Pint&Pen&Paper Week 96 (Vol I)
Heading South
- Yankees vs Dodgers
- Mad for Chicken
- Redd’s Biergarten
- McGovern’s Tavern
- Heading South
- YouTube Rabbithole
World Series Game 4 Preview
Yogi Berra had a Yogism back in the day, “It ain’t over till it’s over” which often gets mixed up with, “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.” Well, in the Yankees case, it was over once Fat Joe rapped. The Yanks are down 3-0 in the World Series after their bats couldn’t put a run across the board until their final strike in the 9th inning. Here’s tomorrow’s pitching matchup…
The LA Dodgers had a team bullpen ERA of 3.53 and WHIP of 1.18 during the regular season. Both are inside the top 10 in each category. The Dodgers have resorted to bullpen games because their pitching staff couldn’t stay healthy with Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Clayton Kershaw, and other SPs on the mend. So far in the NLDS and NLCS, LA has gone with RP Ryan Brasier as their opener. He had mixed results in his 2 “starts” against the Padres and Mets, going 1.1 scoreless against San Diego while giving up a leadoff homer against Francisco Lindor in Game 2 of the Mets series. I’m not 100% sure if Brasier will get the 1st inning duties against the Yankees because he just threw 23 pitches in Game 3 last night and the top of the Yankees lineup has experience against him from his days with Boston (Gleyber 3 for 12, Judge 3 for 8 w/ a homer). If I had to guess, I think Dave Roberts goes with Brent Honeywell, who hasn’t yet pitched in this series and has very limited experience against this Yankee lineup. With an opener in an elimination game, this sounds obvious, but it will be paramount for the Yankees to score early in and often in this game. Easier said than done but the most optimistic perspective would be to get an early lead and force LA to use as much of their bullpen as possible in Game 4. Game 5 (if there is one) will be Jack Flaherty on the hill and that guy can’t handle the Bronx.
There was a stretch from the beginning of April to mid-June where Luis Gil was not only the run-away Rookie of the Year Favorite but a possible CY Young candidate. Gil gave the Yankees dominant performances when Gerrit Cole was on the IL, as he gave up 3 or fewer runs in 13 of his first 14 starts of the season. His problem is his lack of control at times. With this being a World Series, I’m a bit nervous about him finding his command much like Clarke Schmidt in Game 3. If Gil can go out there and just say *“Me importa un pepnio, no tengo nada que perder, la serie ya terminó,”* he might be able to get 5 or so innings of 3-runs-or-fewer ball. Luis Gil faced the Dodgers in June and went 5.2 innings with 3 runs allowed. His only mistake was giving up a homer to Teoscar Hernandez, who was scorching in the summer series in the Bronx. Look, there is a decent enough chance that he gets rocked and has to come out within the 1st or 2nd inning, but this guy has a neck tattoo of “God Bless Me” so he might have just enough juice that an elimination game won’t phase him.
*English Translation: Fuck it, I got nothing to lose the series is already over.*
#GuinnessChallengeSeason
@Kids don’t try this at home. Not just because you’re underage and will have plenty of pints to drink if that ends up being your thing when you’re older but also because Guinness is actually best served in a pint glass from a tap. A pint of Guinness varies depending on the drinking establishment. If the keg it sits in is rarely poured, it can lead to some underwhelming taste. Rather than stealing gimmicks, I’d like to start taking Notes while drinking Guinness. My grandfather from Connemara, whom I never got the chance to meet, Thomas Davis, used to drink pints and by all accounts was a self-taught thinker. The one rule I’ve imposed on myself is that I will only have 1 pint per sitting from each establishment I review, so @AnyoneWorrying, don’t worry about my drinking habits. The Guinness Challenge is to “cut the G” on your first sip (more like a gulp and a half). If this is your first time hearing about it, I didn’t come up with the fun challenge @YouTheReader can try the next time you have a Guinness. The 0.0 to 10.0 scale will be extraordinarily nuanced but as a reference point, the only perfect 10.0 I plan ever to give out is at the Guinness Factory in Dublin one day.
Before The Pints…
Mad For Chicken (@madforchickenusa) 4/6 ‘24
Service & Staff: A
Guinness: 6.7
Guinness Challenge: I Failed. ❌
Song On In The Background: A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: First pint of Guinness in Newark, New Jersey. I had no idea Akon was from here. Elisha is the bartender and she recommends their Bulgogi Toppoki Japchae. Mad For Chicken is an “everything spot with beer and liquor. We usually get crowds at 5:30 PM for 7 PM Devil games, it’s jam-packed.” The logo of Mad For Chicken is a stick-figure redhead with crazy hair. A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton reminds me of the movie White Chicks with the Wayans brothers. Low-key-high-key fun comedy and a great tune.
The Mad For Chicken company was established in 2005. They are best known for their signature soy garlic chicken and unique Korean-inspired dishes. In 2020, they became a franchise with locations in mainly the New York / New Jersey area, while also expanding to Ohio and Texas. Nice spot to grab some chicken and a pint before heading to a Devils game or concert at Prudential Center next door. I look forward to grabbing another pint at another Mad For Chicken location!
