Hooray for date night!!
Mal and I had a blast out on the town in Boston last night. Good times were had by all!
(Derp. We're vest twins in this pic.)
Our evening started at Scholars with dinner and drinks.
By drinks, I mean BEER! I heard a rumor that Scholars had a nice beer list, so we went there to check it out. Look at all of those happy taps!!
My first beer of the night was an old standby: Rogue Dead Guy Ale. It tastes so good when it hits your lips!
Besides a great taste, did you know that beer has a ton of health benefits too? Check out these fun facts:
- If you suffer from an iron deficiency, here's a potentially enjoyable way to beef up your blood: Order a heartier stout at happy hour instead of your usual light ale. According to an analysis published in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture, dark beers contain significantly more iron””121 parts per billion (ppb), compared with 92 ppb for pale brews and 63 ppb for nonalcoholic beers””a key building block for the red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body. [Shape, November 2010]
- Beer is rich in disease-fighting antioxidants. It also provides a dose of dietary silicon, a mineral that helps promote bone formation, which may improve bone density and help protect again osteoporosis. In fact, research shows that some pale ales contain just as much or more silicon than oat bran, which is one of the best food sources of this mineral. [Woman's Day, March 2012]
- The hops in beer contain flavonoids””one in particular called xanthohumol””which has been studied for its ability to promote the self-destruction of breast- and ovarian-cancer cells. In addition, phytoestrogens found in hops are compounds that mimic estrogen in the body and could help alleviate some common menopausal complaints. [M&F Hers, Jan/Feb 2011]
I'm a dork and actually remembered some of these little tidbits while I was at Scholars last night, so I picked a darker beer for my second brew of the night: Harpoon Black IPA.
One of Mal's college buddies actually came up with the recipe for this beer, so I was also excited to try it on draft. It had a fruity aroma with both malty and bitter flavors. It was hoppy, but not insanely hoppy. I really enjoyed it.
For dinner, I ordered the Apple-Cashew Chutney Burger, which came with Smoked Gouda and Apple Wood Smoked Bacon. The burger was cooked really well, but the toppings were a little disappointing. There wasn't much chutney and what was on the burger was kind of bland. Oh, well, I still ate the whole thing. I was hungry.
After a leisurely dinner (we spent more than 2 hours at Scholars), we headed to the Garden for The Black Keys concert.
We arrived midway through the opening act (The Artic Monkeys), which wasn't my favorite kind of music, but things definitely turned around when The Black Keys hit the stage.
The Black Keys opened with “Howlin' for You” and then plowed through the rest of their 90-minute set with a ton of energy.
The majority of their songs are high-energy and fairly short in length, so the show flew by! It was a lot of fun!
Song highlights from the evening for me: “Dead and Gone,” “Tighten Up,” and “Lonely Boy” (obviously).
The encore was also pretty awesome. Two huge disco balls came out and reflected light all over the arena. It was so cool!
The three-song encore started with “Everlasting Light, ” which was really good, followed by “She's Long Gone” and “I Got Mine.”
Mal and I had a great time””The Black Keys definitely put a on fun show!
The weather was so gorgeous last night, Mal and I decided to walk from North Station to Park Street after the concert. Boston was so peaceful and quite at that time of night. It made me miss the city.
Mal and I didn't get home until after midnight, so I face-planted in bed as soon as I got home. Fun night.
I [heart] date night.
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69 Comments
so jealous you go to see black keys! looks like fun!
You shouldn’t do this to me, now im craving beer and it’s only 10 am lol
@Bjork: Haha! 🙂
The Black Keys and beer. That, Tina, is a perfect evening.
I love the Black Keys in concert!!! Also, those facts about beer are awesome, great bar trivia 🙂
Love reading your blog everyday!! Great facts!!!
@Rachelle: Aww, thank you! Hooray for beer! 🙂
Hurray for date night! Looks like the two of you had a wonderful time. I haven’t been to a concert in a few years but looking at your pics makes me want to check out what’s coming this summer.
