On the Road Again

Back to the road, and this time for business.  I got the company to agree to let me drive to Pittsburgh (I like driving, hate backtracking, and I was in Rochester already) and planned my route appropriately.  So I was sent from Synod and shuffled off to Buffalo. 

 

The Anchor Bar boasts of being the birthplace of Buffalo wings, and it was #116 on Beer Advocate’s must list.  And although it isn’t in the best part of town, I felt comfortable parking in front of the ELCA church.  The staff was nice, and I ordered the wings (what else?).  Their medium was the original recipe, so I got half medium and half hot (no suicidal).  They were delicious, spicy and meaty, and not even close to being too hot (I guess I will try the suicidal next time).  The beer selection was disappointing (how about some Anchor beer in the Anchor bar?), but I was able to find a McSorley’s Irish Pale Ale on draft.  Next on the list was a quick stop in Erie at the Brewerie at Union Station.  The beer was average, but the facility was beautiful and they sold local bottle.  So I got a sample (I particularly liked their Steam beer) and I was able to get a Lavery Liopard Oir, a nice saison from a local brewery. 

Made it to Pittsburgh, but wasn’t in the mood for a big dinner, so I stopped by D’s. Their Chicago dog really hit the spot, but next time I’ll have to try a Scorpion (more of a cheddar jalapeno sausage) Chihuahua (more jalapenos and hot sauce).  They had Unibroue Terrible on draft, as well as a Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier.  The bottle selection is top notch, and since I was driving I didn’t have to worry about airline weight limits.  I got a few bottles from  Full Pint and Mission breweries.  We had our meeting the next day, and even though we didn’t go directly to my choice, we eventually made it to the Rivertowne Pourhouse for dinner.  I got a steak Stromboli (just like old times on the farm) and a sampler.  And even though I enjoyed most of the beers (I particularly liked the Dark Helmet Schwarzbier, presumably a tribute to Spaceballs) my favorite by far was the Mango Weizen.  For those of you who don’t like fruit in their beers, you got to try this one.

We finished early the next day, so it was time to head home.  So I headed off to State College to check out some famous beer stops that my travels have never brought me near before.  The first was Otto’s Pub and Brewery, a nice brewpub on the edge of town.  They had a great variety of beer, but I chose Mom’s Elderberry Stout (great Grail reference, by the way) to go with my Reuben.  The homemade sauerkraut and corned beef certainly added to the experience.  I next headed over to Zeno’s Pub, right across from the Penn State campus.  This bar was a hole-in-the-wall (and I mean that as the most sincere compliment) and had an impressive local and microbrew selection.  I got the Elk Creek Poe Paddy Porter on cask and Port brewing Mongo.  The bartender was polite, but was busy with the locals, so I moved on to Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series to the Bullfrog brewpub.  The city is on the river (must be nice in summer) and tried their smoked porter.  The smoke wood was different, but the bartender didn’t have much to offer in details so I again got back on the road.  This time it was to the Vestal Ale House in Vestal, NY for dinner.  I got the ham and cheese sandwich with their homemade spicy mustard (watch out for the mustard, it truly is a killer) with a Great Lakes Dopplerock, a tribute to Cleveland being the home to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. 

I made it home in 9-1/2 hours, and beat my co-workers home by almost 3 hours.  If you like to drive, plan the trip and enjoy the ride. – 5785/10888

"There is more to life than beer alone, but beer makes those other things even better." – Stephen Morris