May 2013
First of all let me thank everyone who helped make our 18th Anniversary a big success. We raised, with lots of help from our suppliers, other local businesses, SSG Musicians, and our awesome staff $3,500 for JDRF. They also raised additional charitable contributions through their raffle – so it was a good night! Hard to believe this place has been around for so long and I remain so young. Congrats to 2013 Dart Champion Dan Janda, and 2013 Pool Champion Brian Schmidt.
This month, like all months has a lot going on. Whether you come here for Mother’s Day, ESU Graduation, the After Party of the NAN Tournament, a great live music show, the NHL an NBA playoffs, the Mets – Phillies – Yankees, Sushi, Burgers, a Steak, a salad, a rehearsal, birthday party, baby or wedding shower, or just to have a good beer with a great friend, we promise to work hard to make it right!
Although we spent good money on a temporary Cappuccino/Espresso machine, we got our top of the line machine back in house and are now buying some of the best Coffee and Espresso beans you can find anywhere. Enjoy it, I certainly do!
May 2 brings back Brook Shive and the 45′s, after what I believed was having a baby break. May 24th has the return of Baby Cave Plus Cuzme, one of my favorite bands. Then May 25th has the shared headliners HAMELL ON TRIAL and JOHNNY RYDELL. If you made one of their featured Thursdays in March, you saw some great and unique entertainment. These are two artists that have been a big part of so much music on our stage, and to have them working to put a show together is another SSG Historical Music Event. They will perform solo and as a duo, mixing each others songs, covers, and comedy. How long this “duo” will last, and what it leads to is yet unknown. What is known: those of us who witness it will think about and talk about it for the rest of our lives. Most in a positive way! That show also has Kira Krakovesky opening, and she is playing the next Sunday (the 26th) to fill in for the Pocono Duo. Tuesday the 28th brings Chelsea Carlson to the stage here for the first time too. Both Kira and Chelsea are really pretty, and very talented, so help welcome them here to Stroudsburg. The month finishes with OLD MAN BROWN out of Philadelphia/Baltimore. This is another really good band who is already booked for Stroudfest at the end of the Summer. These travel long distances and great bands need even more local support so we can get them to keep our stage in their loop. In my opinion, all the live music here needs and deserves your back, and if you already give it, more of it! When there is a music charge it all goes to the performer, and when there is not, please throw some gas money in the tip jar on stage. These people perform more out of love of music then income, but they have bills to pay too. Will you love every band you see here? Doubt it, as they are so different. But come and find out for yourself who you do enjoy and support the Arts. Not many live music venues left out there, and even fewer like ours. Steve McDaniels and Friends is the featured Artist of the Month and here every Thursday with no music charge. Steve is awesome! So are all the people that are performing and did not get a specific mention. Just look at the calendar and go directly to their sites from ours to find out more about them.
Well certainly is a bummer for me to have the Devils not make the playoffs after going to the Stanley Cup finals last year, but we do have the Islanders and maybe the Rangers to represent our region (ouch). The NBA has the Knicks and the Nets – I guess it is a good year to be NY connected. Whether you come out to support these teams, or root against them, this is your place. You won’t have to ask for them to be on, we have Soundogs available to listen with (turn down the commercials!), and any game 7′s come with our .40 Wings.
We are getting a lot more aggressive with our Tweet promos. Are you on that list? If not you are missing great offers like: “for the next 3 hours all burgers half price with this Tweet” or “send us a photo of our calendar on your fridge and have a $10 gift card waiting for you”. They are great for reminding you who is performing here that night and other things going on here. If you are not receiving our Tweets on your text….. well fix that!
Live Music, Sports, Sushi, Steaks and so much more in one location. Hip hip hooray!
APRIL 2013
Hello? Anyone reading this? If there is, why have you not taken or printed a copy of the calendar, posted it on your fridge (or anywhere in your house), taken a photo and e mail, Facebook, or Tweet it to us? If you do, there is $10 towards your tab waiting for you here at Sarah Street! That is like printing your own money without risking jail time.
Now, that said, Monday April 8th would NOT be a good time to redeem coupons, promos, or even drink chips piling up on you dresser, because that is the day we are giving 18% of our sales to JDRF, a charity that fights the cause and helps with treatment of Diabetes. We all know, and some of us are, people fighting that tough disease and we hope to raise close to $5,000 on our 18th Birthday to help. Sign up for the pool and dart tournament, buy raffle tickets, or just eat and drink to be a part of a good cause and great party.
April has lots of great music. Thursdays featured artist is Erin McCllenland and Friends. Local legend Kevin Brennan and the Longhunters are here on the 5th. Quimby Mountain Band is back after a year plus on the 6th, as are The Fustics – who are in all the way from Colorado, on the 19th. George Wesley needs a much bigger following then they got in March because they play too good and work too hard on stage to not have a huge dancing crowd. Please show up and bring friends on the 20th - Reggae music on 4/20, hmmm. Suze is back from Scranton on the 26th and Nancy and Spencer Reed are back with a Blues Quintet on the 27th. Throw in Tom Graham and Will Orner on the 12th and first time band Cherokee Red on the 13th and you have a whole month of great music. Many of these acts have a long history in this room – only Cherokee Red is a first timer – so come and support. There is only a music charge – which goes 100% to the band – on Fridays and Saturdays.
Tuesdays, the singer song writer night, has TWO Regina Sayles nights, the second, on the 23rd, will be her new recording release night. Then the 30th has the return of the Wine Tasting Dinner, and that we do every other month. It really is always a fun time. Nothing stuffy about our Wine nights! In fact it is designed more of a customer appreciation event then a money maker. You get much more then your $25 ticket if you buy before, or $30 if you buy the day of, then most would expect. After the Wine Tasting is over, head downstairs and enjoy Steve McDaniels.
As soon as we get some 70 degree days, the deck will reopen. See you at the Street – not on a corner and way more then a café!
questions comments dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
March 2013
Spring? Really? Didn’t Winter just start like five minutes ago? Well I probably just set a curse for a huge blizzard - something the North East does NOT need - but that does not change that time travels way too darn fast. As I write this letter I have not yet skied even once – but I plan to tomorrow!
Speaking of fast time travel: Sarah Street Grill turns 18 next month! As we do every year, we will be donating the percentage of sales of years we have been around to a worthy charity. This year it will be for JDRF, whose mission is “Improving Lives and Curing Type 1 Diabetes”. On Monday April 8th our goal is to raise close to $5,000 with the 18% of sales, raffles involving great prizes, 50/50′s, dart and pool tournaments, and more. Many great musicians will be donating their time on our stage, and it really is always a fun day and night to be a part of. Now that Sarah Street is 18 it can do almost anything except drink here!
Well lets get back to talking about March. Besides showing every NBA and NHL game, we have a great month of live music ready to take our stage. The first to give some extra promotion for is: Ed Hamell and Johnny Rydell sharing the stage for THURSDAY’S ON TRIAL. Yes Hamell on Trial will be teaming up with Mr. Rydell in a tight, yet loose format, of singer songwriter back and forth. Each week will have its own flow, and the final Thursday on the 28th, will be the show the previous three have created. To be honest, this show is being put forth with the hope that Hamell gets a boost in his local following. When he first played here, oh about 15 years ago, his show of rough politics and outrageous humor created both fans and those that got ruffled feathers. Some of those that did not love it at first, came to with time, and others never quite grasped it. Well interesting to me is that the music itself has done nothing but get better and better, and his popularity around the world has gone up, yet here in Stroudsburg we don’t show in the numbers he deserves when he takes the stage. Part of that is that his goal of pointing out the faults in our society with rough humor seems to get under the skin of some even more, as he focuses on that part of the show even less. Another part of that is that many of the fan base that took years to develop have moved away via graduation, job change, or aging to coach potatoes (or parents). We need to rebuild that crowd, and hopefully having him here for four straight Thursdays, and teaming up with a great artist of his own right,Johnny Rydell, will do just that. Come out and enjoy something different, with no cover for an artist that often gets a $20 door at other shows, at least one, if not all of the Thursdays in March.
