Is Phantom Drunk?

"Biggest and best beer event in Boston history!"

Really? Phantom has the balls to call their first venture into alcohol expos "the best" this city has ever seen? Really? Ultimate Beer Fest? Belgian Beer Fest? I mean, I know those are just "fests" not Phests... but can the Phantom really claim victory before even entering the ring.

Speaking of rings - the Beer Phest will have several of them. Of course, there's the horse track - where you're bound to see Eddie perched at his usual spot up in the grandstand, all strung out on hot dogs, all betting the Andelman fortune on a tip he got from Howie Carr.

Then there's the Sumo wrestling ring, the bull riding, and the Rock'em Sock'em robot boxing (which legitimizes Dave's claims to be an "amateur boxer"). My favorite event, though, is the Twister. Yes, that Twister. From Milton Bradley. This Beer Phest has got all the appeal of a 13-year-old girl's birthday party.

They should totally make it a sleep over!!! I heard there's gonna be a pony, but don't tell Kelly Malone... she's not cool.

So - to the real focus of this evevnt, the beer. We all know what to expect for food. Because what goes better with a pint of ale than a whoopie pie or a cannoli?

I have to admit I was curious to see what kind of beer they were gonna be slingin' at this thing. The constant commercials show Dan sippin' on Blueberry Beer. Which I guess is better than the Bud Lite Lime they be servin' at their Beach BBQ. Oh wait, they're also serving Bud Lite Lime at the Beer Phest. In fact, the only non-Anheiser-Busch beers they're serving are brewed by InBev (Bud's parent company).

Ladies and Gentelman, welcome to the Phantom InBev Phest. Why would the Andelmans seek out any of the many local craft breweries to serve beer, when they could just give exclusive rights to the largest beverage conglomerate on Earth?!!

So, here's the full list of exotic "domestic" and "foreign" bews:

Stella Artois -
Brewery: InBev
Style: Very upscale and high end
Tasting Note: Goes great with an Armani shirt or Verscace dress.


Hoegaarden -
Brewery: InBev
Style: Vitamin C
Tasting Note: Tastes like what an alcoholic drinks with his toast in the morning.


Leffe -
Brewery: InBev
Style: Belgian Abbey Ale... not brewed at an Abbey, but named after one from the 12th-century.
Tasting Note: Brewed in large batches on the same equipment as Stella Artois, and it shows.


Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale -
Brewery: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Cookies
Tasting Note: Tastes like bandwagons.


Shock Top Belgian White -
Brewery: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Belgian Wheat Beer... brewed in the US.
Tasting Note: Tastes like they're out of touch with their target demographic.


LandShark Lager -
Brewery: "Margaritaville Brewing Co." AKA Anheuser-Busch InBev & Jimmy Buffet
Style: Poor man's Corona
Tasting Note: This should fare well with the balding, over 40, Tommy Bahama-sporting crowd destined for this event.


Beck's -
Brewery: InBev
Style: New England Patriots style?
Tasting Note: The only place this beer is on tap is at Gillette Stadium. And no matter how many
BL's you shotgunned in the parking lot, Beck's still tastes terrible. I think they ship all the stale beer from Germany directly to Foxboro.


Beck's Light -
Brewey: InBev
Style: GROW A PAIR!
Tasting Note: Nah dude, this one's for my wife.


Amber Boch -
Brewery: Michelob, Anheuser-Busch InBev
Tasting Note: Ernie's Sister???


Bass -
Brewery: InBev
Tasting Note: You know, it kind of tastes like a Bass.


Bud American Ale -
Brewey: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Tasting Note: Brewed with real bald eagle urine.


Bud Lite -
Brewery: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Tasting Note: Tastes like Daddy when he forgets to pick you up from school.


BL Lime -
Brewery: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Tasting Note: Tastes like four more years of the same.


Bud -
Brewery: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Tasting Note: Oh, wait... I just wanted a Bud. I don't need this giant alluminum bottle.

The BIG DEBATE

So, did everybody catch the BIG DEBATE?
No, not the Vice Presidential debate, the douche bag debate that aired Sunday morning on Phantom Gourmet.

It's hard to make Dan Andelman look thin and reserved, but that fathead loudmouth did the impossible. And no, he isn't the dude from Strega! In fact, I've never heard of him. Although, I was psyched to see him face off against the dude from the B52's.

