My former boss and good friend Jay Goodwin has a burgeoning hot-sauce company in NJ called Moron Garage.

He sent me a bottle from Batch #1 last year and it was excellent - quite nice and hot, but not salty or vinegary, with just enough fruitiness to seem exotic, but not enough to deprive it of it’s complete and utter manly nature.  Jay just wrote to tell me about their new 10k square foot facility, where they soon intend to start cooking and bottling large batches.  Here’s my favorite quote from his email:

The big challenge was getting the steam kettle up to temperature as quick as we need it to.  We had to build an immersion heater encased in what we affectionately call the ‘Dr. Suess Machine’ to deliver the 8 KW needed for fast heating.  When we turn this thing on, lights dim from Maine to Florida!  We want to paint this thing with black red and white stripes to fit with the Dr. Suess theme.

I am most definitely going to have to pay these guys a visit next time I’m near NJ.

They’ve got a full-blown Sales and Distribution plan in the works, so keep an eye out for them if you like the hot stuff as much as I do.  And should you contact them directly, please send Tanglweed’s warm regards.

Tony Rice plays the most infamous Martin D28 in the world, formerly owned by his hero Clarence White.

I’ve read the guitar’s story in various contexts over the years, and recently located this good online synopsis: http://www.flatpick.com/Pages/Featured_Artist/Tony2.html

…very interesting reading whether you are a guitar player or not. This guitar has been through the ringer over several decades, yet it continues to be Tony Rice’s primary instrument, and Tony Rice continues to be regarded as the greatest flat-picking guitarist on planet Earth.

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