Reviewed: Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy

The Midwest is experiencing a debilitating heat wave, which means I haven’t left the house in the past three days. Alright, so Mad Men season 1 is the reason I haven’t left in three days; but it is over now, and I’m still not going to leave the house.

But, if I were to leave the house, it would be to buy some refreshing lemonade to quench the thirst a heat wave like this brings . . . or some beer. Introducing Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy! (That is Shandy with a “d” not shanty with a “t.”) Shandy is a harmonious blend of beer and lemonade, popular with the British. Okay, not real lemonade, but real lemon flavor. When pulled from a draft, it is so cold and refreshing it tastes just like lemonade. Only, after a couple, you’re light-headed and telling stories a little too loudly. After even a few more, you need to make sure you know where the deck ends on your friend’s half finished summer project in order to not fall off the side.

So far it may seem as though I have simply described Mike’s Hard Lemonade or a vodka lemonade. That’s where you are wrong. Ordering a vodka lemonade says to the world, “I’m fancy and don’t know how to relax and knock back a few.” Whereas ordering a Mike’s Hard Lemonade says, “I’m super lame and boring.” However, ordering a beer always says “I’m carefree and here to have a good time. I know how to let my hair down and shake out the curls.”

I do have one complaint though. The shandy doesn't seem to get cold enough in the bottles. However, it is still better than the rest. Just don't ever turn down the draft if it is available.

Oh, and for those adventurous enough to try, the Leinenkugel’s web-site says to mix it with their Berry Weiss for a raspberry lemonade taste.

This seasonal has been around for three summers now, but will be off shelves and out of bars in about a month. Until next year that is.

93 stars: As the evening rolls on, it becomes harder and harder to say: Line-En-Coo-Gulls.

Reviewed: Dirty Dishes by Cynthia Rowley

After my wedding it was only about 6 months before all those beautiful dishes our friends and family bought for us started cracking and chipping and looking like hell. In fact, MACY’S, you jerks, I should probably be reviewing your shoddy craftsmanship (ahem, the Cellar) instead. Especially after I even nerded it up by taking the time to write you a letter and then you insisted it wasn’t your problem. Huff.

So, just two years later when we had to replace our dishes we went with the brighter whites collection from Fish’s Eddy, which is a fantastic place to get quirky and classic dishware, or hunt through their exhaustive vintage stuff for some unique finds. I couldn’t resist, while I was there, snagging a set of the Cynthia Rowley-designed “dirty” coffee cups, adorned with half-naked ladies lounging around the top.

Bright white with a fancy gold border-line where the lovely chicks lie exposing themselves, the cups are sweet little conversation pieces in my cupboards. Unfortunately, Joe is opposed to the idea that all of our dishes have naked ladies smiling back at us, but I’m hoping I can sneakily expand my collection.

93 Stars. To top it off the whole collection is currently 50% off.

Reviewed: Seeing my High School Crush’s Doppelgänger in Central Park

There we were at Strawberry Fields just settling into the peacefulness—trying to avoid loose hair from the dirty transient combing his mane, strands floating by in a light wind—when the tour group of Canadians arrived. For a while I was simply enjoying the sound of their lilting French--still avoiding the flying hair, yes, but also checking out fashion trends.

Then I saw the Canadian version of Amel*, young and smoking, with a really cool jacket, and gorgeous in that golden-tinged nostalgia of memory flooding back.

Murph said it was time to go and I didn’t want to. Yes, we had been there too long, and yes, the transient was weird and scary with the hair brushing…but I couldn’t leave. It was Amel all over again and I was back in time. Forget Joe, the ring on my finger. I was back to senior year, recounting in impassioned diary entries all the times he smiled at me. I was back to thinking all day about what I would say to him after school. I was back to daydreaming in Pre-Calc and telling my sister’s boyfriend to ask him if he liked me or not.

Who cares if that canadien wasn’t the real Amel and he was probably just-turned eighteen and didn’t seem to speak English and I was married. Who cares if, for one moment, you can go back? (…sigh…)

I made Murph inconspicuously take a picture and then we left.

93 Stars.

*Name has been changed.

Reviewed: Sundae Cones

I had my first sundae cone this summer, starting a wild affair and leading to my abandonment of the ice cream sandwich. Ever since, I find myself standing in the frozen section of the grocery store trying to decide which brand to buy. I'll go with Blue Bunny for a fix, but it's not my fav.

They all have nuts, so if you're allergic, too bad for you. The best part of the whole thing is the chunk of chocolate inside the tip of the cone.

93 stars. Sometimes during the first couple of bites a thin sliver of the chocolate shell will break off. You, however, will not notice the greasy chocolate stain it left on your pajama shirt until morning. Also, who came up with the idea to put caramel in them? It's overkill.