucky Kat (one of my new favorite beers), a dark winter beer called Howl, the regular Pale Ale, and Odd Notion.
The variety is great. But for some reason, the assemble these mixers always seem to put one lousy beer into the 12-pack. Which means you’re stuck with 3 beers that no one wants to drink. I still think it’s worth it for the variety, but it has meant drinking some crappy beers over the years, as undoubtedly at the end of your gathering you’re left with those clunkers sitting in your fridge.
With the Sam mixers, it was always the Cranberry Lambic. How Sam managed to screw up a beer so badly is beyond me. I like almost every beer they make. But adding cranberry probably wasn’t a good idea from the get-go. That stuff is just plain awful — undrinkable. And I love me some beer, so for me to say that, it’s gotta be pretty bad.
Even Smuttynose can’t get it right. With all of the great beer they brew, they still managed to toss in the Starfish Single, which is another barely drinkable beer (though still not as bad as the Cranberry Lambic). No one wanted to touch those things.
And both times I’ve picked up a Magic Hat mixer, I’ve been left with three of their Odd Notion beers. Great label — some sort of a skeleton theme for the fall mixer, and a winter scene for the winter mixer — but the beer is just foul tasting.
The only ones who seem to be able to get it right are my people over at Brooklyn. When I picked up their sampler, everything in it was good. I especially enjoyed the ‘55 Pennant Ale.
So if you do happen to pick up a Sam mixer this holiday season, be sure to save the Fezziwig for me. And if there’s anyone out there who actually likes the Cranberry Lambic, let me know and I’ll gladly make a donation.

– Mr. X

Street Report: Post Halloween Parade, etc.

I’ve kind of been pulling a Mr. X lately, not having much to tell about my recent bouts around town beer drinking and such. I’ve been a busy with a big job change and doing some preliminary work for some of that Empire Building I’ve mentioned in the past.

But I did get out a bit with my Special Lady on Saturday night so I could show her what Portsmouth was all about on Halloween with the big parade.

We checked out some spooky costumes, had a visit with Our Man in Concord with his special lady, then did our fair share of beer drinking around town. Here’s some of the highlights:

Flatbread on Congress Street may not strike you as a place for a fine pint, but you would be dead wrong my fellow Beer Drinkers. Check the stats on tap: Peak Organic Nut Brown, Redhook ESB, Tuckerman’s (a favorite of yours truly) and a few more I can’t bring to mind. I’ll tell you another thing: aside from the nice, big bar that has a wall-sized window overlooking Congress, there’s some nice couches to sit on right in front of that window. It’s a pretty cozy spot. Of course, we were there to chow down on some pizza, so there was no couch time. My point is simple. If you want some fine microbrews a bit off the beaten path, you should get over to flatbreads. If you get a table, maybe you will be lucky enough to have the fine service of Anchorwoman, who will snap up your order so quick and have it at your table, you think she has a damn time machine.

Over at the Dolphin Striker there was really great Spanish-influenced rock band playing (wish I caught the name) and our favorite bartender Ray was getting down with a very cool 70s afro, gold chains, shades and wearing his button down Tristan-style. Hey, for beers there was some Smuttynose IPA, of course. I admit, I miss having the Old Brown Dog over there, but the music was so good, it reminded me I need to slip over there on a Tuesday night soon. I am hoping to see Melvern Taylor and Jon Nolan over there this year again on those nights as we head back toward winter. Before we left, the Coz slipped in for a quick beer and he was all congrats about my new gig. Nice seeing you Coz, but we gotta run.

It was raining pretty hard when we got outside so I did the only thing I could and got us to the closest bar that was open: that meant an unconvential choice — the ground-level floor of the Gas Light. It was a pleasant discovery. Not only did they have some fine beers on tap (yet another spot where you could find Peak Organic Nut Brown), there was one of my favorite Red Hook brands: Nitro. Again, I underestimated the potential beer selection. And, the musician with the mullet and Hawaiian shirt was really good. And, the Gas Light did a really nice job when they revamped the bar/restaurant area some months back. Don’t take my word, go check it out.

Of course, I had to go to church and hit The Press Room at the end of the night. There were a lot of parade costumes we got to check out up close, which was fun. Even Tristan was doing his best Village People routine as a very moustachied cowboy. Nice look. After he got off duty, he headed home and had a quick shave and found his Phillies ball cap. We were drinking a couple Harpoon IPAs and took in the band. More costumed characters surrounded us. The beer was cold and my Special Lady felt like she got to check out some of the finer points of Portsmouth.

As Frank likes to say in “Old School”, it was actually a pretty nice little Saturday.

– The Beer Drinker

Beer at Popovers?