Redd’s Biergarten (@reddsbiergarten) 4/6 ‘24
Service & Staff: A
Guinness: 6.8
Guinness Challenge: Lovely Day for a Guinness Logo
Song On In The Background: Heading South by Zach Bryan
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: The name of the bar stems from the original owner’s father’s nickname Redd. The original bar location, still around today, is in Carlstadt, New Jersey, right by the Meadowlands. The Prudential Center entrance is directly across the street so they see plenty of Devils fans and concert-goers. Shawn is the bartender. She just so happens to be a Devils fan because her brothers were fans and they grew up playing hockey. She would follow the Devils by stealing their comic books. “It’s also hard not to root for the Hughes brothers.” MTV and Paramount usually have private events at Redd’s during the offseasons. Her recommendations off the menu are the pretzels and Weinenstephaner Dunkel beer. Dan is “a boss you pray to have in the bar industry. Good guy.” This time of year is always a bit melancholy because “The last day of hockey season is like the last days of high school before summer. We sign each other’s yearbooks.” When Zach Bryan performed at Prudential Center his dad had a few pints at Redd’s Biergarten. “He was very nice.”
The owners of Redd’s have been friends since grammar school and together combine for more than 75 years of experience in the hospitality industry. The Palsi Family has successfully operated the Redd’s at the Meadowlands since 2002 and decided to open up in Newark in 2016. Aside from the Devils, they also get a ton of Seton Hall Pirates Basketball fans as well. When it was announced that Super Bowl XLVIII was to be played at MetLife, Governor Chris Christie declined Mayor Bloomberg’s invitation to join him for the announcement at Times Square because Christie thought Redd’s would be the more suitable host for the occasion. I’ll have to check out the Redd’s by the Meadowlands soon and I look forward to grabbing another pint at Redd’s again!
In between the 2nd & 3rd Pint…
…I Stumbled Along past the Newark’s Paramount Theatre. Might have to do a bit of research on it…
McGovern’s Tavern (@mcgoverns_tavern) 4/6 ‘24
Service & Staff: A
Guinness: 8.7
Guinness Challenge: Count It! ✅
Song On In The Background: Free Fallin’ by Tom Petty
Notes if you can’t read my sloppy scribble: Established in 1936, this certainly has the feel of an old-school premier pub. They have an IRA Hurling Stick hung up on the wall along with a quote that reads, “In God, we trust, all others we pray.” There is also a framed Esquire Magazine Cover of Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) on the wall, he vouches for McGovern’s Tavern. Wrapped around the ceilings, there are boulevards of Irish last names, along with construction and firefighter hardhats dangling. One last thing of note I saw on the wall was a framed bulletin of the 1947 All-Ireland Final GAA Match, which was held at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan. Class.
Every All-Ireland Senior Championship has been played at Croke Park since 1913 except the 1947 final played at the Polo Grounds. Cavan (2-11) beat Kerry (2-7). When McGovern’s Tavern was first opened in 1936 by Mr. Frank McGovern, the owner would have to stand by the long hallway’s entrance, not to check IDs, but to make sure the ladies used a separate entrance and barroom from the men. Mr. McGovern would stand by swinging doors in the long hallway and wouldn’t allow any gentlemen in the back room with the women unless they were dressed appropriately in suit & tie. You also couldn’t be three sheets to the wind, but if you didn’t have a tie, they’d have a guy there to sell you a tie. It was just that kind of an old-school Irish pub that played loads of live traditional Irish music. Frank McGovern was from County Cavan and when he first opened up in Newark he had no idea the neighborhood institution that it would become. For many Irish flying into Newark, McGovern’s Tavern was a spot where you could have your first American beer. In 1958, Frank McGovern hired a young Cork man named Bill Scully as a part-time bartender. After a while, he would marry Frank McGovern’s niece and officially became part of their family. In 1968, Frank McGovern decided to retire from his tavern and the ownership was transferred to Bill Scully, who carried out much of Frank McGovern’s traditions, except for the swinging doors. When Frank McGovern returned to visit his old bar, he asked Scully, “Where are the doors?” to which Scully assured him were now down in the basement. As always, places, customs, and times change. The swinging doors between the front bar and the backroom went away. As did the separate entrance for the ladies. (Source: McGovern’s Tavern) I look forward to grabbing another pint of Guinness at McGovern’s Tavern again!
Today’s tune is Zach Bryan’s Heading South because it was on in the background at Redd’s Biergarten in Newark.
Heading South was Zach Bryan’s first breakout hit as he shot the video for it on his phone at his Navy barracks back in ‘19. It gained popularity in ‘20, reaching #27 on the US Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, and made its way on the Irish charts last September ‘23 at #44.
Hopefully, Bryan enjoyed his time in Newark, it sounded like his dad did.
