SanTan Brewery/Spoke & Wheel Beer Dinner (July 31, 2013)

As we've been attending these dinners around the Valley for the last few months, I've gotten a pretty good idea in my head of what makes for a good beer pairing dinner. Obviously, good food and a good beer-that's a no-brainer. What turns an average beer pairing dinner into a great experience is the people behind the dinner. The chef, the restaurant manager and the beer rep all must work together to make the evening one to remember. Spoke & Wheel has done a fantastic job combining people and comestibles into a unique experience.

On this occasion, Rosie Boyd-SanTan Brewery and The Spoke & Wheel Crew hit all the high marks.

The Promise

I'd signed up for this dinner even before it was finalized...I knew it would be just that good! Chef Toni & GM Jason obviously put a lot of thought into these events.

While not every venue can offer it, Spoke & Wheel has a great private room that holds a good number of people. The table is set up so that everyone is around one table (I think there were about 30 of us this evening), and there is room for more if needed. This community table allows us all to be able to hear the information about the food and beer, and still be able to chat with those around us. This type of space really allows you to focus on the information provided and is nice respite from the usual noise of most restaurants.

Always an interesting group, we saw familiar faces and some new ones as well.

We were greeted with a SanTan HefeWeizen as our "Welcome Beer"-a full pint at that-truly welcoming after a hot AZ July day!

Rosie Boyd-SanTan 

Once all had arrived, we heard the Crescent Crown distributor talk about their business relationship with SanTan Brewery (as well as some company history). He then introduced Rosie Boyd, SanTan's Ambassador of Hops! Rosie told us about SanTan and made us all wish we worked there! At this point, the HopShock IPA and Tuna Tartar was distributed around the table and we were all too busy eating (OK, not me-I ate that avocado off the top and then passed the raw fish to hubby!) to discuss beer-or anything else for that matter.

Tuna Tartar-so pretty!

Cucumber Salad with Devils Pale Ale

A quick clearing and Jason presented the Cucumber Salad, which was served with Devils Pale Ale. The salad was a perfect pairing with the Pale Ale-light, crisp and garnished with just the right amount of mint.

While we finished up our salads and waited for the main course, Rosie spoke some more about the beer and the dedication to quality ingredients and many different types of hops used at SanTan. Even the beer glass we got to take home is different from the usual pint glass-a hand blown masterpiece, a truly unique signature piece sporting the SanTan logo.

Jason and Rosie discussed the pairing of the main course, a pork tenderloin with pineapple chutney, served on braised red cabbage and an Epicenter Amber Ale demi-glace. This beautiful dish was paired with the Epicenter Amber Ale and was truly the highlight of the entire dinner. The meat was cooked to perfection, tender and juicy, and so incredibly flavorful. The chutney and the braised cabbage were a perfect balance with the meat and the Epicenter Amber Ale brought just the right finishing touch to the dish.

Promise fulfilled!

While dessert was served, Rosie explained how Mr. Pineapple Wheat Beer was "invented". It was an amusing story and set the stage for SanTan Panna Cotta (pineapple with sweet pineapple chips) and a refreshing glass of Mr. Pineapple. This Wheat beer has always been a summer favorite of ours and is one of those beers that tastes pretty darned yummy when the heat is on!

Pineapplex3 (panna cotta, pineapple
chips and Mr. Pineapple Wheat)

We were lucky to have been joined by the creator of the dessert-who told us the secret to pineapple chips...DON'T LET THEM BURN! This was one of those desserts that is perfect after a big meal-light and airy with just enough sweet to make you happy and not weigh you down. 

As is befitting such a meal, Chef Toni was brought out to a round of applause and was open to questions about the meal. Rosie answered a few final questions and then gave us all a card for a free tasting flight at the SanTan Brewery & Restaurant. (Which we have been to-great spot in DT Chandler.)

SanTan Brewery & Restaurant

Thanks so Rosie, Jason, Chef Toni and all the Spoke & Wheel staff for your hard work. Another fun, filling and educational evening in the books. Can't wait to see what brewery gets this special treatment next at Spoke & Wheel! 

