Feed Your Good Wolf - Howling Wolf Taqueria, Salem MA

Late May and the weather is finally not "the suck," as we say. 

I proposed a trip to Salem should be undertaken, and Dave agreed. 

We trekked down to my favorite little spot in Salem, the Howling Wolf. 

Pat Schultz is one of the owners, and I met him the summer that the restaurant opened. His daughter was part of the theater group that I was volunteering with, and I was very excited that a great little Mexican joint would be opening up in Salem. It seemed to be the one thing that was missing in town. I've gone there as often as I can, even though we live about 40 minutes away. We had a delicious lunch (I swear by the Chicken Quesadilla) and they had Peak Organic Pale Ale on tap, which I love seeing. A delicious beer, and lovely on draught.

During the winter, the Wolf doesn't have a liquor license, so they set up a beautiful little coffee klatch corner with overstuffed comfy chairs and sofas. Everyone seemed to like it so much that they kept it once the alcohol came back. After we ate, Dave and I retired to the corner to sit and chat and people watch. It was a wonderfully relaxing afternoon.

We then took a ride all about Salem, down to Winter Island and the Willows. It was a beautiful spring day, filled with the airs of things to come weather-wise.

Create a Cook and Harpoon Brewery Beer and Food Pairing Event

Not our normal Friday Shenanigans... 

I work part time at an awesome cooking school called Create a Cook. We put on a special event partnering up with Harpoon Brewery.

I figured after several outings with Dave, getting to know his adoration of all things Beer, this would be the most fun thing ever in his life. Ever.

And I was right.

I brought him down for this night time event, and Doug rode the train out from Boston and met us. We were there early since I was trying my best to help out. I knew Jo, Sam, Lily and everyone else would be busting their butts cooking so I wanted to do as much as I could otherwise to help. The Harpoon dudes showed up, and we got everything set up. The crowd started to file in, and the food started to come out. The food was specifically designed to be paired up with beers picked by the craft brewers at Harpoon, and some of the dishes were made with different beers. 

Dave and Doug on the left, sampling food and talkin' beer with the brewers

Dave was indeed in his glory, talking ABV and IBUs and Leviathan Quad and all sorts of stuff with the guys. They brought an unexpected batch of their Founders Rye and that was so nice. By the end of the night, I don't think anyone cared which beer went with which dish. Dave was having a blast talking to people, and challenging the brewers to mix different beers together. He would then bring them to other event attendees and see if they could figure out the mixes. 

Everyone had a great time. The next morning, Dave wasn't up for our regular weekly shenanigans. We wore him out that much.