Here are today's headlines:
*We've got a boatload of tasty winter specials available starting Monday. Pre-order/see the menu here to help us plan. Consider Negroni cranberry sauceand great on everything herb butter.
*I've got until Saturday to sell 22 more pies to support Community Servings in their efforts.
*Our next pop up is a Late Autumn Farm Dinner the week after Thanksgiving. 4 course, 4 bev pairings, $70.
*You missed this month's pick up for this month's Wine + Ice Cream Club, but sign up for next month. 3 curated wines + 3 pints of ice cream picked up monthly for $70.
Details on these and more (rare ice cream available in Union Sq) below.
You don't have to say anything, just listen.
A couple weeks ago I told you a story about when I was a tour manager for a band made up of my friends and we got into some adventures on occasion and here is another one of them. We were in Rhinecliff or Rhinebeck, New York at a place called the Rhinecliff or Rhinebeck Hotel and I googled it just now and I think it was the Rhinecliff and it was this old building with concerts in the bar, which was a small room, not conducive for concerts, and especially tight with bigger bands, not bigger by popularity, but by number of members and equipment, though we did OK in New York so not terribly conducive for more popular bands either, and bad rooms is the kind of thing what happens when you're traveling around the Northeast performing every weekend. So it was fine, I think they'd given us dinner or at least gotten us pizza. And after the show we were planning on finding a hotel somewhere when someone whose name I can't remember, but for the sake of the story, let's say his name is Scott, offered to let us stay at his house and he said he had enough room and so we said yes because staying on stranger's floor is something we did a lot of because sometimes they had lots of couches or they'd make breakfast sometimes or sometimes they had super plush carpets in rooms with good curtains keeping it dark in the morning and no one ever read our tarot, but if they had, it would have been something like this. The really soft carpets were my favorite.
And so we told Scott we'd just pack up and could he wait and he said he would and then he came back with written out directions and said he had to head over for a party but he'd meet us there and the thing was this was a super long time ago, so there weren't any smartphones with map apps for us to to follow, and this is important, remember this, so we finished packing up, which you might recall from the last story takes longer than it should because by then some of the guys are drunk and can't carry shit because they've actually gotten drunker than it would have seemed possible in such a short amount of time and anyway during loadout the only way out is through, as I've mentioned, so we made it happen eventually, got in the van and started following Scott's directions out of the hamlet of Rhinecliff into the woods. The directions were not great and we ended up getting lost, a regular occurrence because I was in charge of directions even though I had no business being in charge of directions because I was much, much better at other necessary tasks. So we ended up having to backtrack and start over and then we got to where we thought the house ought to have been, but it was totally dark in the woods and the house was dark, too, and Scott had said there would be a party, and maybe it took longer than we thought to get over there and the party had ended, but when we knocked on the door no one answered, and then when we tried the door it was unlocked so, I mean, what would you do at that point?
We did what you would have done, we went with the flow. We went into this dark house which had a huge living room, but only one loveseat and the floors were hardwood with worn oriental rugs, not the super plush stuff my bony ass needed to be comfy, so 0 for 2, but maybe they'd make breakfast and after a while we rolled out our sleeping bags and went to sleep. And the other thing about the house was it was very cold which we didn't notice at first. I woke up freezing at one point and there was a cat sitting sitting on me, which was surprising to me for several reasons, and I was fine with cats then, but this one was big and had lots of sap in its fur, which I understand might happen to an outdoor cat in the woods. So I wasn't terribly comfortable with any part of the situation, frankly, but I was very cold and the cat was heavy and warm. It was kind of scary if I'm being honest and after I fell back asleep, I ended up having a lot of dreams about this big, sappy cat. The cat left me at some point to sleep on Rob's back. I woke up in the morning to the sounds of someone making coffee in the kitchen, but it wasn't Scott, and the person making coffee said she didn't know a Scott either, which, you have to admit is troubling in this situation, at least, but she also didn't seem surprised to find 8 dudes sleeping on her floor. Then the woman making coffee left and we got our things together and we left and we've never figured out if we were in Scott's house or not, but either way it was the right house for us because no one called the cops, which is nice. As always, there's a book recommendation if you make it to the bottom of the newsletter and you can pre-order and pay for Gracie's in Union or Earnest Drinks in Kendall Square. You can order delivery from both locations just by visiting those websites. This guy loves trains. I think your eyes are the prettiest, but these are also nice.