Such great beer facts – good thing I already like darker beers! I’m going to use those to convince people to make a little beer run tonight…great bargaining tactics. Also, so jealous that you got to see the Black Keys, they are awesome live! I saw them in Nashville a couple of years ago at the Ryman.
So jealous of the Black Keys concert. They are awesome! And those onion rings alongside the burger look absolutely fantastic!
Sounds like you had a great time! Haha and I love the beer facts!
I think I’m the only one in the city who didnt go to that concert last night 🙁
I just LOVE Boston! One of my favorite cities to visit. Reading this makes me want to schedule another trip out there!
Trying to figure out if beer is an appropriate accompaniment to the PB protein cookies I just made?? 😉
@Justine Duppong @ Life With Cheeseburgers: Yes! Clearly. 🙂
@Tina: Good to know! Hope my hubby doesn’t get upset when he discovers I’ve not only eaten all of the cookies I just made him (http://lifewithcheeseburgers.com/2012/03/07/the-best-peanut-butter-oatmeal-protein-cookies/, but also drank his beer!
You just made me feel so much better about loving beer! That Harpoon Black IPA sounds right up my alley…can’t wait to try it.
@Colleen: It’s so good! Let me know what you think if you try it! 🙂
So great that you’re feeling better & got to have a fun date night. The walk after sounds like the best part to me – I’m loving this mild winter! 🙂
Yeah for date night!! Glad you guys had a fun time. That’s too bad about the burger toppings. 🙁
Aww! Looks like a fun night! I love random date nights in the middle of the week! 🙂
Now THAT’S a date night!! I’m so having a burger Saturday. 🙂
Sounds like such a great date night! 🙂
Fun times! We are going to Black Keys in Chicago in 2 weeks- can’t wait!
totally random question- have you found that your hands are getting really calloused from crossfit? I have been doing it about 2 months and we did the games WOD this morning- my hands are really ripped up even though I wore weight-lifting gloves too!
@Renee C.: Yea, my hands are awful! LOL!
@Tina:
Try really gripping the bar (or barbells) when you lift. You may have to lower your weights, you will really feel it in your forearms when you grip tightly! That will help deter callous formation and prevent the need for lifting gloves.
@Christina: Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll give it a try!
@Renee C.: Have you tried using a ton of chaulk? It depends on the exercise but certain ones that I find kill my hands (deadlifts in particular) I chaulk my hands like CRAZY and it makes it much more bearable.
@Kelly: Chalk helps me, too!
What a fun night! I didn’t know that beer had all of those health benefits! Totally going to spout some of those off at the next happy hour, lol.
Sounds like the perfect date night. I’m itching to go to a concert now!!
Date nights are the best! Beer, concerts and burgers.. really can’t go wrong 🙂
In a few weeks my boyfriend and I are going to watch Paul McCartney play in the Netherlands. I am such an old soul… I’m SO EXCITED.
What a fun and fantastic date night!!
I love date nights!! Looks like yall had a grand time dinner and concert.. some of the best combos 🙂
I love Lies by the Black Keys… awesome that yall got to see them!
Love Dead Guy Ale! I have a couple dead guys in my fridge at home. (giggle)
@Tiff @ Love Sweat and Beers: Haha!
that sounds like a really great evening! i like date nights too and although we do a lot of “date nights” in, some of my favorites are having a good dinner and a fun, not so-every-day activity afterwards. I love hockey game, or really any live sporting event, date nights!
I love The Black Keys!!! I’m so jealous. Looks like you had a great time!
Beer and the Black Keys are two of my greatest loves in life! Sounds like the perfect date to me!
I am trying to figure out where you guys are in that 1st pic- South Boston?
Yep!
Love the beer post. I’m a huge beer girl which makes living in Portland (which some may argue is the microbrew capital of the world) so much more fun. A lot of these are pretty local to the NW but if you ever happen to see them on draft/bottle somewhere I’d highly recommend them: Double Mountain Vaporizer (fresh hopped and my husband’s current fave), Anything from 10Barrel especially their ISA and Ft. George Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale. And you can’t go wrong with anything from Deschutes or Bridgeport.
@Whitney @ Whit Likes Fit: The NW has the best beer!