A few notes picked up while kicking around town the past couple days:

• Who knew that Popovers, of all places, had a liquor license? And they’ve got a pretty good selection, too. In addition to a bunch of mixed drinks, they’ve got Glenlivet for you Scotch Drinkers, and some pretty good beers, including Dogfish Head IPA, Peak Organic, and Smuttynose.
• Tristan was selling the Roxy Rolles for $3 a pint on Friday night. He said the good folks at Magic Hat gave the Press Room another keg for putting the stuff on tap there, and he’d have the $3 pints until the first keg was kicked. Not sure if the deal’s still in effect, but you might want to stop by there tonight to find out. I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that the keg won’t survive Halloween.
• It’s still a ways off, but it sounds like Ri Ra — that’s right, the place that I actually had a beer last week — is planning a big Thanksgiving Eve party on Wednesday, Nov. 25. According to the folks at the city’s only remaining Irish pub, the event is not to be missed. There will be Irish music starting at 9 p.m., and Long Trail pints for $3. Mmm…
• River House (whom we hadn’t heard from in a while, incidentally) is holding what sounds like a pretty cool event on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Starting at 6 p.m., they’ll be having a small batch bourbon tasting and dinner. Tickets are $50 each, and reservations will be limited to 45 persons. There will be complimentary hats and bourbon-dipped cigars, and one lucky diner will win a drawing for a cherry wood bourbon cabinet. Five different small batch bourbons will be showcased, with a four-course dinner paired with each one.
• Yeah, it’s in Dover, but they’ve got Portsmouth ties, and The Press Project will be holding a reunion show at the Dover Brickhouse on Friday, Nov. 20 at 9 p.m. It’s not often you get a chance to hear good hip-hop on the Seacoast, so check it out.
• Pesce Blue sent us an e-mail this week letting us know they’re bringing back their $10 lunch special, featuring a cup of the homemade house soup and a choice of sandwich. Now, if they throw a beer in there too, I’m in.

– Mr. X

McMenemy’s, we hardly new ye

According to today’s Portsmouth Herald, McMenemy’s Restaurant and Pub on State Street has closed its doors for good. The Irish bar had been open just under one year, having replaced Molly Malone’s, another Irish pub.
The owners aren’t saying, but it sounds like the poor economy may be the culprit. In fact, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more local restaurants and bars go under in the past year, given the economic conditions.
It’s too bad, really. I never even stepped foot in the place, but I had heard good things about it from The Beer Drinker and others. It would have been tough to replace Molly’s, though, which was an institution.
Unless another Irish pub takes McMenemy’s place, this should be good news for Ri Ra and the Press Room, which will likely pick up the regulars who formerly went to McMenemy’s.

– Mr. X

What’s on tap (get it?) at the Portsmouth Gaslight Co.

Eddie, the new beverage manager (cool title — how do I land a job like that?) at the Portsmouth Gaslight Co., dropped us a line this week to let us know about some cool things going on over there.

This weekend, he said, the Gaslight is starting a new “Buy a Beer or Cocktail, get a Free slice of Pizza” promo on Friday and Saturday nights after 11 p.m. in the downstairs pizza pub. The deal will run all winter. Also starting in November, the lunchtime pizza buffet will be $5.99, with $1 Bud and Bud Light drafts. Nothing like cheap beer at lunchtime to make the rest of the workday go quickly…

Eddie also said the Gaslight will be adding Allagash White, Dogfishhead 60 and Guinness on tap once they run out of their supply of Shipyard Pumpkin, Spaten Okt and Red Hook Nitro Porter, probably around the first or second week of November. He said Red Hook is no longer making Nitro Porter, and urges everyone to come on down to help the Gaslight finish off its last few barrels.

– Mr. X

Red Door turns 6!

Happy 6th birthday, Red Door!

It’s hard to believe, but the Red Door is officially 6 years old. They’re holding a big birthday celebration this Thursday night, featuring Dave Ralph, Lord Bass and Ryan Obermiller, some familiar faces at the RD in recent years.

I don’t get to the Red Door all that much (my aversion to cover charges and paying more than $4 for a beer tends to get in the way), but the 6-year anniversary got me thinking about how lucky we are to have a place like Red Door in Portsmouth.

It’s one of the few places — if not the only place — in town where you can consistently see live DJ music, and more importantly, hip hop artists. I still remember the time The Beer Drinker and I wandered in there on a weeknight last winter (yes, I even paid the cover charge) and caught what appeared to be some sort of rap-off, with various MCs who didn’t appear to be part of the same group swapping the mic back and forth. It was a pretty amazing display, the type of thing you don’t expect to see in New Hampshire.

Anyway, kudos to Cresta and Jay for keeping the place hoppin’ for 6 years.

By the way, the birthday party is just one event in what promises to be a busy week at the Red Door. Tonight (Monday), they’re hosting a costume bash to benefit the Portsmouth Halloween Parade (perhaps you’ve heard of it), and a week from tonight, on Monday, Nov. 2, Jay himself will be spinning the tunes.

Check it out. ‘Cuz Mr. X said so.

