buzzzzzz...

that's what. i got a real pleasant buzz going on in my brain. James and I ended going to the Bull & Bush. It's an English style pub that is known for its great ribs and excellent beer brewed in house. Although it has been around for about 35 years now, I've only been goin' there for about 10 ;)

Anyway, we got there right before happy hour ended...meaning we were still able to get house pints for $2.50 and half-price apps...yay! so we got a couple IPAs (India Pale Ales), nachos, and wings.

about 20 minutes later, our server came by to clear plates and check on us. turns out that between 6 and 7 PM on fridays, the beer is free...no way! WAY! so he tried their hefeweizen and i got an ESB (Extra Special Bitter). James is partial to german style beers - army guy who served a two year stint there. whenever we're in a place that offers one, he's gotta try it out. as for me, i like the floral headiness of IPAs and the slightly bitter finish of ESBs...not to mention the higher alcoholic content of both - usually in the 6-8% range. don't get me wrong, i'm no beer snob like the wine guys in 'Sideways.' i'll drink most beer if it's free and will partake in Budweiser pitchers with the guys when we go out for wings...BUT if there's better beer to be had, then i'm gonna order it. Man can only drink so much cheap beer that's just gonna make you take repeated trips to the urinal ;)

while we were on our second round, we caught the U.S. Pro Eating Championships on one of their many TVs. what a spectacle! i'm sure many of you may have witnessed the highlights of the annual hot dog eating contests during the July 4th holiday. ever since the little Japanese guy (Takeru Kobayashi) started dominating this competition a few years ago, there's always a highlight reel of his winning performance...we're talking about eating up to 54 hot dogs and bun in 12 minutes!

well, i had read about a local guy who was eliminated in the first round of the championships. apparently, eating fried mozzarella cheese sticks is not his forté. what we watched tonight was a spaghetti eating round. people, we are talking about how many pounds of spaghetti and sauce you can force down in a period of fourteen minutes. we witnessed the world champ hot wings eater (a teeny 105 lb. lady) wolf down ten pounds in the allotted time. we were in awe until we saw Mr. Kobayashi stroll in (like a champion prizefighter). not surprisingly, he was the number one seed. and he freakin' demolished his competition (who watched in total awe). the guy ate 13.8 lbs. of spaghetti in 14 minutes!!! OMG! i'm positive i could do maybe five pounds...but 13.8 pounds is sure death and/or glycemic seizure. and i outweigh the guy by 50 lbs.!!!

seeing that free beer hour was coming to an end, our third round was a couple house ambers. i cannot believe that we were able to hang out for a couple hours, get free beer, eat cheap apps, and watch some kee-razy gluttony for $13 (plus a $9 tip).

friday gatherings at the B&B has some serious potential...