England Day Three

So I decided to head down to the local pub, Stuckeley's Country Hotel http://www.stukeleys.co.uk/. I've driven by a few time and it look like a nice place and it is. It looks like an old English lodge (which it is) with low ceilings and wood everywhere. Seriously feels like being in a Dickens book. Being a Thursday there were not that many people in the bar. I belly up and order a St Austell Tribute Premium Cornish Ale. It's light in color, but full bodied and crisp. It's very well balanced.

The menu is not that extensive, but most things on it look good. I go for the Cumberland Sausage in an onion gravy served with mashed potatoes and peas. Which, it turns out, is a good choice. The sausages were a little over cooked, but the onion gravy made up for it. I am a whore for sauces, especially onion sauces.

For my second beer I went for the King Green IPA (the official beer of English Rugby). This beer has been brewed since 1799, so needless to say it was good. Probably one of my favorite IPAs. It was not as hoppy as most IPAs. It had a light flavor and finish which makes it dangerous, you can drink a lot of these and not realize it.

Like I said there are not many people in the bar and that makes it easier to talk to people. The bartender, Trevor, and I start talking about America and how he wants to go. I tell him not to expect what he has seen in movies and he states that if it is not exactly like "Coming to America" or "Beverly Hills Cop" he will be pissed. Obviously joking, but it does strike up a conversation between Trevor, Shane (another bar patron and Trevor's friend) and myself. We talk a lot about the differences between American and Brits and the misconceptions that each has of each other. Eventually the conversation settled upon "Family Guy," which is Trevor's favorite show, and I settle upon a Guinness being my last beer of the night.

I finish my beer and pay up. Only £17.80, very good deal. I stuck around for a bit after my pint was finished because the conversation was so good. At one point Trevor asked me if there were pubs like that one in America. I told him that there were pubs, but they were bigger and louder... just like everything else in America.