– X

Thursday night recap, AKA, Mr. X returns to Ri Ra

It’s never a good sign when Lady Ga Ga comes on just as you walk into a bar.
— Mr. X

Yes indeed, that was the start to our Thursday night — “Poker Face” by Lady Ga Ga on the stereo at Pocos. What’s that, you say? What was I doing out in Portsmouth two nights in the same week? That’s a very good question given my recent absence from the local scene. But there I was, flanked by The Beer Drinker and Fredo for another night of drunken revelry. Pocos has consistently been one of our favorite places to start a night, so we figured it would be a good place to start on Thursday. It wasn’t too bad — fairly lively for a chilly, fall night — but it wasn’t great, either. Actually, I was surprised anyone was there at all after work crews ruptured a gas main at the site of the old Pocos deck, making the entryway to the bar look like a bit of a war zone.
But there was a pretty good crowd there checking out the Bruins’ OT shootout. And of course, a group of people sitting at what I like to refer to as “The Window.” If you’ve been to Pocos before, you know what I’m talking about. It’s that area behind the bar that’s framed in brick where you can sit and look at people on the other side of the bar. There’s always someone in there, and because they are framed by bricks, they always draw a little more attention from the other people at the bar than if they were sitting on a regular barstool. One time, I actually got stuck sitting in “The Window” when I was out drinking with The Beer Drinker, Fredo and The Captain. They all got there first, and were sitting along the side bar. Because I got there last, the only way I could sit next to them was to sit around the corner in “The Window.” Little did I know when I sat down, however, that directly across from me on the other side of the bar was a girl whom I had embarrassed myself in front of a few weeks earlier at another bar. Needless to say, it wasn’t easy to pretend I didn’t see her while sitting in “The Window.” But I digress…
After a couple of pints at Pocos, we considered stopping by the Dolphin Striker, since it had been a while since I had seen Ray. But the tunes coming from the open door didn’t sound like my type of music, so we skipped it.
Instead, we decided to go to… Are you ready for this? Ri Ra. That’s right, Ri Ra, the bar I’ve been ripping ever since they opened in this town. Fredo and The Beer Drinker suggested it, and I’m always up for another chance to write negative things about the place I’ve consistently called one of the worst bars in Portsmouth. But you know what? It wasn’t half bad on Thursday night. The service was much better, the crowd of meatheads that used to hang there appear to have cleared out, there were a ton of good beers on tap (we went with Switchback), and there was even a good game on (Yanks-Angels). There’s one thing they still haven’t figured out, though. The music. The guy playing the guitar and singing wasn’t half bad (at least until he started playing showtunes), but the acoustics, as I’ve mentioned before, are atrocious in the building. It’s probably due to the high ceilings or something, but the point is, they’ve got to do something about that. Either Fredo or The Beer Drinker, I can’t remember which one, actually had a pretty good idea — have the musicians play unplugged.
From Ri Ra, it was off to the Press Room. There was a pretty good crowd, courtesy of the Undead Beat Night that had just wrapped up upstairs, and a pretty good musician, too. But it still wasn’t as lively as Tuesday’s night’s Open Mic Night. Still, we did get to hang a bit with Gregg, the ex-Press Room and current Hilton Garden Inn bartender, who I hadn’t seen in a while. Overall, it was another good night in Portsmouth. We even stopped by Gilley’s for a burger at the end of the night. Almost made the next day’s hangover worth it…

– Mr. X

Mad Men: The best drinking show on television

If blogs existed in the 1960s, and if Sterling Cooper’s Manhattan headquarters were a real place,  then someone in its Madison Avenue office would have a web site much like this one, except it might be called “The bourbon drinking report,” or “The drinking-cocktails-during-my-three-hour-lunchbreak report.”

Now in its third season, Mad Men has established itself as the best drinking show on TV, if not the best show on TV period.

Everything everybody already knows about the 1960s – politics, civil rights and Vietnam – are just background music in the series, as it paints a fantasized picture of what powerful, Madison Avenue advertisement execs were like during the decade.  And those guys really liked their booze.

Alcohol plays a major supporting role at Sterling Cooper, the fictional ad agency the show is predominantly based around.

Every office has a liquor cabinet in it, except for Duck Phillips’, only because he became such a notorious booze hound he had to quit to keep his career.  Protagonist Don Draper gives his eight year old daughter instructions on making a Tom Collins by simply saying “it’s like an Old Fashioned, but with gin instead of bourbon.” And little Sally Draper immediately knows what to do.  In one episode, Freddy Rumson is so drunk during the work day, he pisses himself right before a big meeting.   And then there’s the incident resulting from the dangerous combination of a drunken office party, a ride-on John Deere, and an Englishmen’s foot.

But unlike this blog, drunken escopades aren’t the only reason to pay attention to Mad Men.  Literati’s can spend hours analyzing the perceived symbolism in every line of dialogue, while  women like Betty “The ice queen” Draper and Joan Holloway (Who I think may have recently been hired to tend bar at The Press Room, by the way) make it hard to pay attention to any of the dialogue.

Mad Men.  Sundays.  10 p.m.  AMC.

-Fredo

Note – The only other show that’s even in the running for best drinking show on TV is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and drinking is pretty much the only thing the two shows have in common with each other.