Really every band and artist on the calendar deserves a paragraph, but you will have to take the time and check them out via the internet at our web site www.sarahstreetgrill.com , or the bands. I do have to give an extra mention to BABY CAVE PLUS, because it is an entire weekend (8th and 9th), and the last show here for the lead singer Mary Ella for a while, as she is having a baby. They did a whole weekend in January, and it was awesome. Also, GEORGE WESLEY BAND is now in our band rotation, something I should have done a long time ago! Man can that guy rock the reggae!
Hey do you know that every month you print and post our calendar on your fridge (or elsewhere in your living space), we will have a reward waiting for you here? Take a photo and e mail, Facebook, or Tweet it to us, and this month we will have $10 waiting for you to redeem any Sunday through Thursday. Pretty cool, no?
You can always check the Newsletter at our web site, as it often has additions, points that I missed, or changes to dumb typos that no matter how many times I re read, seem to surface. Of course, some are not really mistakes, but me sending messages in my own language, Davelish.
peace and love
questions, comments dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
February 2013
Did you win the $500 Super Bowl Party? Not unless you were here for the NFC/AFC Championships, had your name in the raffle been for every game you had attended, and your name is Fred! It was pretty cool that Fred won, as he and his friends made Sarah St their home for the NFL season more then anyone else. Hey, even though most of you do not get a $500 party, you do get a chance to win tons a great prizes that are given away at every commercial break – and yes we let the commercials play with volume as we only do for the Super Bowl. We usually play music over the commercials, and I won’t lie, last year I think we should have – but as much promo goes into these commercials as the game itself. We will be raffling off a bike, grill, cooler, sweatshirts, t shirts, snowboard, lift tickets, and so much more. Come make Sarah Street the home for your Super Bowl Party, and let us do all the set up and clean up!
While on the subject of sports: the NHL is back, and along with the NBA; we have every game. DEVILS, RANGERS, FLYERS, PENGUINS, or whatever team you root for in this short season, they will be on – or on in a minute when you ask.
Another month of great live music. They are all worth seeing – special points for Tom Graham returning with the Willam Orner Show, The Boris Garcia Band, and Old Man Brown. We are also having a video shoot happening here on the 16th at 3 pm for Brandon Maddox, so if you want to see yourself in a video on TV and the Internet show up – then stick around for Old Man Brown out of Philly.
If you print the monthly calendar off our website or the other side of this news letter, post it on your fridge (or elsewhere in your home), e mail or Tweet, or Facebook us a photo of you next to it, we will have a $10 Gift card, which can be redeemed any Sunday – Thursday, waiting for you here. This may go on forever in some form, so make the act of printing, posting, and taking a photo of it a regular part of your start of month things to do. We are also starting Sarah Street Around the World, where if you wear your Sarah St t-shirt, sweatshirt, or jacket in any place 100 miles or more away from here we will post it on our web site and in a collage here at the Grill. I think we will also do a raffle prize to a winner of such photos once a month.
Mark on your calendars now that April 8th we will be celebrating that Sarah Street turns 18. We will be raising money to fight Diabetes by donating 18% of our sales, having our Annual House Pool and Dart Champ Tournament, and raffles and 50/50′s. We will be promoting this more and announcing all the musicians that will donate their talent to that event as it gets closer.
For whatever it is worth, I am notorious for getting the Flu at least once a year. This is the first time ever that I got a Flu shot, and so far, so good. I am knocking on wood right now!
Hey, stay healthy, happy and come down to Sarah Street where the music is great, the food yummy, the game already on, and the staff happy to see you.
Did I mention the Sarah Street Grill Boxers won the Fall/Winter Season Hockey League? No, well we did. Thank you, that was a nice compliment you just thought, I am a great team Captain.
questions, compliments, payback sarcasm
oh, print the calendar and send that photo to the above email for the $10!
or Facebook or Tweet
peace
January 2013
Before I dive into all the fun things happening here this month, let me get one last plug in for NYE. We will have Chef Rob’s dinner specials, which are posted at the web site. THE WHO KNOWS BAND and SSG’s veteran house DJ VJ will be keeping dancers on the floor, a champagne toast at midnight, and party favors all for a $15 Door Charge from 8:30 till Midnight, and $5 after midnight for those that want to finish here after toasting elsewhere. If you are only here for dinner and seat before 9, there is no door charge.
The New Year starts with us being closed for our house party on Tuesday the 1st. Sorry to those that would want to watch the Bowl games here that day, maybe make it a couch day. Speaking of the College Bowl games, we will have all those ( that are not on the 1st) in HI DEF and featuring our Wing Special finishing with the BCS National Championship on Monday the 7th. NFL Playoffs begin on Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th with the Wild Card Weekend. We will have no band and no cover on the 5th or the 12th with playoff games being on a Saturday night. The house DJ VJ will take over after the games. All NFL playoff games, before the AFC and NFC Championships on the 20th, will be last chances to get your name in the raffle bin for the $500 Super Bowl party for 10. We will be drawing a name every commercial during the AFC/NFC Championship games until the name of someone present is drawn, and they will be the Grand Prize Winner of the $500 Super Bowl Bash. If you don’t have your name already in that bin many times, you should have made more of the Monday, Thursday, Sunday night games!
Marc Von Em is the featured artist every Thursday this month. Marc is really special and having him as the featured artist five times in one month will hopefully get him the exposure he deserves in our area. Try and make it for at least one of those nights, you will not regret it. Now that Monday Night Football has come to an end, GAME NIGHT is back. Chess, Backgammon, Yahtzee, Pool, Darts, and many more games await you and your friends to play here every Monday.
On the 18th and 19th we are having BABY CAVE PLUS WEEKEND. Baby Cave is Sarah St Legend Mary Ella’s new project and PLUS is CUZME , the coolest saxophone/bass player cat on Earth, joining the band. They will play both Friday and Saturday night and it should be a great party weekend!
Speaking of CUZME, he and I just returned from a trip literally around the World. We went to Istanbul, Hong Kong, and Macau. We enjoyed many different kinds of food and all kinds of different beverages. Toured many ancient buildings and felt history all around us. What we did not feel was a Sarah Street Grill! Not one place in any of those three famous places compared to us in our beer selection, our live music, our sports viewing options, even our Sushi! Maybe some places matched us, or even beet us in a thing or two, but no one matched us completely. Few do here either, as we are quite unique and wear many hats, but to search three famous cities and find not one place with a beer selection like ours shocked me. It made me realize that in our small town, we have really raised the bar in what a bar is to supply to it’s clients. Here you can argue who has the best beer options in a 5 mile radius. In those three cities we would, without argument, be number one! Interesting trivia, at least to me. Also, you had better become a soccer fan, call it football, and accept no other sport counts. Go Lisbon!
Another thing I learned, the whole world pays attention to what goes on here. The tragedy in Connecticut was just as big news there as it was and is here. I have already, in past news letters, expressed my feelings on guns designed and loaded as assault weapons being so easily acquired, and I found that issue concerns the whole World. It is one of our “freedoms” they are not jealous of. Sorry to end on a somber note, but if we don’t address these issues it is horrible disrespect for those young children. Tell your politicians that the right to bear arms is not the right to be able to kill multiple people in a short amount of time. Surely we can all agree on that.
peace and love and happy new year
dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
DECEMBER 2012
HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL! Lets start off the end of 2012 the right way by attending the JONAH SMITH LAST SHOW BEFORE CALIFORNIA CONCERT here on December 1st! It is so important that Jonah’s last scheduled show has the crowd he deserves after being one of our best for the past 10+ years. I have been promoting this show for the past three months, so if you are fan of Sarah Street music, a fan of Jonah, a friend of mine, or just someone who wants to see a great show PLEASE BE HERE. I won’t lie, I really want Jonah to plan on keeping Sarah Street on the list of places he will perform at when he tours the East Coast, and a strong showing for the 1st would certainly help – but this could truly be the last one.
All the shows this month are big ones, as every band will be giving a little extra for their Holiday performances. BORIS GARCIA is here on the 7th, and we will be giving away EAGLE FLIGHT TICKETS – no they are not plane tickets for Andy Reid’s next job interview, but special party seats for an Eagle game this season. Back to BORIS: it is a band with a great reputation performing here for the first time. Check them out on the Internet, I have and can’t wait for the show. On the 8th we have KAREN MEEKS AND THE SOUL with an opening performance from SOUTH OF THE PEAK who is also here on the 27th, and has a direct connection to the Grill as one of our own sings in the band. The 14th brings another first timer with the SMALL TOWN SHIEKS, and the KEVIN BRENNAN returns with a new back line, the LONGHUNTERS, on the 15th. That is five NEW Sarah Street bands in one month, come and put your review of them on record and support your favorites to be back!
