Soup and ale at the Sanctuary

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I went for lunch to the Sanctuary for the first time since a gas explosion around the corner blew out the top floor and roof of the offices there. The streets were closed off, and although a banner proclaimed “Open as usual,” the only access was from the East, along a narrow pathway between metal barriers. Not surprisingly, we had no problem finding a table to sit at for lunch. The incident must have been very bad for business.

Anyway, I was in a soup and ale mood, so had a leek and potato soup, which was quite enjoyable. I ate one of the 4 slices of toast it came with, but companions ate the others. I drank a Fuller’s ESB Champion’s Ale. It was on the strong side at 5.5 percent, fairly flat and bitter. I compared it with the Tanglefoot I’d drank, and liked it less because it lacked the sweet contrast and complexity of the latter.