ok, so the 3rd time is the charm. or maybe it’s just the 3rd time. anyway, ol’ gravel voice himself will be at little pub tonight pickin’ and a’ growlin. no rain, no snow, no award shows, no bronchitis, …no excuses.

From the New Haven Advocate:

Shawn Taylor, Free (self-released, shawntaylortunes.com). Shawn Taylor plays his acoustic guitar Delta style, reminiscent of Mississippi John Hurt: country blues. He even does a speeded-up tribute to Hurt on “Pallet,” Taylor’s update of Hurt’s “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor.” On “Dime and a Bottle of Wine,” an original tune, Taylor is accompanied only by Billy Bileca on upright bass, and you can hear his smooth command of the difficult finger-picking style. Free also features Jim McKeeman and Chris D’Amato on acoustic guitars and Nick Longo and Mike Marble on drums. The band drops in and out as needed, making for a good variety of feels. Anchoring the whole thing is Taylor’s voice. Described as “wonderfully damaged” by the Advocate’s own Dan Barry, it is worn but not frayed, a smoky tenor that exudes confidence and authority. This kind of command comes from live performances — not just in clubs and coffee bars, but in living rooms and on front porches as well. Taylor gigs a lot in Connecticut and the Hudson River Valley area, solo, or with various members of his band. It’s easy to imagine him weaving his own tunes flawlessly together with folk-revival classics like “Jack-A-Roe” (also covered on this CD) in his live sets. —James Velvet

http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/music-articles/local-cds-the-sawtelles-shawn-taylor-065915

here’s what we got ready for you friday and saturday.

friday march 25^th

chicken potstickers

savory chicken potstickers with a spicy thai peanut dipping sauce.

 tilapia tacos

blackened tilapia with crisp cabbage, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro-lime infused sour cream and

salsa verde in three soft flour tortillas. 

burger with a li’l kick

½ pound of hand packed, peppercorn encrusted montana beef topped with melted swiss cheese, cherrywood smoked bacon, sautéed mushrooms and a horseradish mayo.

served with your choice of fries

~wine picks~

lafite reserve, bordeaux, fr 2009

 made of sauvignon blanc and semillon, the nose is fruity and elegant, with white flowers, minerals and citrus fruit. the palate has a good balance between body and liveliness, and a long finish. an easy-drinking, pleasure wine.

sustainable red, parducci 2007

a zinfandel, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and carignane blend, this wine has robust berry-fruit flavors and spicy complexities. parducci developed this dry wine through sustainable wine growing practices, yielding top quality grapes while protecting the environment and supporting local mendocino farmers.

~mystery tap~

ithaca flower power

this ipa from new york’s  ithaca brewing company is simultaneously

punchy and soothing with a big body and a finish that boasts pineapple

and grapefruit notes. graded a- on beer advocate. a real winner!

~bottled beer picks~

berkshire cabin fever

berkshire brewing’s winter seasonal,  cabin fever pours a copper amber with aromas of nutmeg and other winter spices. this medium bodied ale with a great balanced flavor offers a fruity spicy hop finish to compliment the malty caramel taste. yum!

ommegang abbey ale

fun to say and even more fun to drink, ommegang is a dark ruby elixir with deep emanations of fruit and spice inspired by centuries-old brewing practices of belgian trappist monks. this burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice.

 one of our favorites is back on tap, ithaca flower power ipa! springtime means flowers (eventually) and flower related postings, so we brought back one of our favorites on tap.  ithaca flower power is hopped and dry-hopped five different times throughout the brewing and fermentation process, pours a clover honey hue with an intense  tropical nose,  and offers a big body and a finish that boasts pineapple and grapefruit. yow!

 nevermind the schizophrenic weather, spring is officially here and one of the first signs of spring (in addition to the appearance of those electric blue new york times plastic paper covers that had been buried by snowplows) are daffodils. so we bought a bunch of daffodils from the american cancer society’s daffodil days program and put those out on tables this week. if you’re interested in supporting the program, the link is below. happy spring!

http://daffodil.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=DD_FY11_Findanevent

with 31 flavors and counting, sam adams has officially  become the baskin robbins of beer (we’re still waiting for “bubblegum stout” to come out), come try their newest offering, rustic saison,  at little pub.  rustic saison is a farmhouse ale brewed with real honey and belgian yeast, and we’re one of a handful of establishments in ct picked to be part of the regional launch, so come on down and try the newest beer from sam adams before everyone else does. that way when your friends are all excited about rustic saison’s national launch  in april you can be like, “been there, done that.” which is always fun to be able to do.

sam adam’s rustic saison description: incredibly complex yet refreshing, rustic saison is brewed in the farmhouse beer tradition. unique floral, fruity and estery flavors are imparted from its belgian yeast. these flavors are layered with a citrusy and herbal hop character for a bright and satisfying brew.

hey, it’s st. patricks day and, according to local advertising and wikipedia  everyone (even darth vader) wants to be irish  so timmy’s cooked up  a  corned beef and guiness mustard sandwich and a traditional corned beef with bacon-dill cabbage dinner tonight. there’s smithwicks on tap (and, of course, guiness), and ryan’s even got a bottle of food coloring if you want green beer and eventually green lips, teeth, and gums.  so come on over and get yo’ green on at little pub, sláinte mhait!

it’s pi day! did you know that if you  incorrectly calculate pi to the 4th decimal place you get 3.1411 and that’s today’s date? did you know that if you take the right combination of vowels and consonants out of pj pacifico you can eventually end up with just pi? you may know that we have awesome peanut butter pie, so come on down for pi day at little pub.  pj starts at 8:00, that peanut butter pie is available all day, and timmy’s got blackened tilapia soft tacos special while they last (there’s pi in there too).

stringfingers are go! shawn taylor got bronchitis and has to stay home but luckily it’s string fingers to the rescue!  come by sunday night around 8ish for some “quick pickin and fun strummin” and get your obscure cover shout outs ready ( ever heard “brandy, you’re a fine girl” played on a banjo? well you might tonight). it’s guaranteed fun!

update! shawn got bronchitis so he had to cancel tomorrow night. he will be back march 27th!

look, we’re not going  to say “we told you so”, but waaay  back on feb 27^th we suggested that you come see shawn taylor at the pub instead of staying home and watching what has been called “one of the worst oscar telecasts in history” by  the hollywood reporter.  well, luckily he’s coming back, shawn taylor will be at the pub this sunday march 13^th at 8:00. you owe it to yourself to come check him out.

but don’t take our word for it…. take dan barry’s from the new haven advocate.

“Shawn Taylor is a poet of decay”
New Haven Advocate
Tuesday, January 27, 2008

“On Saturday night I caught singer/songwriter Shawn Taylor at Acoustic Café.
He has a wonderfully damaged voice – a sort of Tom Waits “I gargle cinder blocks in the morning” growl, but less of a put-on than Waits’ bark. His lyrics dabble in a wonderful gritty naturalism that’s uncommon around here… check him out.”

                                                                                         – Dan Barry

so we follow that allagash tripel with a singel. now on tap, brooklyn breweries newest offering..main engine start. main engine start is a belgian singel style ale. traditional  belgian singels are gold in color, dry and biscuity on the palate, with a lilt of spicy belgian yeast character. this beer is so new it’s not even rated on beeradvocate.com or ratebeer yet, so you’ll have to make up your own grades.  but if you believe that brooklyn knows what they’re doing, and we do, then this should be pretty good. so go ahead, believe.