Then comes the ANNUAL HAMELL ON TRIAL CHRISTMAS show. Hamell is finally hitting it big and it looks like 2013 will be a great year for him. Sure he has been signed to major labels, had support from famous people, signed to big independent labels, and put out one great recording after another, but word is he could hit a success peak real soon. I really hope so, and look forward to the show he and JOHNNY RYDELL, who is opening, will put on the stage December 21st. He and Johnny are also planning on doing a good part of the show together - the ED & JOHNNY DUET. Hopefully this will be the beginning of something that adds to the already terrific performances by both artists. I know it will be fun to watch! ERIN MCCLELLAND, CHRISTIAN PORTER, MOJOMO all have their Holiday shows and DREAM OF FIRE, who lost their Halloween Party due to SANDY, is here on the 29th. Sounds like DOF will be taking off the beginning of 2013, so this could be the last chance to see them for a while.
Speaking of SANDY, my apologies to those that tried to come to Sarah Street that entire week. While most of the town that was PPL had power after one day, those of us with MET ED went seven. That makes eight days this year (we lost a Friday in June too) that MET ED has shut us down. Obviously many had it much worse then losing a week of power, and are still struggling to deal with the after math of such a serious storm – but that does not excuse the ineptitude of MET ED. I am sure many quality people work for MET ED, but as a whole business, they have little to be impressed with.
Okay, back to the live music topic. NEW YEARS EVE we will continue with the theme of the past three years with the band WHO KNOWS and DJ/VJ DAVE (me). For a $15 door charge, starting at 9 pm, you get party favors, champagne toast at midnight, and to dance dance dance. After midnight it drops to $5, so you can still finish the night dancing here if you have other plans for the count down. For those planning on dining here, Chef Rob and his kitchen team will have terrific dinner specials, as they do every year.
The kitchen is closing at 9 Christmas Eve and is closed all day Christmas. The bar stays open until we are empty on the Eve, and opens at 6 pm Christmas night.
The Sarah Street Family wants you to Have a Happy Holiday – Christmas,Hanukah, New Years, and or whatever is meaningful to you, and thank you for another years strong support! May 2013 bring good times to you and yours.
dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
NOVEMBER 2012
As the NFL season heats up, we have added some more to our in house raffle. We now are raffling off each Thursday and Sunday night a case of Bud Light, in addition to our weekly prize each Monday night. You can get a raffle ticket in the bin every time you are here for an NFL game, and if you are present at the drawing you can win that nights prize. If not, you still are in for the BIG PRIZE of a $500 Super Bowl Party here at Sarah Street, which will be drawn at the NFC and AFC Championship games. It is possible to have 50 tickets in that bin, so plan as much of your NFL watching as you can here at the Grill! Besides all the prizes, we have 40 cent Buffalo wings, $6.50 Miller Lite pitchers and $2.50 Bud and Bud Lights during all the games.
What a month of music! On the 2nd, The Fustics are in from Colorado. From Good Home’s fans should know this band, as Jamie Coan often jams with them. That night will also feature Eagles vs Cowboys tickets being given away to a lucky patron. The next night, Saturday the 3rd is the second of our two costume parties (see Oct Newsletter for details) and the great local band Dream of Fire. One of the costume themes is to dress like someone from all the music videos that play here at the Grill. November 6th has Fred Gillen Jr doing his Annual SSG performance on Election night. VOTE and then come in for dinner, drinks, and great music while you wait for the results. November 17th is the return of MIAMI CAKE AND DONUTS and CUZME, who have a great chance to become the new favorite on our stage. It is a DON’T MISS SHOW, I promise. Then it is THE GEORGE WESLEY BAND the night before Thanksgiving – need I say more? Thanksgiving weekend itself is the Annual Blue Grass Jam in which the Sherman Theatre and Sarah Street team up to bring the best Blue Grass/Eclectic Rock music into Stroudsburg. Get your weekend ticket for Railroad Earth at the Sherman and you will also get MiZ Band here on Friday, and Damian Calcagne here on Saturday, with members of Railroad joining them here on stage after the shows at the Sherman. If you have the weekend ticket, there is no cover at the door here. We will also have the Blue Grass Open Mic here Saturday at 1:30 and the Quimby Mountain Band starts off the Blue Grass parade here at 6 pm. There is a lot more happening on the stage then written in this letter – but none of it will be RAVE,or METAL, or GRUNGE or POLKA. At least not in the annoying repetitive way those genres tend to thrill the redundant. Music here is ECLECTIC, bits of all kinds – the good and time lasting parts of many styles: ROCK, REGGAE, FOLK/COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS, JAM, SOUL, SPOKEN WORD, HIP HOP, JAZZ. If the second group sounds more you then the first group, we are here for you. If you want to RAVE, to POLKA, maybe not.
Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving, and thanks to all of you for being a part of the Sarah Street Family. The management and staff wish you and yours a really wonderful time to be thankful – something we all (ME!) tend to forget.
questions/comments dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
October 2012
We start off the month strong with another Chris Gavalas run BEER DINNER. This one features a five course dinner and beer pairing with the wonderful and locally created Shawnee Craft Brewery. Five delicious beers and five course meal for $50 a person, tax but not gratuity included – what a fun way to start a fun month! You will start off with the American Blonde Ale with a Porcini & Truffle Cappelacci with Roasted Tomato and Asiago. The second course is a Biere Blanche with a Spicy Shrimp Bisque. That will be followed by Double Pale Ale with Mixed Greens topped with Duck Apple Sausage, Candied Pecans and a homemade Bleu Cheese dressing. Fourth will bring forth (ha ha) the Octoberfest Lager with Roast Pork Loin and a Whole Grain Mustard Sauce. Then we finish with a Session Porter and Chocolate Mousse with Raspberries – yum. This all starts at 7 pm, so we will all be ready for kick off for the Bears Cowboys game, which follows the dinner, and enjoy some more beer!
Speaking of Monday night football, you remember that we raffle off a cool prize every Monday night at half time of the game, don’t you? For those who don’t remember, you get a raffle ticket in our raffle bin every time you are here for a NFL game – Thursday, Sunday, Monday – and if one of your tickets is drawn at half time on Monday night, you win! Besides the great weekly prizes, during the NFC and AFC finals we will be drawing a winner for a $500 Super Bowl Party for 10 in our private dining room – so get as many tickets in that bin as you can. Sign up for our Twitter and Facebook and get yet another ticket – boy we make it easy to have a great chance to win!
For the first time ever THE GEORGE WESELY BAND takes the stage at Sarah Street on October 6th. George and I go way back to rooms I managed before here at the Grill, and I am glad and excited that he is finally performing here. If you enjoy real reggae like I do, please show up to his debut.
The next day, Sunday the 7th, besides every NFL game in HI DEF with sound, the Annual NAN Foundation Bike Run is happening. Details are available at the NAN Foundation Web Site or here at the Grill. As you probably know, the NAN Foundation raises money for families dealing with the pain of losing a loved one to unexpected illnesses. Christy Connolly, now actually known as Christy Janda since she and Dan were just married, has been a major part of running the NAN for many years, and this is one of many very fun annual events she puts together every year, so get out your motorcycles, take the NAN Bike Run which finishes here for food and beverages, and then watch some football!
October 20th features another well known musician coming here for the first time, CLARENCE SPADY. His blues rock style guitar is World famous, and this is a night not to miss. Then the following Monday, the 22nd, has Trey Anastasio, from PHISH, performing at the Sherman with a pre and post party going on here with THE HAPPY DOG.
I can’t believe Halloween is here already, hopefully with no huge and only snow storm of the year this time! We will have our yearly pumpkin carving contest the same night as our every other month wine tasting on the 30th, both of which are always fun and worth not missing. The next night, actual Halloween and OPEN MIC NIGHT, will be the first of TWO costume parties with awards for FUNNIEST, SCARIEST, and OVERALL BEST COSTUMES. The second will be the following Saturday with DREAM OF FIRE leading the way in costumes and performance on our stage.