Pig & Pickle and Maui Brewing Company Beer Dinner (held July 15, 2013)

The Pitch

Another fantastic evening at Pig & Pickle, hosts to a monthly beer dinner that is consistently sold out. The food here is fantastic and thoughtfully paired with the beer of the month...making this a must-do beer dinner.

I was pretty excited to attend this dinner...so much so that I made my reservation from my cell in the USVI, at $2 a minute. Let's just say I did NOT enjoy the hold time on that one!

Our friends Tom & Sarah B. joined us again. They also participated in a side-promo for Uber, a ride-finding app, which provided $44.44 in credits to those who wanted a ride to and from the dinner. Genius!

SPAM roll

Given the "Hawaiian" brewery, the menu was geared to Hawaii and all the fantastic foods that can be found there. Our starter course was Spam Musubi (Spam Roll!) with a Shoyu dipping sauce. Amazingly, Sarah B has never had Spam, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be her first and only time! Since I'm not a big seaweed fan (hello Rice/Soy Paper!) I tried on roll with seaweed and one without. The Spam is so salty that there wasn't a discernible difference-go figure!

The beer chosen was a Bikini Blonde Ale. This was a super nice, light beer that let the Spam do the talking and didn't try to overwhelm the flavor of the appetizer. It would take a mighty LARGE beer to overcome the taste of spam, so selecting a beer that is a light complement was a great choice.

A quick word about the Maui Brewing rep...uh-thanks for nothing? He briefly introduced himself and got up (at 3 of the 4 courses) and told us the name of the beer. Yep, that's it. Gee, I can read, so there was no value add for us with this dude. I kind of expect a little knowledge transfer at a beer dinner, maybe a bit of history, interesting fact? We got nothing from this guy. Go to the website and get info on the beer and the company

Spicy Poke Fish

For the next course, a beer swap happened and I think it was a fantastic idea. The Spicy fish poke was served with Lemon-Grass Saison instead of the originally billed Big Swell IPA. All the hopheads at the table thought it was a good swap. So, since I'm not a HUGE beer expert, I could only agree with them. Mostly I just sat and drank the Saison...it was Ah-mah-zing! Slightly crisp and not a traditional heavy Saison, I really enjoyed it. Of course, you may not know that I skipped the poke-just can't do that fish thing, but the comments around the table were good and I didn't see any full plates of poke get carried off after it was served.

Lau Lau pork, potato/mac salad and sweet bun

This left the Big Swill IPA to be served with the main course. For me, IPA stands for (I Pass Ale) and it goes straight to hubby's side of the table after the obligatory "I still hate IPA" sip. I was happy to pass this one along as I looked at my beautiful plate of Lau Lau (prepared Pig & Pickle Style). Lau Lau is traditionally pork wrapped in taro leaf. This lau lau was served unwrapped, but tender and delicious regardless. The sweet bun and potato/macaroni salad made it even more Hawaiian. All that was missing was a tender tropical breeze (and heaven knows, we're FAR from that in a Phoenix July)! You can see what a huge portion of pork was served. It was truly yummylicious, but more food than I could eat in one sitting, especially knowing what was coming next!

 With a box of lau lau and sweet bun packed up for tomorrow's lunch, we moved on to the dessert pairing. The real reason I wanted to attend this dinner-even after an all day flying home ordeal the day before, this pairing matched up almost every dessert flavor I enjoy-and in a very approachable way!

Coconut cupcake with coffee filling,
dark chocolate frosting & macadamias

Coconut porter done right is one of the best brews on the planet (IMHO). Kelsey, the P&P baker, set it up right with a Coffee filled coconut cupcake, topped with dark chocolate and macadamia nuts. There was a healthy dose of salt on top to counterbalance the super sweet chocolate and it just totally worked for me. The sweet/salt duo is one of my dessert favorites and this one was perfection.

And thanks to Pig & Pickle Staff for again putting together a fantastic experience. It was nice to see the kitchen crew out for a round of applause...that pork doesn't roast itself and the kitchen crew is always the one doing the grunt (haha) work when it comes to roasting a pig!

And Maui Brewing Company beer? I liked three of the four, which for me, is pretty good odds!!! What will August hold??? Check here for details. See you there?