We've got a bunch of tasty offerings to make the rest of your month tastier. Beginning on Monday, you've got all month to pick up delicious items like Negroni cranberry sauce, which is cranberries, orange, rosemary, gin, and vermouth, all playing nicely in a pot. The alcohol gets burned off so everyone is eligible to eat it. Click this link and scroll down to see all the options which can be picked up Mon-Weds next week or any time after. Peep the delicious vegetarian gravy and the out of this world herb butter. These shimmering bees are cool as hell, kind of like a split flap sign in a train station. Oh and more on bees, did you know they can just make new queens by giving a baby bee extra food? Here is another song I like to listen to.
I have until Saturday to sell 22 more pies to support Community Servings' Pie in the Sky fundraiser. Community Servings expands every year in their efforts to provide healthy, nutritious, and delicious meals for people too sick to cook for themselves. If their clients have a family, they drop meals for them, too. If their client has dietary restrictions, Community Services creates a menu that works. The way it works is you buy a pie, which raises enough money to feed a CS client for a week, and then you get a pie to pick up on Tuesday for Thanksgiving. You can choose pick up locations all around this part of the state, though counts on certain pies are limited in some locations. If you want, you can pick up your pies at Earnest Drinks in Kendall Square. It's still a skill even if it's useless.
We had our first pop up with Chef Amanda Lowry on Wednesday and it went swimmingly. Every two weeks for the rest of the winter Amanda will be popping up at Earnest Drinks featuring a variety of different menu themes. Next up a Late Autumn Farm Dinner the week after Thanksgiving. 4 course, 4 beverage pairings, $70. From casual 3 course casual fare menus to more formal menus like the Fest of Seven Fishes. Check out the full list here. So you know, Amanda was chef at Barbara Lynch's Butcher Shop for 3 years before the pandemic during which she opened Dovetail (where you can grab Gracie's pints) before moving on to open Punch Bowl in Brookline (where you can also grab Gracie's pints) with the Ziskin family. Her next adventure is at The Ford in Medford, opening early 2022. They should get Gracie's pints, I'm just saying. Please check out the full list of pop ups and buy your tickets if you're interested because they are limited. Capybara bread.
You can see what pints or scoops we have available in Union Square if you want to. We're going to have once a year fresh mint chip and lemon verbena, both grown with herbs from my garden, available on Friday in Union Square. Please don't forget to keep your freezer packed up with pints, it helps us cover overhead during the winter. If you order in advance it's a real quick experience. We've still got some Frank's RedHot ice cream at both shops, order at Kendall Square or Union Square. We've got 26 different ice cream pies in Union Square. In Kendall, we'll make the pie to order if you give us a few hours notice.
If you're not already signed up, it's too late for this month's Wine + Ice Cream Club at Earnest Drinks. But consider for next month: 3 curated bottles of wine + 3 pints of ice cream for $70. Next month we might introduce a one bottle + one pint option, how would that be? This month we have three wines perfect for the Thanksgiving table (or couch, or kitchen, maybe the park.) First, a Mexican white wine with a littttle bit of skin contact. It’s a woman-produced wine out of Baja California, which we love as women producers are severely underrepresented in the wine world, as is Mexican wine tbh. Next we have two “nouveau” red wines, which are the first wines of the 2021 harvest. These young, fresh wines aren’t meant for storing in your wine cellar (or, if you’re anything like me, the bottom of your closet.) They’re meant to be drank early and often, possibly while basting the turkey or blasting the potatoes. For ice cream this month, we have Orange Spice Cranberry Cookie, and Lemon Verbena and Fresh Mint Chip, both of which made with herbs from my garden. Harvest Series. Cats where they shouldn't be and again cats where they shouldn't be.
Along with a fall cocktail list, we've also got a trio of new Winter Hill Brewing Company beers at Earnest Drinks for you to drink with your lunch or dinner or ice cream. Really we've got plenty of fine beverages and you should come drink some of them because the winter is long and cold and we are warm and welcoming.
Earnest Drinks is a great option if you're planning a small vaxxed holiday celebration or if you need lunch brought to your office or looking for make your own sundae kits to give as gifts for clients or pre-made sundaes for your team at work. This is an area of the business we really need to improve, please help. Click this link to send an email for more information.
Your favorite ice cream store will write you a custom poem or haiku if that's what you want your favorite ice cream store to do.
Our dinner menu is available at Earnest Drinks Thursday-Sunday this week. You can make a dinner or lunch reservation at Earnest Drinks by emailing chris@graciesicecre.am.