Got root?

I had an opportunity to eat at the bar at the Corner Pug this evening. It’s on New Britain Ave in the Elmwood section of West Hartford.

The place used to be called the Corner Pub, but it changed hands a while back and the new owners are into Pug dogs, so they renamed it the Corner Pug.

First, they have a wonderful selection of beers on tap, which is what you would expect from a Irish pub type bar. Second, they have a kick ass selection of top shelf Scotch, Irish Whiskey and other fine distilled spirits.

But their menu is what really sets them apart.

I’ve eaten there before, and have NEVER had a bad meal. The food is pub food, but kicked up a notch. This evening I had prime rib, with garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. Creamed spinach you say? Yes, creamed spinach and it was GREAT. The meat was done perfectly. Washed it all down with a Samuel Adams Summer Ale, and were I not driving, I would have had a nice Lagavulin to top it all off.

In the past I’ve had their macaroni and cheese (made with gruyere and other cheeses), with the pasta standing on end in a large ramican. It’s awesome.

I’ve had their Shepherd’s pie, again, awesome.

Their meatloaf and their pot roast are equally as good.

I strongly recommend going to the Corner Pug. Eat the bar and if Tammy is bartending, tell her Frank says “hi.”
Technorati Tags: restaurant, bar, food, review

Here’s a novel idea….

Everyone these days is talking about “going green,” looking for ways to help the environment. Actually, it seems pretty much like a media-driven fad to me. We went through one of these periods back in the 1970s, and it didn’t last long, otherwise we wouldn’t be having another “going green” fire drill right now.

But, aside from that, with gas prices pushing $4.00 a gallon, probably nearing $5.00 a gallon by Labor Day, we all need a way to do a little something to lessen the demand for that God-Almighty icon of American life: oil.

Here’s a novel idea. If every major company in this country took a solid look and determined which of their employees could telecommute one day per week, and then (get this) actually let them do it, there’d be a lot less demand for gasoline.

Okay, that’s not going to cure the fact that Big Oil has us by the short hairs right now (with the full complicity of the government), but it will lessen some of the thirst for Jed Clampett’s “Texas Tea.”

Here’s the problem: the bozos that run these big companies, these large conglomerates, have brains about the size of a walnut. They don’t trust themselves, so they certainly are not going to trust their employees to work from home one day a week.

So, that’s pretty much where we stand — the ability to leave the car in the garage for one day out of every five kinda rests on the brain power of someone who probably couldn’t out-think your average T. Rex, never mind those 5th graders on TV.

Still, if you can, try it. It just might help!

I was on the treadmill this morning and I heard on the news that the State Of Connecticut legislature will be taking up a bill that seeks to pass a 6% tax on all deliveries.

At first I thought of Federal Express or UPS type deliveries, but the newscasters informed me that this also included things like pizza delivery and flower deliveries. Let that sink in for just a bit…. Saturday night, you’re watching the game, gettin’ hungry craving some pizza, so you pick up the phone and call. WHAM! Tack on another 6% because they brought it to your door.

Let’s say you order something on-line from a company that has a presence in CT. Further, let’s say it is something that is ONLY available on-line. UPS brings it to your door…. WHACK. The State has just double-dipped you for a whopping 12% of the purchase price. Because the company has a presence in CT, there’s 6% sales tax. Then there’s a 6% delivery tax. Talk about stickin’ it to you.

I can only say I’m flaggergasted. We’ve got an income tax. We’ve got a sales tax that, if you believed the idiots when they passed the income tax, was supposed to go away. Instead, they reduced the 7.5% sales tax back to 6%. Now they want to add on another tax?

The Legislature in this state is like a crack addict — they’ll do anything for more money, more money, more money. They can’t properly spend what they have, and make it last, like any family has to in these tough times. No, they just come up with more ways to tax the crap outta you.

I haven’t even started thinking about the effect this might have on business — especially small business. I’m not sure if this is only a residential tax or if it hits businesses too. The Legislature has already made this State a ghost-town when it comes to any kind of meaningful business……

More info as it becomes available……

After the show today we were hungry, and the girls wanted to go play at their cousin’s house, so Kim and I visited the new Wild Rover, and Irish Pub in Wethersfield.

Our experience was good. We both had their fish and chips, although on the menu it’s called “Dublin Beer Battered Cod”. The portion size was large, and it was perfectly done.

I had a Backdraft beer, most excellent — a dark, smokey beer that went well with the fish.

The atmosphere is great, with Irish music playing. I think they also have live entertainment.

The only drawback is the view out the dining room windows, to the side was I was facing, is the back of the adjacent paint store. I remarked to Kim that the paint store should paint a big Emerald Isle mural on the side of the wall.

Oh yeah, their bread was phenomenal too….

We’ll go back to try more items on the menu, and different beers.

I showed Rockit today at the Troy Kennel Club Dog Show in West Springfield, Mass. Rockit is maturing, and at 17 months old, he’s starting to come into his own.   Today he showed spectacularly.

For the first time since Suffern, NY, he had competition in his class.  (Open Red Dog). He’d never beaten the red tri boy he was up against today, but Rockit showed really, really well today.   He moved well — so well in fact that I didn’t need to think about him much once we got going.

So he took the Open Red class, and we stayed in the ring for winners. I thought that perhaps we weren’t even going to get a look, as the judge immediately began looking at the blue merle behind me (the winner of the Open Blue Merle Dog class).   He had that dog come up, and had him move down and back. The, suprisingly he had me move Rockit down and back.   At that point I knew I was in the mix.   He had one other dog move down and back (the winner of 12-18 month dog), and after that he awarded Winners Dog to the 12-18 month dog, and Reserve Winners Dog to the blue merle. So, no points.

But, I’m very pleased at the fact that we were in the mix, and considered. And tomorrow is another day.  More on that tomorrow, perhaps…..

Wow.

It’s been a long time. Over a year since I posted an entry. Well, that will never do.

I’ve just finished up a site revamp and got the blog hooked up. Nothing really new to say at this point.

Here’s a tip. Firefox 3 Beta 5 released today. Get it here.

More blogging to come. I promise this time…..