 The SWAG.

Pig & Pickle and Odell Brewing Co. Beer Dinner (Held 6/17/2013)

Lucky enough to attend another fine fine beer dinner event in the Valley. Friends (and major hop-heads) Sarah & Tom B joined us, along with my sister Cheryl K. Dinner was set for 6:30, and we arrived at 6:15 to find our seats all together (thanks Sarah!). With such a full menu, we decided to hold off on the pre-dinner beers (oh yeah, and C & I had been pre-cocktailing off-site).

The Beer Dinner Menu

This was the fantastic menu that was waiting for us. Up front, I'll say how much I appreciated this set-up, as we were able to pre-pay ($44.44 included dinner, tax & gratuity) and have no worries on the night of the event. Genius plan...

So, the first beer, "Double Pilsner" was a perfect match to the pretzel stick and cheese dip appetizer. It was light and refreshing. The cheese dip was soooooo yummy; warm, cheesy and bacony-three of my favorite things!

Pretzel stix & cheese dip

They placed a plate between each four people, so we got a really good portion of the cheese dip. The four people to the right of me were obviously zombies or some other type of mutants, as they allowed most of their dip to go back to the kitchen. If this was really the Wild West, I would have been justified in taking them down.

Next up was one of the most fantastic salads I've ever eaten. (Refer to prior postings regarding my soup whore propensities and you'll know I'm no big salad fan...this one may turn me into a salad eater.)

Grilled Peach Salad

Served with Tree Shaker (a Peach Imperial IPA) This salad was composed of grilled peaches, fresh mozzarella, mixed baby greens and topped with a brown sugar peach vinaigrette. Pow. It truly was awesome and just the right amount of salad for an "anti-green" eater!

Oh, I should probably talk more about this beer. Just not my speed, but I can't like them all...as a matter of fact, I like very few of them.

So why the beer dinners? That Sweet Baboo is a fan and I try to keep him monitored 24/7, which requires my attendance at beer dinners...NOT. It is really fun to watch others enjoy their pairings and I am always hoping that there will be a beer that I will find to my liking so that I can order one along with everyone else that likes the suds!

Main course time. New beer-Celastrina, a Saison ale with hints of banana and a clove-like flavor is a seasonal brew at Odell. Again, a Saison is not on the top of my list, but this one did have a good flavor and was paired well with...WHAT HAVE WE HERE? Chamomile and Lemon Verbena brined pork, gruyere mashed potatoes, pickled apples and pickled garlic? Holy Heck! This dish was insanely delicious. If you've ever had me cook your Turkey Day dinner, you know I'm all about the brine...and this one was a touch of genius. Great flavors, well cooked and those taters were just lousy with gruyere. Yummy Yummy Yummy, I Got Love in my Tummy.

Main Course-Pork Loin

Dessert

So I'll admit that I was really waiting around and eating all of this food because I was most excited about the dessert course. We had been out sampling the brewpubs on Sunday and I'd had a lovely sample of Odell Brewing Co. Lugene at another establishment. When I saw it was being served at our beer dinner I flipped (mentally, there's no way I can ACTUALLY flip any more...or could I ever?)

All of my dessert dreams came true...the kitchen team selected a dessert that really complemented the Chocolate Milk Stout that is Lugene. White cake with white chocolate frosting, fresh strawberries between the layers and a strawberry sauce on top. The sauce consistency was a bit thick for my liking, but those crunchy bits of white chocolate made it all better.

Totally delish way to finish a meal with lots of fun and laughter with friends and family.

The amazing kitchen staff

Kudos to all at Pig & Pickle for a fantastic evening.

While nicely planned and pretty flawlessly executed, it would have been a nice add to hear the chef tell us about the food that was chosen to pair with the beers. I always like to hear the specifics. This staff was busting their tails to make this dinner right and it would have been nice to hear the "why" of the pairing.

SWAG

And thanks also to Odell Brewing Co. for co-hosting and providing a nice full pour to sample. They also provided us with some wicked awesome SWAG. You can see what was left of our first beer there as well. Truly a grand evening.