I just had todays soup. It was New England Clam Chowder, and it was fantastic like most of CJ’s (Clarence Jackson) soups. He really is a real life version of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi – except acting much nicer – most of the time. I have had Chowder in Nantucket that was not any better then what I just enjoyed. Boy are we lucky to have had him part of our Sarah Street family for the past 15 years!
For those who struggled with the Sarah Street wireless connections, celebrate because we have dumped Verizon and gone to Blue Ridge. We too were sick and tired of constantly losing connection, and we made the switch. You will need to put in the new code in your lap top/phone/pad, which you can get from your bartender or server.
If you got the printed version of last months News letter and calendar, you may have Jonah’s last show as November 17 – but it will be December 1st. If you missed Hamell’s show, you missed he and Johnny taking the stage together. Well they have plans to do much more of that at the Christmas show December 21st.
Plenty of events and great music I did not get to, but you can check our calendar, web site, Facebook, and Twitter for more info.
Thanks for supporting a place that does not change it’s theme weekly to get the biggest crowd it can, but sticks with real live music, great food, terrific service, and always has your game on – The Sarah Street Grill.
peace and love dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
September 2012
STROUDFEST is here! Saturday September 1st Sarah Street Grill teams up with the Sherman Theatre and puts together a great live music line up on the Main Stage in the Court House Square. In order of appearance: JAZZ JUICE, CHRISTIAN PORTER BAND, TOCKS ISLAND, MIAMI CAKES AND DONUTS, LOS DIBLOS, and FUNKTIONAL FLOW. All of these bands can be looked at and listened to on the Sherman Website, www.sarahstreetgrill.com, and on their own Facebook and Web sites. Sarah Street will also have, as always, our own food booth next to the stage, and there will be a bunch of other food booths around the Square. Main Street will have hundreds of stands of many kinds as well as other entertainment stages. You can stop over at the Grill and enjoy our outdoor deck, or the beginning of the College Football Saturdays and watch many of the big games on our 25 HI DEF monitors with Soundogs available at the table.
Speaking of FOOTBALL!!!!! Yes the NFL is back, and no one does it as well as we do here at the Grill. Every game is always on, the TV’s posted days in advance, our huge delicious Sarah Street Hot Wings available at .40 each, lots of great beer promos, and when there is only one game, sound throughout the building with music played over the commercials. We also have our in house raffle where we give away a great prize each Monday night. To get in the raffle all you need is to be here for any NFL Game. The more times you come, the more chances you have to win. We will draw a winner at half time of every Monday night game. Signed jerseys, helmets, TV’s, fancy coolers, bikes, and much more are some of what goes home with someone each week. If you don’t win, your ticket stays in for the following drawings, but you do have to be here when your name is called, or back in the bin it goes. Those that sign up for our Twitter, Facebook, or e mail lists get an additional raffle in the bin too.
Speaking of Sarah Street Facebook and Twitter, I plan on getting more active in the posts and Tweets. Maybe follow ups or additions to these News Letters, comments on shows here or elsewhere, sporting events, a limited amount of politics, a little Lapoint sarcasm – stuff like that. I planned to start that this August, but the best laid plans often get put on the back burner, do they not? I really wanted to put out a review of JONAH SMITH’S new recording as my first Facebook Post, but I guess I will go old school and do it here. I went to NYC and saw Jonah at the Highland Ballroom do his pre release, as they are not, or were not available on the net yet. It is simply fantastic, well written in both verse and arrangement, and emotionally moving, even more so if someone recently broke or captured your heart. Even more then that if the someone who captured your broken heart may not be in position to keep it. Okay, you get it, it is emotional music. I really think it is best to buy the whole album/CD and listen to the order it is put in as opposed to buying specific songs, but I am happily stuck in the buy the Disc and then put it in the iTunes approach. Remember JONAH’S last Sarah Street show in the near future is now December 1st, as he is moving out to Cali. Bring that person you love, or want have love you, or your best friend, or just yourself and see a real Rock Star play a small venue. You can also get a copy of the new recording and have him sign it. Mark it on your calendar right now. I am waiting. Still waiting. Do do de de do. Have you done it? Okay, good job, see you Dec 1st, and Stroudfest Sept 1, and at tons of football games, and lots of other great live music nights here at the Grill. To what ever I forgot to mention, look for it on Sarah Street’s Facebook, as well as to give your own comments.
Hamell fans, please remember to spread the word and to show for his performance on September 15th. Go back and re read July’s Newsletter at www.sarahstreetgrill.com, or if you are already there, just scroll down.
peace and love to almost all – okay all
Questions or comments dave@sarahstreetgrill.com or Sarah Street Facebook
August 2012
We lost a good friend when Erin Galligan was taken from us early in July by a hit and run driver while she was biking home from work. Erin was once part of the Sarah St family, which meant she always will be in our hearts. She also had so many friends, was long part of the Siamsa family, and of course, her real family – and we all grieved to have her taken away from us so young. Erin, very understandably, had no plans in moving on, and this town really stepped up to make sure someone as cool has her was treated with respect and tribute as she was laid to rest. The Sarah Staff, led by Kristen Sebring, really did a wonderful thing by giving her many local friends a place to gather and raise funds to help Erin’s family deal with this tragedy. My sincere compliments to all who gathered to honor Erin, and to the reminder that in terrible times the best in people often comes forth.
I had no plans to add this part to this letter, but as I sit here thinking about Erin, I can’t help but also think about the terrible event that just happened in Colorado. I really believe that we need to have both of the men running for President come forth and tell us what we are going to do to stop assault weapons and ammunition from being so easily obtained, and how the general population needs to stand up to the NRA talking points. For some punk to be able to shoot 50 people in 90 seconds from legally purchased assault style weapons is not a constitution right. Those were muskets, not machine guns, our For Fathers were referring to. I understand that there are counter arguments, but how about we start where most of us can agree: you have to a least pass some serious screening before you can obtain things that can make a whole country feel scared, sad, and angry. Are we all going to have to walk through metal detectors to go to any public place, and have the whole world act like one giant airport? Hate to say it, but it is not about the Right to Bare Arms, it is about the Right to Make a Lot of Money the NRA stands for – at least from my perspective. They should be ashamed of the way they have successfully fought the ban on public assault weapons, and the way they have made politicians on both sides of the aisle quiver in fear of ANY stand against ANY guns ANYWHERE. Am I saying that wacko would not have done something equally horrible if he did not have those weapons – no I am not, but I am saying that he should not have gotten them so easily.
Well it feels odd to talk about this months events after such an emotional beginning of this letter, but I will make a couple of points. JONAH SMITHS LAST SHOW AT SARAH STREET had been moved to November 17, so if you marked your calendar October 20th, change it. I will get Septembers calendar out early for all the Stroudsfest details. Google the names on the calendar to find out more of August’s shows, there is lots of good ones. LEN MOONEY BAND is the featured artist on Thursdays, and it was Len who started the whole Thursday music thing here so many years ago, and he has played a major role in the evolution of Sarah Street as a music room. He deserves some recognition of this and his new band is full of energy, so come out and support it. This past month of JAI DILLON on Thursdays was really cool, and I think August will be the same.
This is to all who have been robbed of their time on Earth in an unjust way
dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
July 2012
First let me apologize for anyone who came to Sarah Street for dinner, or the bar, or the band on Friday the 15th. Through no fault or control of our own, we lost power for thirteen hours. I received quite a few panicky messages from our loyal patrons who pulled into the parking lot to find everything dark. So why do I apologize if it is not anything I, or my staff, could have done? Because we never want to disappoint, even if someone else (Met Ed) is to blame.
Guess who is back in town from Austin Texas? JAI DILLON thats who! Jai and friends, like Jesse Green, Chad Repsher, Bobby Syvarth, LoyaL, and a few more will be jammin every Thursday in July. Just think: JAI in JULY. No cover – but you can, and should throw a few bucks in that tip jar!
