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May 20, 2008
Essen-Haus
I was in Madison, Wisconsin last week for a conference and after finishing my last law school final exam one night, I decided to go out and have a mini-celebration. As luck would have it, there was a German restaurant not too far from my hotel: The Essen-Haus.
The Essen-Haus is pretty much what I've come to expect from a German restaurant: dark wood, German beer paraphernalia, and a guy in lederhosen playing an accordion. The food was also exactly what I've come to expect, too: brown.
Look, German food is ugly, there is just no denying it. Ugly and delicious! I stayed traditional and had some Sauerbraten. It was brown meat, covered in brown gravy, with a light brown dumpling, and some dark red cabbage. Seriously, I don't think you could make German food look less appetizing if you tried. No matter, the stuff tasted great. And besides, I came for the beer.
It's taken me a long time to become a beer drinker... I never drank it in college, and for the longest time, I would only drink wheat beers (liquid bread!). But over time, I've been broadening my horizons. So, with 16 German beers on tap, I sampled a few.
I started out with with the usual: weiss. I tried the Franziskaner Weiss which was a light, cloudy weiss, great citrus taste and really wheaty. Not bad at all, but I moved on to the Franziskaner Dunkel Weiss, which I preferred. It's darker and the flavor is a little more complex.
There was a beer on the list called Spaten Optimator, which I was dying to try... I mean, what an awesome name for a beer, "Optimator"! Who wouldn't like that?! But sadly, they were out. So I tried the Spaten Lager instead. It was light and crisp--pretty tasty overall.
The beer I ended up with for my meal was a Kostritzer Schwarzbier . I'd never had a Schwarzbier before, but damn, that was one amazing beer. It was a deep brown and had a smooth, roasted taste--very malty. I could have consume quite a bit of this beer. Oh, wait, I did!
So, if you're in Madison, I think it's worth stopping by the Essen-Haus for a nice meal of German beer, I mean with German beer.
Posted by Dave! Permalink
May 19, 2008
Dave, JD!
Graduation was yesterday. My wife, Kristyna, was able to hood me, because she's an alum (J.D. '00). I can't believe it's over. Well, I do have to wait for my final grades to come in! How weird is that? But barring some catastrophe, I'm done. At least for a week. Next week this time, I'll be sitting in a Bar/Bri lecture, trying to prepare myself for the Illinois Bar Exam.
Posted by Dave! Permalink
May 15, 2008
Piper's Pyramide
Unquestionably, some of the United State's finest goat cheeses are being made a Capriole Farms by Judy Schad and Piper's Pyramide is no exception.
Piper's Pyramide is modeled after the French Valencay, and is a bloomy rind cheese, which is dusted with paprika. The name for Capriole's version comes from Schad's "red-haired granddaughter, Piper" and of course, the shape. Her grand-daughter should be honored, because this is one stellar cheese. My cheesemonger said they can't keep it in stock, and it is not hard to see why!
Underneath the bloomy rind is a soft, velvety interior that is light and buttery. If you let the cheese age, it will start to get runny (which isn't bad!!) but I don't know if I would ever last long enough to age in my house. The charactaristic flavors of a goat's cheese are there--slight citrus notes--but the difference between the Piper's Pyramide and a more in-your-face goat cheese is the degree... the Pyramide is all about subtlety. I think this cheese would make an amazing addition to any cheese board, and although Capriole recommend pairing it with a crisp, light sauvignon blanc, I don't think it needs to be paired with anything. Talk about a cheese that stands alone!
Posted by Dave! Permalink
May 6, 2008
American Idle
I should be working on my last take-home exam... ever. Which means I'm procrastinating and watching American Idol. Which really sucks this season. I just cannot get excited about any of the final four. They just really aren't very good--and not being very good for American Idol is pretty sad, the bar isn't that high.
David Cook irritates me. I think he's a poseur, not really a rocker. And man, did he suck tonight. His version of Hungry Like the Wolf was, well, like a really bad karaoke version. And don't get me started on Baba O'Riley. He butchered it. My wife remarked that she though he did it just so he could sing "teenage wasteland" over and over, trying to seem cool. I think he just must secretly hate The Who. I mean, why else would anyone do that to them?
Seyesha belongs on Broadway. She'd be great in a theatrical production. She is not good doing Tina Turner. That felt like a bad revue from the Ike and Tina story or something. And oh, I'm sorry, she had no business singing anything by Sam Cooke. Her version of A Change Is Gonna Come was awful. Randy knew it. You do not need to do pointless runs in a Sam Cooke song. It can't just be an age thing, I'm younger than the generation that would have grown up with Sam Cooke, but c'mon, it's like she never listed to him!
David Archuleta is probably going to win this thing, but I've grown to really dislike him as well. At first, I thought he was just a stand-up kid with a good voice. Now I think he's a stepford kid or something. Does he ever show real emotion? It's almost like he's a plastic kid. Creepy. It doesn't help that he did Stand By Me, which I hate... it has to be one of the most overrated songs ever. And Love Me Tender was pretty lame as well. He's definitely the most consistent--the most consistently over-thought and over-produced, but considering the level of the competition, I'd say he stands a good shot.
Poor Jason Castro... unlike Archuleta, I genuinely like this dork. It's probably because he is a dork, and he just can't hide it. But he really did himself in tonight. If he wanted to do a Marley song, there are so many he cold have chosen that he would have had to butcher to fit into the show's format. Instead, he sucked it up with I Shot the Sheriff. And then, he forgot the words to Mr. Tambourine Man. Dude, you're in the finals... that's kind of a rookie mistake.
Anyway, it's been a pretty bad season. I heard a rumor that it might be the last? I think, if these four are representative of the "best" talent they have to offer, it's time to end it.
Posted by Dave! Permalink