AZ Restaurant Week Spring 2013 (Portland's)

How have we never come here before? Portland's has been winning awards since 2004, so we've somehow avoided it for at least 9 years...until now! Portland's Restaurant

May 18-23 was AZ Restaurant Week this year. Normally, we avoid this like the plague, cuz many of the restaurants we frequent either don't participate OR we just try to avoid the crowds. For some reason, this year, we decided to take the plunge and give a new place a whirl-practically on their dime!

We chose Portland's for the simple reason that we HADN'T been there and we still can't figure out why that is. (Some type of retrograde amnesia is my guess...it's probably the thing that has kept hubby married to me for over 25 years.)

We were seated into a fairly quiet dining room-and it sounded like it might have been a bit busier on the bar side. We had a great table, both of us sat on the same side, facing the glass and a fine view of the streetscape outside on "PORTLAND" street.

While some restaurants include a glass of wine with their Restaurant Week dinner, Portland's did not, so I was happy to see that I could get a nice special  glass of the bubbly for $5. Sweet baboo (SB) ordered the Pinot Noir and of course we made a note to deduct on our taxes (NOT!). Nice touch to offer a wine that was both good for us and others.

Le Menu

We perused the fantastic AZRW menu and the regular menu while enjoying our vino. So many things to chose from! I think many of you know of my soup-whore tendencies, so no big surprise what I selected for my starter course! pan-seared Diver Scallops? Parmesan-asparagus risotto? That's how you spell my name...I'm all ordered up.

SB was going to go off the reservation and order from the regular menu, but reigned himself in at the last minute and stayed the course. He chose the Prsciutto-wrapped Asparagus and the scottish Salmon for his dining pleasure.

While waiting for starters, we enjoyed another round of the OneHope wines from the menu. Really tasty. And that will be my last mention of our alcohol consumption.

The crowd was picking up a little bit, but thankfully not too much, as our waiter was the only one I saw during the entire meal. There was a good handful of support staff filling up water glasses, taking away dirty dishes and delivering food, but the one waiter was IT for face time.

Soon enough, our starters arrived. Presentation for both was very nice. It's hard to make a broccoli-based soup look like much more than a Linda Blair prop, and if there is ANYONE who says different, they're lying. That asparagus was done to perfection and the prosciutto and sauce made it a HOLY trinity of goodness.

Finished morsels were cleared quickly and effectively, waters refilled and we're ready for some awesome main courses...

pan seared Diver Scallops with Parmesan Asparagus Risotto

scottish Salmon

Seriously. WHY THE HELL HAVE WE WAITED SO LONG TO COME HERE?

Although I wasn't warned about the Rooster sauce with the scallops, (I would have respectfully declined-don't hate), the sear was good enough to repel the sauce and I rescued the big guys quickly. Risotto was done to perfection and had a great blend of flavors. Allegedly the salmon was good (soup whores don't eat fish of any kind-we're seafood folk)!

And then came the Sophie's Choice moment of the meal...which dessert to select?

Oh, and like these three choices weren't enough, there was also a caramel walnut sundae was an option as well. Candied walnuts? Check.

Major conflict for me here...Strawberry shortcake can be so, uh, dry. Tiramisu can be so, uh, wet. Mama loves caramel and chocolate, but the waiter tipped me off that this was no regular shortcake...it has cream cheese in it. CREAM CHEESE? I'm in. SB orders the caramel walnut sundae despite a 25-year insistence that he doesn't care for nuts or caramel. I think he just says that so I won't hide those things in the kitchen like I do the chocolate chips. That way there's at least 1-2 things he can find easily when he wants a snack. Just a guess.

Caramel Walnut Sundae

 So while his dessert was very tempting, I totally think I won the Dessert Wars here. This mo-fo of a dessert was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. (BTW, I spelled that without GOOGLE folks. Seriously, how to spell this word I can remember, but last night I spent 30 minutes trying to find my car keys...life is SO not fair.) Anywhooz, you can see in the photo that my TOTALLY AWESOME dessert was basically two squares of cheesecake bars with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. In the history of man, there has never been a better strawberry cheesecake imitator. Sure, it's not "historically" accurate, but screw you...it had CREAM CHEESE!!!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Shortcake

So, food grades here were excellent. Service was at a relaxed pace, but knowledgeable with good insights and very patient with all of our questions and changing SB's order after he changed gears.

