Good Things

Here are some things food-related (and one not) that I’ve enjoyed lately:

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron — This is probably the best Dogfish beer I’ve had, and I’ve tried a lot of them. The flavor is complex, with plenty of sweetness, roasted malt flavor, hardwood (Palo Santo refers to the barrels), hops and carbonation. But, with all this going on, the beer is extremely well-balanced. Ratebeer.com gave it 98/100. I was a bit sad I’d bought only one of these.

Lilly Handmade Chocolates — I found the Palo Santo at Lilly, along with plenty of other interesting and hard-to-find beers and wines. The Vietnamese cinnamon and apple truffle I had for dessert was so intense that I’m glad I gave it more than one bite. And it went perfectly with the beer.

An Obsessed Chef — This blog is filled with philosophical musings and well-written stories of life “from behind the stove.” Chef Eric’s recent post, “Eleven O’Clock Has to Come Sometime” shows how a chef’s trials can be applied to anyone’s life, while “Perhaps?” gives us insights into the unique paradoxes of running a restaurant for a living. While this blog isn’t local, Chef Eric’s restaurant, The Cook’s House, is in my native Northern Michigan. I’ll definitely visit the next time I’m up there.

Free Will Astrology Horoscopes — Rob Brezny is worth reading even if you have doubts about astrology. His horoscopes for the week of December 11 include references to Seinfeld, Alan Watts and surveillance camera counts for London and Beijing. While the forecasts for various signs in most horoscope columns seem virtually interchangeable, I’ve often reacted Rob’s advice with the thought “How did he know that?”