Along with our usual list of great performers on the weekends, we have FREE RANGE FOLK on the 20th, BROOK SHIVE AND THE 45′s on the 21st, and FUNKTIONAL FLOW here on the 27th – all new or here for the 2nd time. The rest of the month is all great local projects like LOS DIABLOS, DREAM OF FIRE, THE POCONO TRIO (DUO+ONE), and MOJO MO. For an area that does not have many venues to see live performances in, we sure have a lot of awesome bands!
Now on that same subject: where were the original music fans for HAMELL ON TRIAL’s show on June 16th? We had maybe 20 people who knew what they were in for, and another 20 that had no clue who Hamell is – not the way one of his shows should be. I know there are a lot of fans for HAMELL, and they will complain when he is a thing of the past, so please show up for his next show Sept 15 and please spread the word. I had that request out in the last two “Newsletters” and I took it personally when it did not produce the crowd he deserved. Maybe no one reads this thing and I should take the time off it takes to prepare it. Wah.
Speaking of shows to put on the calendar way ahead of time: JONAH SMITH is planning a farewell show here on October 20th. He is moving to the West Coast, where some would say there is a warmer response to the Artist Community. Jonah has been one of the best and most popular musicians in the history of Sarah Street and I hope and pray that we send him off in the way he deserves – with a huge and responsive crowd. He is great, the band is great, and this may be our last chance to show him that we know it. If you are patrons or staff that have moved away, plan on making Stroudsburg a destination that weekend. I am trying to get a STATESMEN show as well, his other band, but there is no guarantee that will happen.
Sorry about the “lecture” on appreciating live performances, but it is very tough to run a live music friendly room, which is why so few bars and clubs do it anymore. Those that do feature live music often have tribute bands and cover or wedding style bands – which we have a couple of here and there, like WHO KNOWS and JIM ROBERTI. Here, with those rare exceptions, our main focus has always been and always will be, bands of unique style and some, if not all, original music. One of the many great things about the internet includes that you can check these bands yourself before hand, and then know if there music appeals to you – so give that a try and come out and support the artists that deserve it.
questions or comments, or just to say stop lecturing
dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
June 2012
For whatever it is worth in the Global scheme of things, Sarah Street is off to a great first half of 2012. The crowds have been great, the music fantastic, and, as we always try to do, we have made some noteworthy improvements. For example, we now have a new fresh fruit press behind the bar. This makes our already impressive drink list even better. My personal favorite is the Grapefruit Martini. The difference between grapefruit juice just pressed and bottled or canned grapefruit juice is HUGE. They should not share a name! We are also trying to have more of our desserts made locally or in house. Our desserts are already really good, but any time you stop trying to make improvements things tend to go the other way. We have great service, we want it better. We have a great atmosphere, we want it better. We have great food choices, many of which are healthy options, we want better and healthier! I promise that the Sarah Street Staff will always have this attitude as long as I and my management staff are a part of it.
So by the time this letter goes to print, and only a little after it gets posted on our web site, we will know what has happened in the Devils /Rangers Eastern Conference finals. At this moment the Devils have two games to win one, and if they get that win it is the Stanley Cup Championship against the LA Kings. Whether or not it is the Devils or the Rangers vs the Kings, we will have every game on with sound options. Some bars care less about the NHL, but not this one. Same goes with the NBA Playoffs – where at this time the Sixers get ready for a game 7 against the Celtics. All game 7′s feature the same .35 Buffalo Wing Special we do for the NFL games. It is one thing to call yourself a “sports bar” like so many do, but another to actually make the attempt at making sure the game is on, seats are available, and service is ready to please. We are way more than a “sports bar”, but we definitely take pride in our handling of that part of Sarah Street
This months featured artists on Thursdays is the Regina Sayles, Matt Abell, and Side Show Skip Trio. They are always a good time. There is no cover charge and beverage and other promos going on all night. BOBBY SYVARTH and his COMBO are here on the 2nd, and I believe there will be a big Pocono Record write up the day before. Race weekend has MO JO MO on Friday, and The Billy Bauer Band – who play a whole lot of Dave Matthews – on Saturday. The next Saturday is HAMELL ON TRIAL, and as you probably read in last months letter, mark this date on your social calendar and please attend. If you are anywhere near the stage, please give the show your complete attention. It is NOT background music – the words are full of humor and politics, and bar chatter does not work well with it. If you don’t like the show, and you have given a respectful attempt at following it, I will happily give you your cover back.
June is a Wine Night Month, and this months guess Chef is Nate. Nate is one of our Sushi Chefs as well as a Line Chef in the SSG Kitchen, and he has paired up some great food to go with the featured wines of the month. June 26 is the date and the singer songwriter that night is Bryan Lepri. Tickets are only $25, and get them early in case it sells out. Wine night is really a fun casual night where new friends and old friends gather for a great time!
Welcome back Seebs (Kristen Sebring)! She had her beautiful baby girl – well I guess Richie had something to do with it too – and she is back part time. We are VERY HAPPY to be saying that, as she is such a big part of who we are, were, and will be!
On another note, it is sad to have Kevin Salamone leaving us. Kevin spent many years here at Sarah Street, in multiple functions and times, and has given so much to our customers and business. May he have the best of luck and success at wherever life takes him.
peace and love dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
May 2012
Let me start off by saying thank you to all who helped make our 17th Anniversary such a big success in raising money to fight CF (Cystic Fibrosis). On a Monday we raised $4,000, with 17% of our sales, in house pool tournament – 2012 Champ Brian Kennedy, in house dart tournament – 2012 Champ Dan Janda, 50/50′s and raffles. Special thanks to my staff, some who came on their day off and worked to help the cause, the musicians that volunteered their time, and to all the people who helped make it another great celebration of the years we have been around.
This month, like all months, has lots of great things happening on our stage. Every Friday and Saturday has a great band performing ALL DESERVING OF A GOOD CROWD. Really it seems like a Sarah Street ALL STAR MONTH. The Bobby Syvarth Combo starts off the month and DOS DIABLOS finishes it. If I write about every band in between there would be no reason to look at the calendar, but the 19th is The Bill Rooth Band’s CD Release, so give that a little extra thought. Our featured artist of the Month is MIKE PAPILE AND FRIENDS who are playing every Thursday with no door charge. Mike often changes the show week to week with different guests.
The NHL and NBA playoffs are in full swing, and you will never have to struggle to get your game on here at Sarah Street. We have Sounddogs available to pick what you want to listen to at the table you sit at, and whenever there is a game 7, we feature our awesome Buffalo Wings at .35. To be honest, it blows my mind how often it is hard to get your game on in so many other bars. We, my Chef, GM, and I were just in Atlantic City for a food show, having to search for a place to watch the NHL Playoffs. REVEL, the new billion dollar casino, could not keep up with the Sarah Street Grill! Actually that casino was pretty nice, but I guess no one told them that sports is often big to those that like to play games. Then we are at McFaddens’ at CITI Field, after the Mets finished sweeping Reyes’s new team, and we can’t get game 7 of Boston vs Washington on – in a sports bar! Speaking of baseball, MLB fans, we have all the Yankees, Mets, and Phillies games too – or a least 95% of them – sometimes the game is on some wacky channel no one gets unless you live in that wacky town, luckily not often. If it is on DIRECTV or Blue Ridge, we have it.
Hey, do me a favor? Please mark down June 16th as a HAMELL ON TRIAL show on your calendar, or smart phone, or lap top, or wherever you put reminders for yourself. Hamell is back to performing at his best – his voice and guitar have never been better. His new songs are truly already some of my favorites. He used to be one of our biggest draws, and although he still brings a good crowd, he deserves a packed room every time. Yes, he expects people to shut up when he is performing, and yes, he throws out some graphic language in the show, and yes he is a one of a kind political and humorous solo performer like no other. We are lucky he has been coming here for the past 15 years, and I beg that we start showing it while we can. Thanks.
dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
April 2012
Never in the 17 years Sarah Street has been around, yes we turn 17 this month, has the deck been fully open before April even begins. Sure, it is a little scary to have had no Winter to speak of, but to be able to enjoy the outside almost every day of March has been a really awesome silver lining to the Global Warming Cloud. Hopefully it will continue through April, the Summer won’t be 120 and dry, and next Winter we talk about the odd one we had this year, as we head for the ski slopes.
