Stitch and Sip at the Ale 'N' Wich

This past Thursday, my Stitch and Sip group explored a new watering hole, The Ale and Wich at 246 Hamilton Street in New Brunswick. Some group members said that as they arrived they thought, "Hmm...this isn't like where we normally meet..." but I think we all had a great time. The Ale and Wich is the quintessential pub. With a wide selection of craft beer, TVs playing everything from Iron Man competitions to Spaceballs, darts, pool, foozeball, a digital jukebox, and non-pretentious bartenders, this is pretty close to my dream bar. One note of caution I will give to anyone planning a visit: don't come hungry. Although one might believe that the "Wich" part of the bar's moniker stands for "sandwich," no food is served here. However when I asked about food, the bartender handed over a huge stack of takeout menus. We ordered Chinese, but considering that it was a Thursday evening in a Rutgers neighborhood, it took about an hour for our Chinese to arrive.

Chinese food aside, we had a fabulous time. Most of us didn't have work or school the following day, so we, (well, ok, I) stayed out a bit later and drank a bit more. There was a nice selection of seasonal brews (seriously, how could you have Sam Boston Lager but not Sam Seasonal, like some bars do??), and a new one that I enjoyed was Otter Creek Seasonal Ale. No matter what the season, I love a good blueberry beer, and luckily the A and W has Seadog Wheat Blueberry, which smelled and tasted just like blueberry muffins! I know that's not what most people look for in a beer, but blueberry beer takes me back to my college days at the BU Pub. Oh, how I love that Wachusett Blueberry! I also tried the new Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and Firefly Lemon Tea Vodka. If you are a fan of Nantucket Nectars Half and Half or Arizona Arnold Plamer, you will love this stuff! I think it will be one of my summer party beverage staples.

If you are looking for a very casual place to sample some creative brews, definitely stop by the Ale and Wich.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day

Today is Worldwide Knit in Public Day. Although I knit in public just about every day during my lunch break at work, at a LYS, a coffee shop, and sometimes even a bar, I felt compelled to represent my fellow crafters by checking out some new yarny stomping grounds with one of my knitting groups, the Northwest NJ Knitters. We met at the Panera in Phillipsburg and headed to Bethlehem, PA to visit two yarn shops and have lunch. Bethlehem is pretty close to New Jersey, just a hop, skip, and a jump over the Delaware River.

The first shop we visited, Kraemer Yarns in Nazareth, had their own yarn line, which seemed to dominate their stock. While browsing this store we discovered one lone skein of The Sanguine Gryphon, some Dream in Color, lots of baby yarn (yawn) and pondered the usefulness of sock blanks. Not for me, thanks. Even though I think she was kidding, I liked Jeanne's suggestion of adding an afterthought heel, a toe, and a seam instead of actually knitting from the blank as intended. Overall this was a pretty cute store. There were several tables for knitters to sit at, and the staff was very helpful. I did buy two skeins of yarn (Kraemer's own wool/silk/silver blend undyed sock yarn and some Conjoined Creations laceweight soysilk in the colorway "Lonely Bull"--I kid you not) and some buttons (wood with little sheepies on them), but I'm not sure if I'd make the trek out there again.

Next we had lunch at the Apollo Grill in Bethlehem, PA. I don't usually quote the teeth-grittingly annoying Rachel Ray, but YUM-O! I had fish tacos with salsa fresca and guacamole, and some of us split a bottle of Sea Glass Savignon Blanc, a yummy fresh-tasting (i.e. herbal/vegetal/citrus--not very sweet) white wine from Santa Barbara County. Barbara (no relation to the country in CA), who lives in Allentown, told us that the Apollo has a pretty popular happy hour. From the classy ambiance, yummy food/drink, and extensive appetizer menu, I can see why! Too bad my office is so very far east.

Here's my sock in progress (SIP) with my food:


That sock sure did get around! I think she may have a story to tell...

Our final stop of the day was Knitter's Edge, also in Bethlehem. Despite being momentarily disturbed by the building's resemblance to a funeral home (sorry, but I couldn't get that association out of my head!) I had a good time there. The open space and natural light in this store is phenomenal. Even with a storm rolling in, there was plenty of light streaming in the gigantic bay window that framed the cozy sit-and-knit area. I took more pictures for my Sock Knitter's Anonymous WWKIP Day Scavenger Hunt, and if I hadn't specified otherwise it would look like we were sitting in someone's living room! This store had a pretty large selection of different weights and fibers (too much babyand novelty yarn IMHO but I am probably alone in that thought), but there wasn't a whole lot that grabbed me. That was probably a good thing, because I still managed to find some sock and lace yarn that I couldn't live without. Some of it was even on sale! I probably would return to this store, especially if they were having a sale! Or perhaps to pick up a sweater quantity of that Plymouth Llama Silk...or a skein of the Eco Cashmere...

Here is the day's haul:

The two skeins on the left are the previously mentioned yarn from Kraemer's, the four skeins in the middle are Plymouth Happy Feet (on sale for $3 a piece!), next is an au natural skein of Plymouth Baby Alpaca Lace and two lovely skeins of Prism Merino Mia, which I could not put down. That picture does not do the color justice, so here's another!



That brown and blue/green combo slays me every time.

If we didn't get hit with such a rain storm in the late afternoon and evening, I would have gotten more fun pictures of my sock, but I still have quite a few. Perhaps I will share them tomorrow.