An old friend for dinner (nom nom nom)

I met Dave in Corpus Christi in 2001; we both worked for years at the Caller-Times. He now lives in Hartford, about 40 minutes away, and works at the Courant. He came down Saturday, and I have two awfully painful blisters on my foot to prove that we, like, mad explored and stuff. Among the many, many places we went, I discovered three loudly trumpeted local establishments of note:

1. Educated Burgher, on Broadway. Dave is generally willing to stuff his face, and on occasion I'm more than happy to follow. Observe my supper: a bacon/swiss/mushroom cheeseburger, a foot-long hot dog with hot salsa, fries and what's called Birch Beer, which is basically clear root beer. I think this was my first burger since getting overloaded on them for work at the Star-Telegram, where I judged 10 burgers in a two-week period. Great burger and fries; a so-so hot dog.

2. Ashley's Ice Cream, on York. This place boasts "the best ice cream in Connecticut." Their offerings include a $22.95 sundae that features seven scoops of ice cream, nine toppings and two bananas, served on a frisbee. I had a vanilla cone. Dave had a Coffee Oreo cone. We both thoroughly enjoyed them.

3. Wine Thief, on Whitney. This is a beer, wine and spirit store adjacent to Manna, the first grocery store I visited in New Haven. Very cute and inviting, with what seemed to this unsophisticate to be an ample, exotic selection. Not a Bud, Miller, Blue Moon or Sam Adams in the joint. We enjoyed (a) Paper City Brewery Summer Brew, brewed in Western Massachusetts, and (b) Ithaca Beer Co. Apricot Wheat, though it was a touch too fruity.

In other news, I'm moving closer and closer to dumping my dumb car. I've been here two weeks and driven three times: to a supermarket, to visit my brother, and to drive back from the tow yard. The visiting-brother thing is really what keeps me from getting rid of it today, but I better make it up there an awful lot to justify it.