So, who is this guy? "The Guy from Boston?" First off - the use of Boston might be a stretch. I'm willing to bet he's more of a "Guy from Revere" or "Guy from Medford."

But after a little research I realized I am SO out of touch. For anyone who counts the Herald or Fox as their subjective source for news, knows well the "Guy from Boston." And for anyone who references the Improper Bostonian for the coolest theme bars to drop $15 on a martini and ogle BU princesses - you've seen that gay guy, (he's in those "be scene" pictures right next to local financiers and their trophy wives at hospital fundraisers for advancement in plastic surgery).

I give him credit though, for a 115 pound middle-aged gay guy, he claimed a clear victory.

And I couldn't help but think Dandelman, who performed as the impartial moderator, was being a little biased towards "Mr. What-not-to-Wear." Do you think there could have been a little flirting going on? Those podiums were awfully close, no?

So back to the "Guy from Revere." I wondered why the Andelman's were introducing a new character this early in the season, when the Phantom Gourmet cast is already full of fat Italian-Americans.

I'd be a fool to think this wouldn't somehow favor the Andelmans, and in some way fatten their wallets and/or heads. Turns out Mr. Revere has a new radio show of his own! On the same network as Phantom Gourmet! On the same day!

Now it all makes sense.

And no, WTKK doesn't just give any loudmouth a show. Mr. Revere built up a reputation for himself before moving to the radio waves - just like the Andelmans, starting on the small screen. The very small screen.

He's a venerable YouTube celebrity. Just like the "Star Wars kid." But watch a few of his posts, and you'll see why he's been featured on Fox & Friends more than once.

Judge Rules: Not Guilty (Pleasures)

A federal judge has dismissed a libel suit brought against the Phantom Flawed blog. The lawsuit accused the blog of conspiring to slander the three Andelman brothers behind the wildly unpopular local TV program, Phantom Gourmet.

The Andelmans filed the lawsuit against the author and creator of the blog. Knowing well the blogger hasn't the capital to pay out big, and being the asses they are, the Andelmans also filed suit against Eric E. Schmidt, CEO of Blogspot's parent company Google, Inc..

Dan, Dave and Mike Andelman contended that the defendants conspired to libel them, place them in a false light and inflict emotional distress with intent to decrease their advertising sales.

A federal cease and desist order was issued to Phantom Flawed in June, forcing the author to halt his critique of Phantom Gourmet . The blog has not been updated since the injunction. Though it wasn't mandated by the court, Phantom Gourmet hasn't aired a new episode all summer either. Instead, the show relied on the same old reruns featuring maceroni and cheese.

But this past week, a U.S. District Judge vehemently disagreed with the Andelmans' claims, reversing the order. In his ruling, he defended the Blogger's right to critique the "douche bags," noting that such analysis is useful "so that the uneducated population of New England doesn't become dumber, fatter or more inclined to read the Herald."

Unlike an episode of Phantom Gourmet, the trial was rather entertaining. But the court room wasn't without Andelman antics. Dave Andelman decided to represent himself, though he has no proper legal training. He was assisted by fellow Northeastern Alumnus, Sal Lupoli. Also sitting with the prosecution was Dan Andelman, who appeared each day in court wearing the same purple shiny shirt he wears on every episode of Phantom Gourmet. Mike Andelman insisted on wearing a "press" hat, and pretended to take notes the whole time - while sitting with members of the legitimate press.

While the judge didn't allow cameras in the courtroom, the Andelmans still wore copious amounts of makeup - and reapplied at each court recess.

Throughout the trial, when cross-examined by the defendants, Dan Andelman would scream out "CUT!" and run over to his older brother and ask him for a line. The judge allowed this to happen for several days until the a medical expert was brought in to evaluate Dan's mental capacity. The resulting report showed, while Dan's IQ is extremely low, and his facial features are very bulbus, he does not have Down Syndrome.

On the final day of hearings the defendants called a surprise witness to the stand: Ernie Boch Jr. The local car magnate (pictured below) often appears on the Phantom Gourmet program. But throughout his testimony, he made striking claims against the Andelmans, and at one point stood up and said "You'll never be as rich as me!"

Testifying at the stand was a list of who's who of local gimmick restaurants. Among those called by the prosecution was Jasper White and Steve Uliss. Also appearing was Strega owner, Nick Varano, who took a plea deal allowing him to relocate under the federal witness protection program.

Ernie Boch, Jr., above, testified against the Andelmans.