Merry Christmas! Since my first column in the Daily News in October of 1984, there have been a few new wrinkles and ideas to occasionally change things up a bit. After trying my hand as a music critic after attending a Rolling Stones concert at Gillette Stadium in 2019, it seems logical to dip my toes into the world of food critics and experience what that is like. The perfect opportunity presented itself last week when my daughter Jen (who also gifted me the Rolling Stones tickets) presented me with two tickets to a unique Game Dinner at Honest Weight in Orange.
Jen introduced me to Honest Weight when I joined her and friends at the brewery and immediately found it to have a “pub-like” vibe that was very welcoming. The clientele is varied in age and background, but it definitely has a local flavor of folks looking to enjoy locally brewed craft beer in a relaxing environment. Owners Sean Nolan and Jay Sullivan have local roots and worked at the Cambridge Brewing Co. before founding Honest Weight in 2015. This writer is part of the legendary Athol Pond Scum Trivia Team that competes at the bi-monthly Trivia Nights at Honest Weight. Let it be known that this writer does enjoy an occasional adult brewed beverage and there is something for all tastes, even a pilsner and wheat dinosaur like me.
Honest Weight has presented a number of different events including beer dinners, collaboration beers, specialty food trucks, and Comedy Nights while striving to be a gathering place for locals.
For the Game Dinner, they teamed up with Brato Brewhouse and Kitchen of Brighton and chef Jonathan Gilman prepared, presented and narrated the meal. It was a chance for me to repay brother Chris for his efforts in helping me find lost objects and he joined me eagerly.
The meal did not disappoint. The first course was Wild Mushroom Bisque featuring chive, truffle cream and dark malt sourdough with a recommended beer pairing of Gate 37 beer. That was a great idea as you could get a small glass of beer to enjoy that was matched with each course. The second course was a Confit Rabbit “Carritas” Taco with cabbage, carrot Curtido, chipotle Ailio, cilantro and corn tortilla paired with Social Capitol pale ale. The third course was a highlight with a whole quail, roasted and stuffed, served with cranberry blood orange puree and whipped parsnip with the course paired with Places and Spaces IPA. The next course was my personal favorite as the boar sausage was outstanding! Served with buttered noodles, whole grain mustard, braised kale and confit garlic, it was paired with Blackinton Dark Lager, my choice of beer for the evening. The desert course of stout and chocolate panna cotta with a vanilla bean cookie and raspberry was a mousse to kill for!
Honest Weight hit a home run in providing an evening that filled the demand for unique quality experiences for locals looking to get out of the house and do something fun! The crowd included locals Tiffany and Matt Gauvin and Danielle and Zack Rand. Danielle is well known for her boat art.
You would be well served to check out Honest Weight’s website (honestweightbeer.com) to get a head’s up regarding upcoming events at the welcoming pub, located on West Main Street in Orange at the former Minute Tapioca Plant (I am dating myself!) that is now the Orange Innovation Center.
The third Massachusetts deer season, the primitive arms or black powder season, is underway until the last hunting day of December next Friday. For this segment, hunters use firearms that load from the muzzle and use black powder or a substitute like Pyrodex as a propellant. Initially, the season was three days and created for the rugged individuals who enjoyed re-enacting pioneer life and wanted to hunt with old guns made before the Civil War. Over time, other muzzle-loading firearms were allowed and the season extended to six days and now runs some two and a half weeks after shotgun season. Bows may also be used to hunt this season but the primitive arms stamp is required and both firearms seasons require all participants to wear five hundred inches of hunter orange on their head, back and chest.
Yours truly let the team down last Friday when my shot at a doe to fill my antlerless deer permit was off-target and resulted in a shaving with a small amount of blood instead of venison in the freezer. Did not do my job. A number of excuses could be rattled off but unless the bullet struck an unseen branch on the way to the target it was my screw up. There is still time to redeem myself but, in truth, hunting with friends and matching wits with late season whitetails continues to be enjoyable and after all, there already is fresh venison in the freezer for meat pie!
Wishing everyone a most Merry Christmas!