I Haven't Posted Since When?

THG enjoys some hockey and a local beer
instead of working on the blog.

It's more than a little hard to believe that I haven't popped in to post since, gulp, the last days of 2015.

Regular readers of the blog know that I have a handful of annual freelance projects that keep me pretty occupied for the first few months of the year (leading to posts apologizing for my protracted absences like this one), and while this year's slate seemed to drag on longer than usual, I still don't have a great reason for going five months and change without writing anything. (And I do mean anything. Even THG's sister blog Exploitation Retrospect has pretty much been collecting dust aside from some guest posts.)

I could certainly pinpoint all the usual culprits: ennui, writer's block, packed schedule, my life, too much time spent watching NHL and college hoops, my daughter's school/athletics/social life, etc. and they'd all be justifiable and accurate.

Plus, as I've noted in the past, it's much easier – and lazier – to bang out a quickie Facebook, Twitter or Instagram post than to sit down and actually put some thought into what I'm doing. But don't let that stop you from visiting and bookmarking all of our little social media outposts!

And it's not like I haven't been drinking and eating and cooking and traveling and drinking and reading and did I mention drinking...? The beer fridge has seen steady turnover as we've settled on a regular rotation of Ballast Point Big Eye (though we'll have to watch the quality now that they've been bought out by a mega beverage conglomerate) and favorites both old and new like Dale's Pale Ale and Sam Adams Nitro IPA (a creamy, citrusy, piney glass of delicious that is screaming for its own writeup), Unita Brewing Hop Nosh, Green Flash West Coast IPA and, well, I see a definite trend developing here. Yes, we like IPA and as Beavis once said, "Ow, my liver".

But summer's upon us and that means grilling and day trips and enjoying a beer by the pool or the patio – or just standing in the garage during a rain storm – so we'll be cooking and sampling and posting.

I promise.

As for the coming weeks and months, look for write-ups on some new (and not so new) additions to the Baltimore County restaurant scene, reports from sunny, sandy Long Beach Island, Ryan's reviews of calamari and carousels (I'm encouraging her to start her own blog focused on her dual passions) and more.

School's out, summer's here and THG's back. – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor and publisher of The Hungover Gourmet and Exploitation Retrospect and is entirely responsible for the dearth of material at both outlets over the last five months. For shame!