As we turn 17, I just want to thank all of you who have made our restaurant such a success. I say “our” because there is so many in the Grill family that have done so much to make this restaurant what it is. Some have moved on to other careers, and others have stayed and made Sarah Street their long term occupation, but they have ALL contributed and given their best at making this unique place an important part of many lives – both the lives of employees and the customers that have made it a second home. No other place I have ever been to, and or been a part of, has such a similarity to the classic series Cheers. Not because that was the plan, because the friendships are real, the characters funny, and the love genuine. Now, of course, you could say I am biased as the owner to give such praise to my own business, but that is the point – it is more then “mine”, it is ours. Ours being the staff, the people who honor it by eating, drinking, and socializing here, and you, the person reading this.
As we do every year on the Monday closest to the actual anniversary, we choose a worthy charity and donate the percentage of years we have existed in the sales of that day. On April 9th, 17% will go to help fight Cystic Fibrosis . We will have live music featuring Tom Graham, Christian Porter, Regina Sayles, Crystal Martinez (who is battling CF herself), and Johnny Rydell with Vince Del Sol. There will be a dart tournament, a pool tournament, raffles, 50/50′s, all helping the cause. It is always a fun time, so if you have not already, mark it on your calendar.
THE HAPPY DOG plays the Grill for the first time on Friday the 6th. They are a very popular jam band who should draw a fun GDish crowd. JOHNNY RYDELL and VINCE DEL SOL are this months featured artists every Thursday. On April 11th, Open Mic takes a day off as we have a JAZZ JAM featuring many of the areas great Jazz musicians and hosted by Chuck Cooper and Erin McClelland. The POCONO DUO’s monthly weekend show will be WEEN NIGHT on the 20th. Another first time band, BARELY COVERED will be here on the 28th. Wine Tasting night is back on 24th with guest Assistant Chef of the Evening, Brandi Merritt, helping the usual crew prepare great food to go with great wine. Get your tickets early, one, because they are $5 cheaper, and two, they will likely sell out. We now have Wine Tasting Night every other month, and everyone who goes truly enjoys it. It is another example of where new friendships often begin here at the Grill. Brian Lepri will perform after the tasting is over, and may come upstairs at the end of the Wine event to play a couple of pre-stage songs. Is that all that is happening? No, there is much I did not mention like the WHO KNOWS BAND, THUNDER MOUNTAIN, MO JO MO, ERIN MC CLELLAND BAND, singer song writer Tuesdays, Game Night on Mondays, Open Mic on Wednesdays, KEVIN BRENNAN BAND, all NBA and NHL games, all Mets – Yankees – and Phillies games, Buzztime Trivia and Card games, a pool and dart room, and now I am out of writing breath. I guess I should just say there is a lot to do here at the Grill, but without you coming and being a part of it, did it really happen? If a tree falls in the woods…..ugh oh, I think my brain went South.
Peace and Love all and I hope we meet at the Street as we celebrate 17 years.
Question, Comments, or just to say Hi – dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
March 2012
There simply has to be a blizzard this month. We can’t have the only heavy, and pretty scary (if you were dumb enough like myself and my great friend, Mike Reilly to spend it in NJ at a Rutgers Football game) snowstorm be in October. Who knows – not the band – there here in April, but “who knows”, it may be May when we get the next big storm. Bad year to be a tree I guess.
Good news is that it’s off to great year of music at Sarah Street, and this month is no exception. Featured artist of the month is Bobby Syvarth and friends every Thursday with no cover and great specials. The first Friday, March 2nd, features MINNIE DEE and her large band. She will be warming up for a show at Penns Peak here at Sarah Street. Check out her videos on the web and mark it on your calendar as something new and different to check out. The next night is LOS DIABLOS, the Johnny Rydell band back again for a great show. How do you follow that, you ask? Well DIRK QUINN BAND on Friday the 9th and HAMELL ON TRIAL on the 10th, that’s how! Both of these shows are unique in so many ways. HAMELL probably won’t be back until August, so be here or be …. you know. Are you a Matchbox 20 fan? If so, MARC VON EM , who works with Rob Thomas will be here with his own project on March 17th – St Patties Day. Corned beef and cabbage, lamb stew, Guiness battered shrimp and great live music here in Stroudsburg, thats a party holiday! We also have the POCONO DUO and SIDE SHOW SKIP on the 16th, CHRISTIAN PORTER BAND on the 23rd, FUNCTIONAL FLOW on the 24th, and SUZE on the 30th – ALL GREAT! The month closes out with the return of DREAM OF FIRE on the 31st. It has been too long since they have played, and it is damn good they are back out live at the Grill! Also, besides all of our usual great Tuesday acoustic shows, on the 6th we have Herbert Weigand’s Art Show Opening and on the 27th we have the TRIBES DUO, who all my staff are saying great things about. The Tribes also have a full band version that will hopefully be booked soon too.
One thing I want you to know is that when I give these compliments to the performers, it is more then “advertising” and “promotions” of events. It is that these artists deserve attention for their skills, and I am honored that they perform on the SSG stage. If you don’t already agree with this statement check out our own video YOU TUBE site at www.sarahstreetgrill.com. All of the professionally done videos at SSG are posted there, or soon will be. You can also find them on YOU TUBE under Sarah Streets name, along with some more casual ones done by fans on there own video cameras. If you watch these videos and disagree with the compliments I put forth feel free to let me know. Then watch out for the nasty response I will have! No, just kidding, there is lots of music that is popular that I can’t stand, so it is common sense to think that not all that I love will appeal to everyone. There is so many different kinds of music on our stage, but it is almost always something I think is great, and hopefully you will too.
In respect and honor for those who risk there lives on behalf of our county, all enlisted active military personal receive a 10% discount on their food at Sarah Street. Just bring your military ID and you and a partner or friend are eligible
We have picked our charity for Sarah Street’s 17th Anniversary, CYSTIC FIBROSIS. 17% of our sales and a whole lot more will go to a well needed great cause on April 9th. More info will be in next months letter, but please mark your calendars now.
Happy birthday to both my Grandmother, Peggy and my girlfriend Christie, who’s birthdays are one day apart (and quite a few decades). I am a chronic b day forgetter, but not these two! Thank you both for being so important in my life!
questions or comments/ dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
February 2012
What a start to the month! On the first Friday we have the JIM ROBERTI BAND back on our stage. If you are a big Roberti fan, and you want more of him locally, I really suggest you make it out that night. Jim is deciding if he wants to make Sarah Street a regular stage for his band in 2012, and who shows up for this one will have lots to do with that. This town needs more Jim, and now there is only one real music stage left in Stroudsburg, so help make it be here!
The next night, February 4th, needs it’s own paragraph in the SSG News Letter. CHRIS CUZME is celebrating his 35th Birthday, which means he has been performing here for over 15 years! He has been a HUGE part in so many awesome music projects and bands I can’t list them all, but here is a few: The Bobby Syvarth Combo, Flutophone Jackson, The Five Flutophones, Panjea, Spoken Movement, Maryella, Eddie Sanabria and Changes, and many more. These performances really helped Sarah Street get it’s reputation as a real music room and if I had to pick one artist to be the most influential in that, it is the incredible saxophone and terrific bass playing of Mr Cuzme! For his 35th he is performing as an opener with Bobby Syvarth and then with THE STATESMEN. The Statesmen is a side project of JONAH SMITH, a Sarah Street Legend. Jonah teams up with Josh Dion, Ben Ruben and Mr Metzger to be the Statesman, and on this night they will be joined by CHRISTOPHER RAFEAL CUZME for his 35th celebration. There is no reason to be anywhere else, and I ask all my friends, all that love music here at SSG, and those that want to see what the best music we have to offer here is like, mark Saturday February 4th on your calendar and enjoy the show! If you can’t make it, boo, but Jonah will be back with the JSB on the 18th – something that deserves all the same credit and compliments, but won’t have Cuzme on the Sax!
Then comes the SUPER BOWL, on Sunday the 5th. Only here is there sound of the game throughout, and great prizes given away at every commercial break – skis, golf bags, shirts, hats, DVD players, basketballs, a football signed by the QB of the Eagles, and much more. Yes, this is the only championship game, or any playoff game that WE DON’T PLAY MUSIC OVER THE COMMERCIALS. Sometimes I wonder if this is better or not, but we all want to hear what someone spends millions to create and have played during the most watched TV event of the year, and I need time to give away these great prizes! No one does this game better then we do, it is like a great house party with someone else doing all the set up and clean up!