The AZRW deal was a good way to tempt us in, for $30 per person-which looks like about what we would have paid on the regular dinner menu.

Portland's has a full array of burgers, artisan pizzas and salads as well. There were a couple of pasta dishes on the menu that looked interesting as well. We'll surely be back...and not just for that amazing shortcake!

Oskar Blues Brewery/Spoke & Wheel Beer Dinner

This week marked American Craft Beer Week. What better way to celebrate than a beautiful dinner with beer pairings? Spoke & Wheel provided a beautiful setting for this dinner. Jason (Operations Manager) introduced each course and told us what we would be enjoying. He had placed our group (about 20 or so of us) in the "party" room away from the main dining room. A great venue and awesome spot for a private event. It was like a huge family dinner.

Amie Savona (Amie Savona or Oskar Blues_Southwest) from Oskar Blues Brewery was the hostess for our incredible meal and beer journey. And she gave us all SWAG from the brewery. (You can see it on the table!)

Our welcome beer was the "Mama's Little Yellow Pils", which was light and refreshing. As you may know...I'm kind of a beer weenie. Very picky, don't like one that's too hoppy or bitter. Makes it tough to sign up for these pairings cuz I'm never sure if the beesr will be ones I like. That's why my trusty sidekick Paul must go along so there is no wasting! I actually drank ALL of this beer (a full pint I might add-very generous!) and part of Paul's as well. That's only a ringing endorsement if you have my identical taste in beer and I just can't imagine that happening!!!

(SIDE NOTE: Paul takes ME along to cocktail tastings as the trusty sidekick! Not sure how it came to be that a wine/beer guy married a cocktail gal, but so far, it's worked for 25 years!)

Before the food started arriving, Amie talked about the Brewery and how they use the spent mash to feed the cows and pigs at Hops and Heifers Farm. The animal waste is used as fertilizer for the garden at Hops and Heifers. The produce and animals are then served at the restaurant table in Longmont, Colorado AND brought along to Phoenix for our dinner. (If you're humming "Circle of Life" here, it seems appropriate.)

Our next beer, "G'Knight Imperial Red IPA" was less appealing to me, but has a great back story, which you can read here: George Knight Story This beer was served with the biggest culinary win of the night...Braised Pork Belly. Chef Toni served this with a bit of applesauce, and then added a reduction of the pork drippings and the G'Knight beer. One of the best sauces I've tasted in many a moon.

With each beer and course, Amie discussed the beer to the group, then came around and chatted with each smaller party within the party, making it a very personal event.

The Roasted Red Pepper soup was served chilled-perfect for our already maximizing temperatures in Phoenix. A tot of creme fraiche and crispy pecan-smoked bacon topped the soup and when stirred together, was a perfect symphony of flavors and textures. Not only that, but the "Old Chub" served with the soup was my WINNER beer of the night. This Scotch Ale was smooth and delicious, and truly a great pairing with the flavors in the soup.

The main course featured a Tenderloin Filet from Hops & Heifers Farm, topped with a fried quail egg and resting on a little pool of Bearnaise sauce. Grilled white asparagus was the vegetable. The meat was tender and delicious. I didn't even need a knife to cut my piece. Grass-fed beef just has that fantastic "real" taste to it, making sauces unnecessary. I mean, come on...isn't that gorgeous!?!?!?! 

Oskar Blues flagship beer, Dale's Pale Ale was served with our main course. Since I'm not a Pale Ale girl, I sampled and passed my glass over to Paul (God bless him).

While this ended the beers included with our meal, we ordered a can of Ten FIDY Imperial Stout to go with our dessert, which was a Ten FIDY Imperial Milkshake (with Bailey's, Ten FIDY and vanilla bean ice cream) and a hoppy chocolate mousse. Both of these were tasty...the shake had a really great flavor, and I kept wishing I could SUPERSIZE it!

The Ten FIDY was a bit overwhelming for me, but had a good flavor. 

Thanks again to Spoke & Wheel, Oskar Blues Brewery and Amie Savona for a terrific evening.