Andy Chase

My alarm clock worked like a charm; I woke up to the sweet strains of Prong. I got up, did the requisite e-mail check, and went out to see what I could see in the way of coffee and some sort of sustenance.

Like a big loser, I wound up getting coffee and a bagel from Starbucks. A bagel, I'm in New York City and I get a bagel from Starbucks. It was early (before 7:00), and I was surprised not to find more places open... in the end, familiarity and tired feet (new shoes, much more walking than usual) won out. Tomorrow morning I am determined to seek out a nearby diner/classic coffee shop with the help of the internet.

On my way back from the office where I spent the day, I wound up straying past Thomspon avenue, and started back towards my neighborhood on Broadway. When I crossed Prince street, I realized I was a hop, skip, and a jump from the SoHo Apple Store, so I ventured in. It was rather like the one in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, but a lot bigger, and fancier in terms of interior architecture. (It is SoHo, after all) I picked up a wireless mouse for the Compaq laptop I'm using for this trip, but declined to pay $20 for a 7 foot CAT-5 patch cable for my hotel room - there's a nearby wireless hot spot that is intermittent, but good enough.

I walked back to Bleecker street along Broadway, past all the painfully trendy haute couture clothing and furniture stores, and wondered to myself (not for the first time - I used to work in Beverly Hills after all) what it must be like to have that shit matter to you.

I had dinner at the Peculier Pub just over at 145 Bleecker Street. Well, when I say dinner I mean a Philly Cheesesteak and fries - good fries, hot and crisp if a little bit greasy. The sandwich wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad either. I settled on the Peculier after reading a few reviews praising its extensive beer selection.

I think the last time I saw that many beers offered in one place was at Barney's Beanery, or possibly The Yard House. (Not many places come close to The Yard House when it comes to beer selection. They actually had Watney's Red Barrell on tap.)

I jumped at the chance to try a draught pint of Old Speckled Hen, and was struck as always by how well-balanced so many British ales are. While enjoying the Old Speckled Hen, I spied Kronenbourg on the beer list. Kronenbourg is one of my all-time favorites, largely for the strong memory associations its taste triggers; Kronenbourg was as common as Budweiser when I visited Switzerland for two weeks in high school, and it's really good beer.

What I got was a somewhat skunky, stale bottle of beer that had probably been languishing in the cooler for a couple of years... a disappointment after the Old Speckled Hen. Upon consulting the Kronenbourg web site I see that what I had at the pub was Kronenbourg '1664', as opposed to regular old Kronenbourg, but either way it was stale and skunky.

Nevertheless, I would recommend the Peculier to anyone who likes sampling uncommon beers, and servicable junky bar food - and if you stick to the beers on tap, you can't go wrong.