How about this month is also the 10th Aniversary of Sushi At Sarah Street! Boy oh boy, time does fly. Not only has is been 10 years, but 10 years of always getting better and more creative. Come and wish Jo, Christie, Jimmy, Dan, and Nate a happy decade of slicing fish to perfection.
Hey, did you miss the Wine Tasting Night in January, since we didn’t have one? I did, but we are going to have the event now every other month in 2012, and this month is a go. Get your ticket a head of time, because when you put as much work as Christy does in preparing these events, with help from CJ, Christie, and Jimmy with the food, and the hosts our wine suppliers send to talk about the wine, you need to be here!
How about home sales are up, unemployment is down, GM is now back to being the #1 Auto maker in the world, Osama is sunk deep in the ocean, and our troops are out of Iraq (sort of). In these days of constant negative news, I call this positive with a long, long, long way to go. Peace all.
January 2012
Before I start talking about 2012, one last plug for NYE 2011. We have a great party band with THE WHO KNOWS BAND – the actual name of the band, not a way of saying I have not made up my mind yet, and a house DJ VJ keeping the dancing going all night long. There is a Champagne Toast at Midnight, party favors for all, and tickets are a mere $15. Chef Rob has his NYE Dinner Specials all planned out, and they will be terrific. NYE at Sarah Street is always fun! We are open New Years Day, as we have the last day of NFL regular season games, followed by the Pocono Duo. BIG SUNDAY NIGHT GAME: COWBOYS vs GIANTS, winner goes on, loser stays home. The next day, Jan 2, we are closed for our end of the year staff party. This staff works hard and I am happy I am able to show them a night of thanks. Thursdays have the ERIN McCLLELAND BAND with NO COVER. The Weekends are full of great live bands and Playoff NFL Football. Make a note that the last weekend is a BLUES FEATURED WEEKEND with the VESTAPOLITANS on Friday the 27th and BROOK SHIVE AND THE 45′s on Saturday the 28th. I get lots of requests from those that want more Blues on the SSG stage, so here is their chance to show support to two great Blues bands.
A much more aggressive after work HAPPY HOUR starts here on January 3, with $1 off of all beverages and 10% off all Sushi and House Appetizers from 4:30 – 6:30 PM, Monday – Friday. When you want to shake off the day of work, or just gather with friends and workmates, come right over here to Sarah Street where the best bartenders and servers in the Poconos are employed, the best music plays, and now is the home of the best HAPPY HOUR. You may ask, “is this guy some kind of self crowning title giver?”, and I say, “come and find out!”
Well here is title I don’t have to self appoint: The Sarah Street Hockey Team won the Pittston Rink A League Championship for the first time. We have made the finals many times over the years, but this time we won in a best of 3 final, losing 1 – 2, winning 4- 3 in overtime, and then capturing the tie breaker 4 – 2. Really close series with our arch rival, the Bulldogs. Season tickets are still available for the next league, but please, no autographs!
The NBA is back and here at Sarah Street we have all the games as well as all the NHL games. If your game is not on, just ask and it soon will be. On Monday the 9th, we have the BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, with our famous SSG Buffalo Wings put out at half time for FREE!
After the BCS, Monday Night Game Night returns. Backgammon, Chess, Pinocle, Playstation, WII, Trivia, Video Poker and more are all available to help us get through having no Football for the next 8+ months! We have a house Chess Champ, Todd (The Red Headed Miami Fish Fan), and if you can beat me, you get a shot at him. That pain in my butt is really good a Backgammon too!
We are researching what local charity will benefit from our 17Th Anniversary on April 9, when 17% of sales that day go to a worthy cause. Any ideas and suggestions, email them to me at dave@sarahstreetgrill.com.
Welcome to the New Year, and may it bring you positive memories and good times!
December 2011
Blizzards, Heavy Rain and Sunshine mixed up the end of October and all of November – one can only guess what the beginning of Winter will bring! Well you don’t have to guess what Sarah Street will bring, because I am about to tell you. No one, in at least a wide radius of here, does NFL Football like we do. Every game is in HI DEF, unless there is more then eight on at once. When there is more then eight, we have those too, but sadly they are on the “old school” visual which many of our competition makes your only option for all the games. At this time, unless you are a Rams fan like me, there are a lot of great games coming this month. Thursday nights, Sunday and Sunday nights, Every game on Christmas Eve day, Monday nights, and Christmas night are all Football Nights at Sarah Street. Wings specials, beer specials, sound on your game, and Sarah St service – why watch anywhere else! * Another great month of music is hitting our stage, and if I wrote about them all, these letters would get repetitive. Therefore, let me point out the ones that are different then usual like our 10th Annual HAMELL ON TRIAL CHRISTMAS SHOW with guests JOHNNY RYDELL and VINCE DEL SOL, THE DOS DIABLOS. HAMELL won’t be back until April or May 2012, Mr Rydell is on the top of his music game, and this show is one for the SSG History books as it is the 10th one – so don’t miss it! The next day we are once again doing a joint venture with the Sherman Theater and having a Christmas Jam on December 17th. On Thursday, the 29th, local legend band THUNDER MOUNTAIN is having a reunion and CD release party here at the Grill. New Years Eve Eve, the 30th, brings back in our own SSG legend BOBBY SYVARTH COMBO. Then we have the end of the year bash of bashes on NYE with the WHO KNOWS BAND and house DJ/VJ DAVE. I promise you will dance the night away and enjoy your midnight toast that comes included with the door charge. Chef Rob will have terrific NYE dinner specials, so where else can you have so much at one location? * Starting in 2012 we will be redoing our Happy Hour concept. The new one will be $1 off all drinks, and 10% off of all appetizers and sushi, Mon – Fri 4:30 until 6:30. This will all start Jan 3, 2012, and I will have more specifics in January’s News Letter. * One local/political point to make: route 80 is ridiculously dangerous. When there is any kind of rain the visual on that already scary two lane truck filled highway becomes a nightmare. Where are the reflectors? Where are the lane lines that can be seen? Who makes these decisions? Well whoever did will be responsible for many injuries and worse. Why redo something and make it more dangerous, not less? We sit in crazy traffic while road work is done (well in theory, as you often see no one doing anything), only to have a lessor product upon completion. I know you can’t get away with that in the restaurant business. * Okay, enough of that and back to happy Holiday thoughts: May you and your family and friends have a terrific Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Years Eve, and a 2012 full of joy and positive experiences. Or the simple way to put it – Peace and Love all.
November 2011
This is the end of hope for some Indian Summer days and playing golf, getting some last sit downs on our outdoor deck, and hoping those with Solar panels and swimming pools will get great return on their investments of the Sun for 2011. To put it simple: it rained too damn much! Well maybe that will mean a fun Winter with lots of snow and skiing. This month, as always, is filled with great things here at Sarah Street. NFL Football continues with every game in HI DEF on Sunday afternoons, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and now Thursday Night Football. All the games feature our areas best Buffalo Wings for .35 a piece, and 23 oz Miller Lite for $3.50. The first Thursday Night Game, the Raiders @ the Chargers, features PHLITE DECK TICKETS, where two tickets for the EAGLES vs PATS game on Nov. 27th will be given away. These tickets for the game include food and drink, so mark on your calendar: November 10th be at SARAH STREET GRILL. While marking your calendar, or just printing ours off our new web site and posting it on your fridge, make these notes too: on the 12th Johnny Rydell’s full band LOS DIABLOS, truly on of the best things going on our stage these days, will be rockin the house. Not much better than watching something that has always been great become awesome, like Mr Rydell and his band. The following weekend brings the BOBBY SYVARTH BAND back from playing every day in the Caribbean for the past 6 weeks. They should be sharp, and tan, as can be! Then THE STEVE MCDANIEL BAND takes the stage November 23, the night before Thanksgiving. This is one of the biggest party nights of the year and there are not many opportunities to see the full SMB in our area anymore. Come out and have a pre turkey day blast, and let us cook for you as their will be plenty of home kitchen time the next day! We are closed Thanksgiving so we can all spend time with family and friends and give thanks, then the Thanksgiving weekend is stacked with more unique and fun things to do here at the Grill. Not only is RAILROAD EARTH continuing a Stroudsburg Thanksgiving Weekend tradition of playing back to back shows at the Sherman Theater Friday and Saturday, but some of the best Blue Grass Eclectic Jam bands around are playing all over the town. Here at Sarah Street, on Friday the 25th, we have a pre show featuring SHOCKENAW, which is three of the five members of Railroad Earth. Then during and after the RE show, we have CABINET returning to the Sarah Street stage. On Saturday we have a pre RE show event called the SLAVIC SOUL PARTY and afterwords, another well known band in the Blue Grass scene, YARN, takes our stage. If you have the weekend ticket for the Sherman, it also covers your entrance here at Sarah Street for both pre and post parties. Pre parties start at 6, and post parties start at 10 30, with Railroad Earth finishing at the Sherman around 11 30. As I often seem to be doing, I will give a plug to the Wine Tasting Night that happens the last Tuesday of every month. The food is always great, the wine delicious, and a great way to make new friends and hang with old ones. This past one, October’s, featured a potato and fresh Shitake mushroom pasta, salmon with two great sauces, and a sheet pumpkin pie/cake with fresh whip cream that many people freaked out over, including me! I didn’t even taste the wine, as I had a hockey league game to play in, and I still had a great time. The beer dinner the night before was really good too, and in a few months we have another of those. Okay, that is enough for now.. see you at the Street!