I swear beer is the new wine! Glad you enjoyed the Black Keys concert. I’m going to it when they are in my hometown in May. Can’t wait!
I’m just wondering why you’re not focusing more on your health and eating, since you just recently had a colitis flare-up. And now you’re eating burgers, fried food and beer? I’m no doctor, but it definitely seems silly for you to be eating such unhealthy food so soon after being in immense pain and discomfort over your colitis. If you’re serious about helping your body then maybe you should evaluate how you eat. Just because you feel better right now doesn’t mean that you won’t get a flare-up in the future, and adjusting your diet accordingly would also help you. Just as people with blood pressure issues need to avoid salt, people with intestinal issues should probably try harder to stick to a healthy diet. I don’t have any intestinal problems and I still avoid eating like that because it makes me feel lousy.
I’m not trying to upset you, I’m just giving honest criticism because I’m confused as to why you’re eating like this.
Colitis is an autoimmune disease, so it’s not caused by diet. I’m feeling a lot better and don’t have many symptoms, so I’m back to my normal diet. When I’m not experiencing a flare, foods like beer, coffee, burgers, etc. don’t upset my stomach, so I’m eating them again.
A friends daughter was just diagnosed with this at the age of 17. Before she was well educated on the disease she started eating what she considered to be “healthier foods” and unfortunately they were high fiber foods, which did cause some problems. I know it is hard for most people to see this but a burger and fries actually were better than a big salad….and no I am not advocating this every day. It is obvious from your blog you do not eat like this every day. Sometimes you have to live a little and date nights are definitely one of those times.
Date nights are so great 🙂
Love the Black Keys!
Also LOOOVE beer. I forwarded your fun health facts to my boyfriend to convince him to buy me some. Gotta keep my bones strong. Who needs milk when you can drink beer? ahaha
That burger looks fantastic!!!
Looks like fun! That totally took me back to college when I saw John Mayer at the Garden. I MISS BOSTON! 🙁
absolutely love arctic monkeys and The Black Keys! Looks like a great date night 😀
Hey! 🙂 I thought of this after reading your post, there is an App called Untappd which you can keep track of different types of beers you’ve drank, its kinda social networky…kinda interesting.
BTW..love black keys 🙂
@Kelly: Cool! I just downloaded it on my phone. Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
@Tina: You’ll have to let me know and i can add you on there 🙂 I’m under “Kelly Weston” 🙂
Looks like you had such a blast! Weather in the northeast seems to beautiful right now and I HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY because I’m heading to NYC for a week.
love that you explained the health benefits of beer. makes me not feel so bad. also kinda makes me want a beer.
not an arctic monkeys fan? i’d love to see them!!!
ooh TD Gardens. Hopefully there will be a lot of sad Bruins fans tonight after the Sabres beat them. 🙂
ahh! We’re going to see the Keys when they come to NYC in a few weeks, and your post just got me so much more excited!!
@Kate @ ibrokemyumbrella: You’re going to love them in concert! So fun!
My husband is a marketing representative for Cigar City Brewing, so I know all about the *many* benefits of beer 🙂
@Katy Widrick: Cigar City Brewing makes some great beer! Lucky you! 🙂
wow, look at that arena! I had no idea the black keys were so huge… I only discovered them when I started watching Hung on HBO (set in my hometown, Detroit!)… they’re “I’ll be your man” was the opening song.
Looks like you had an awesome night! And thanks for those beer tidbits… I’ll be repeating them with my next beer so everyone can know I’m only drinking it for the nutritional benefits 😉
Yay for The Black Keys! I saw them Tuesday night in Portland…they were awesome. The show totally flew by, you’re right. I would loooove to see them in a smaller venue, though!
I love both the Arctic Monkeys and the Black Keys! Glad to hear that beer is now on the ok list 🙂
You’ll have to visit St. Louis – we’ve had like six microbreweries open in the last year! Such good beer so readily available.
And yes to untappd! I’ll have to look you up – my name on there is goblue8426.
Always nice to see another fellow female craft brew drinker. 🙂
I’d love to try the Black IPA. I recommend Widmers Black IPA if you’re into them.
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