Ale Street News Online

Ever do something really dumb and not realize it till it's too late? At this year's Ultimate Belgian Tasting, I was having such a great time, I thought it would be funny to walk over to one of the organizers, and lean over to tell him that this year's event SUCKED! Yeah ... pretty lame, I admit. Of course, when I ran into Jack again about a half hour later, he let me know that when I made my ridiculous pronoincement, he was deep in conversation with a reporter from the Daily News. To parahrase Mr. Rogers, "Can you say ... Oops?!" Sorry, Jack,


Just to set the record straight, my wife, Karen, and I have been to all 3 UBTs and found this one to be superb! The Empire State Building Heartland location was laid out perfectly for the event and also very convenient to public transportation. Plenty of room, good access to both beer and food ... As usual, the array of beers was impressive and really complemented the food beautifully. (I actually had a pigs head sandwich appetizer!!) And for all our years of going to the Waterfront Ale House, I never had the opportunity to sample barbecue prepared personally by the Waterfront's owner Sam Barbieri. His curried BBQ pork roast was probably the juiciest, most flavorful pieces of meat I've ever had! In a nutshell, I have to say that the event DEFINITELY DID NOT SUCK!

Our sincere thanks to Tony, Jack and all the Ale Street crew. I don't know how you're going to top this one next year guys but I can't wait to find out.

Thanks again!