Spring Broke

Have you noticed that all the posts this week have gone up a little bit late? Maybe it has seemed like I’m out of my usual rhythm. Well, that’s because I am. This past week has not just been the end of Passover and the beginning of Albany Craft Beer Week. It’s also been the kids’ spring break.

And that has been a mixed blessing.

On the plus side, without having to pack lunches, or getting the children out the door in time for the bus, I’ve been able to sleep a little bit later in the mornings. That’s been really nice, even though it has had an impact on my blog posting schedule. On the flip side it has meant that I’ve had to consider their needs when making important choices about where to eat.

Like yesterday, for example. Part of me wanted to abandon the kids so I could grab lunch at The City Beer Hall and eat the Scrapple Grilled Cheese sandwich Dimitrios and Ian made for Day of the Dank. That scrapple, by the way, was made in house and packed with Sichuan flavors to boot.

But instead, I had to do something a little more kid centric.

Let me tell you, it was an interesting experience bringing the kids to a 420 promotion at Bellini’s Counter. Because when they asked about the meaning of the day, I was compelled to tell them. And my thoughts when it comes to intoxicants is that in some ways, marijuana is preferable to booze.

Still, we talked about the dangers of drug addiction, and how even legal prescription drugs can be abused and ruin your life.

So, happy thoughts. But these are important conversations to have.

None of this stopped us from experiencing Bellini’s Counter for the first time and taking taking their advantage of the “pack a pasta bowl for $5” offer. I had never been to one of these outposts before, and thought the kids might enjoy it. As it turns out, they did.

Even though I was super hungry at lunch time, I decided that ordering three pasta bowls would be madness. My hunch was that each pasta bowl would be far more calories than any human should eat in a sitting. So I let each kid build their own bowl, and I’d take bites from each.

The boy got linguini with marinara sauce and meatballs.
The girl got rigatoni with alfredo sauce and meatballs.

I wish I had weighed the bag of food I received, because it was massive. And it turned out that the three of us, eating past the point of satiety, couldn’t take down those two bowls.

It’s a clever concept, the assembly line production of pasta bowls, which is very much in the style of places like Chipotle and Blaze. My concern during the whole process is that the food wouldn’t be hot when we got it home, especially given how long it took from the pasta being cooked, to the time we made it through the line. Granted, we live close by, but the food survived the trip well. That’s a small miracle right there.

The other small miracle is that the kids loved it.

Of course, the cost of that meal was me being denied the Sichuan scrapple grilled cheese sandwich. But The City Beer Hall is going to have a food stall at the Albany Craft Beer Week Festival tomorrow. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to miss out on the Frito Pie made with a stout braised beef chili and ancho sour cream. Dimitrios told me this was an old Wine N Diner recipe. But if you want some, you’ve got to come to the festival.

I hear there are still tickets available. And now all of the super fresh beers have all been announced. The list of what’s being poured tomorrow is just incredible. I’m considering Saturday to be my spring break from spring break, and plan to hit the after party as well. Hope to see you there.