October 2011
There is so much to talk about this month, I hardly know where to start. The NFL is in full swing, and other then a DIRECTV HI DEF issue in week one, during the first half of the 1:00 games, it has gone only the way Sarah Street can do it. All of our HI DEF TV’s are posted days in advance, and sound is available at your table for whichever game you want to listen to when multiple games are on at the same time. When there is only one game on, Sunday, Monday, and Thursday (starting in November) night, we have our house DJ playing music over the commercials. We will do the same in the MLB playoffs for all the Phillies and Yankees games. Other MLB playoff games will have the option of table listening through our house SOUNDOGS. Not everyone likes to hear sounds of sporting events in a classy dining establishment like Sarah Street, but there are many things about this place that are unique and not the “norm”, like authentic Sushi in an American themed restaurant, or being an original encouraging music venue that also promotes and features out and in market sporting events, or being the first to go non smoking and also being the only place to build a place for smokers to satisfy their cravings – although I really think you should all QUIT! It is a collection of all the things I like, and luckily, many of you do too! Of course we always do our best to make everyone happy, and if you want a quieter place to dine when others are yelling at the TV, we will try to find you one. We do have six different areas for your pleasure! The month starts off with the TRIATHLON, and the town of Stroudsburg will be quite fun. Saturday the 1st, has MIKE FRANK AND FRIENDS, and if you haven’t checked them out yet, you should – they are lots of fun. Then comes Columbus Day weekend, and after a weekend of great music, food, and sports intermingled, Monday the 10th features the NAN POKER BIKE RUN, an annual motorcycle run for a great charity. For more info, go to www.nanfoundation.org . FRED GILLEN JR returns to the Grill for singer songwriter Tuesdays, on the 11th. Fred is a very cool musician that has played our stage for many years, but does not come often. I highly recommend making a point to attend this one. FREIGHT TRAIN takes the stage for the first time on the 14th, and I always point out that a first show is the show when everyone attending can give their input on if this new band should come into the SSG rotation. SUZE plays the next night, and coming out of the Scranton, they have already established a great vibe in our town. Then comes ESU Homecoming weekend, and JIM ROBERTI returns to the roots of where he and his band became one of the most popular local bands of all time – The Sarah Street Grill! Yes, on October 21st, Jim and the boys finally are back on the only real bar stage in the Poconos. You, the general population, have been on me to make this happen for years, so show up and have a blast! The next night brings THE DIRK QUINN BAND back, and they also are a don’t miss show. They rocked the Court House Square at Stroudfest, and really deserve a strong local following. Chris Gavalas’s feature of the month (he is always woking hard on something special) is the third CG Beer Diner, on Monday the 24th. It will feature five different versions of Sam Adams, served with five courses of finely prepared culinary wonders! The Beer Dinner full menu will be available at are newly redesigned WWW.SARAHSTREETGRILL.COM website. Thursday’s featured band of the month is THE KEVIN BRENNAN BAND, and Thursdays have no cover charge and $2 Yeungling pints from 9 till Midnight. This band begins the Halloween five day party on the 27th. Then we have the ERIN MCCLLELAND BAND on the 28th, WHO KNOWS on the 29th, the POCONO DUO on the 30th, and our House DJ and MNF on the 31st. All of these Halloween nights will feature prizes for the best overall costume, and maybe the return of The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood. Every last Tuesday of the month ends with Christy’s Wine Tasting Night. I have had a great time at every one of those I have attended, and Christie and Assistant Head Chef CJ, with help from Sushi Jimmy, really give this their all. May the Fall bring a good time to all, and we promise to do our best to assist in that goal.
!Questions or Comments: dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
September 2011
Well I sit and write this as the first, of hopefully many, MADY’S SNOW DAY goes on. This outdoor charity concert is of to a great start, and the vibe here is really awesome. So many Sarah Street employees, almost every other local bar, friends, artists, staff from the Sherman Theater, Strausers Landscaping, Fernwood Resort, and Mady’s family have donated a ton of time and energy to make this possible. The whole parking lot has been turned into a concert setting, and so far, the weather has cooperated. Since there are major storms North and South of us, maybe Mady has something to do with that. A very special thanks to my GM, Chris Gavalas, who has really put an amazing effort into this project. Thanks as well to anyone I forgot to mention. As we finish MADY’S DAY, we get ready for STROUDFEST taking place on September 3, in the Courthouse Square. There is a whole web site set up for Stroudfest which will give you all the info of who is performing and at what times (just GOOGLE Stroudfest). I want to give an extra plug on the band going on at Noon, and who is also playing here the night before, Friday the 2nd. They are the DIRK QUINN BAND, and are one of very few instrumental rock/jazz/jam bands that really gets me musically excited. Usually I can only handle about 40 minutes of music without vocals, but not with these guys. Each one is better then the other, and they never get boring – maybe a little loud – but never boring. The closer of STROUDFEST, THE STATESMAN, also deserves an extra mention, as this is house favorite JONAH SMITH’S other project. It includes JOSH DION on drums and vocals, who has his own history as a SSG star, BEN RUBEN on bass, and ERIC METZGER on guitar. They will also be playing here at the Grill the night after Stroudfest is complete, with Chris Cuzme’s saxophone replacing Eric’s guitar. Thursdays featured artist this month is the ZAC LAWLESS BAND, and they can be enjoyed with NO COVER and $2 Yeungling Lager pints every Thursday except the 8th BECAUSE NFL FOOTBALL IS BACK! Every game is on here at Sarah Street in HI DEF and sound, the areas best Buffalo Wings at .35 each, and on Thursday the 8th it kicks off with the SAINTS at the PACKERS. I guess week one is like a playoff game for me, as Rams fan, as I will either talk to or be talked at by all my Eagles fan friends for the entire season. Then those funny horned helmet fellas with play another house favorite, the Giants in week two on Monday Night. Throw in their games against the house favorite number three, the Cowboys, and the Kennedy boys Redskin team later in the season, and oh how the trash talk will fly. Hopefully not towards me! * We have a first time band here on the 23rd, WOODEN SPOON. Come out and give your feedback, because there is only one first time! First Love, first touchdown, first homer, first job, first walk, first you know what (hint: 1st and 3rd in list), first tooth, and first gig at a new room. * Hey cranberry drinkers, or in my case vodka and cranberry drinkers, have you tried the white cranberry? I think it is a fantastically better tasting juice and mixer, and we now have it, as well as traditional cranberry, here at Sarah Street. All of our juices are not from concentrate, and never, never from the soda gun. Why would anyone mix a good drink with a bad juice? * Well enjoy what remains of beach and pool weather, and we here at Sarah Street thank you for making us possible.
Questions/ Comments: dave@sarahstreetgrill.com
