The rules were simple—five of Spokane’s finest (Paul and Bart from DTE, Nick from Home Economics 2.0, Andrew from Editor, Revised, and your truly) competing in two rounds of hot wings (some were surprised to find “wings” being “drum sticks”) eating. One point per wing; six per round; first round medium spice, second round even hotter. And to make it more colorful, we allowed stealing after a contestant had gotten through six wings, and thus could gather more points that way. Six shots of various beverages per contestant were also put out, and if anyone took one, every other competitor would gain an additional point. The winner would be crowned the Wing King (, Baby)!
That was the short version of a rule book the size of an encyclopedia.
And really, there wasn’t much of a contest. The rivalry known as DTE vs SFB (or Paul vs Myself, or whatever) went where you’d expect it to. In fact, let’s just look at the final standing:
Remi(31 points, 18 wings)
Paul (24 points)
Bart (23 points)
Nick (18 points)
Andrew (12 points)
Really, it’s hard to say how I humiliated Paul more. Maybe by stealing wings from all the contestants? Maybe by stealing Nick’s last wing and giving it to him? Maybe by taking the wing back and eating it myself when Paul couldn’t do it?
Regardless, the king was crowned, and here you can see him, being a gentleman handing a wing to Paul. So he could at least try to keep up with the master.
Run, don’t walk to Huckleberry’s to pick up a bottle of Nøgne Ø’s latest winter offering. In fact, running is too slow. Jump in your car, it’s OK, they won’t mind. Even a Natural Light man like James Paul will want to try at least a bottle of what is marketed as “Winter Ale” in the US. (Originally it was called “God Jul,” or “Merry Christmas.”)
Winter Ale is a porter, and an excellent one at that. It is a dark, thick, malty beer, with heavy flavors of chocolate and anise, and an undercurrent of mild hops. The creamy texture and light carbonation hit the tongue like Bing Crosby’s method of discipline, and the 8.5% ABV is nicely masked by the depth of the flavors. I mean, really, in short: It is very very good.
A bit of a funny apropos here: A few days ago I asked Jim’s Home Brew if they planned on stocking Nøgne Ø. After giving me an odd look, I told them it was a Norwegian brewery, the man behind the counter said, “Oh, we have a Swedish beer, it’s the same thing.” Wow. Jim’s is awesome in many ways, but really, their service leaves a bit to be desired.
But I digress. Nøgne Ø Winter Ale is the best thing to come out of Norway since me, and should be sampled by any beer aficionado as soon as possible.
My friend @granolamom has tried a variety of gluten free (GF) products. So, I asked her for some tips on GF baking products. This is what she had to say.
GF tips. I love Bob’s Red Mill. The mixes are great but his GF baking flour mix can be substituted in many recipes for regular flour. It’s awesome. Lately, I’ve been a fan of Mama’s Mixes especially her coconut blend for sweeter baking like cookies and such. I think the brands Glutino and Kinnikinnick generally make tasty products. I know Namasteis local and I would like to support them but honestly I don’t really care for their GF mixes. Cherrybrook Kitchen has some great sweet treats mixes like sugar cookies and vanilla cake. All that said I have yet to find a decent GF brownie mix. They just don’t measure up. Mostly I’ve had luck with taking a regular recipe and making my own substitute GF flour. Different flours are good for different things. Google is a great tool for this kind of thing. The magazine Living Without also has great ideas.
If you are interested in tips on natural cleaning products, natural hair and skin care products, gluten free lifestyle, breastfeeding, cloth diapers, and anything related to puppies or kids under 3, you might want to look her up on Twitter: @granolamom
You’ve shouted, cried, and screamed, and now, finally, we have a new update to Only Eat Here. Today’s theme: The best stores to buy good beer. The star of the selection is JB’s Food on Alberta and Rowan. This was recommended to us by the bartender at Blue Spark during our Abyss tasting, so a shout out to him seems appropriate here.
