Châteauneuf du Pape at La Croix

A godsend from the wine loving Popes Clement V and John XXII, the wines from this appellation have at all times been my foremost favorites. It was hard to turn down the opportunity to attend a dinner featuring Chateauneuf wines with food by one of the city’s most innovative young chefs, Jason Cichonski.

The Doctor Professor Tourist Tree studying the menu and the background of each wine with the same intensity as doing her research at work.

We were handed a refreshing glass of champagne as soon as we walked into the restaurant. Its crispiness completely washed away the heat and humidity that we came in with.

Amuse Bouche: Thai Lobster Custard.

Picture this: A light lobster bisque with a nice hint of basil but in a consistency of a custard. The tiny spoon scoped out something that looked like a darker color crème brulee; but when it hit your mouth, it’s lobster bisque. Yes, the brain did go into overdrive to interpret this first bit before all the neurons would all scream, “It’s delicious!” The champagne went very well with the dish; unfortunately I never got its name from the sommelier.

Watermelon, Razor Clams, Chat Masala, Peanut Puree.

Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc, “Clos de la Roquette”, Frédérick & Daniel Brunier, 2005.

Where do I start? The watermelon was refreshing. Razor claim, just poached slightly. Chat masala, nice. Peanut butter, excellent with its light creamy flavor. Each component was very nice on its only. They became more interesting when I started to mix and match them. Peanut butter and watermelon with a touch of the chat, why not? It’s the chef’s intention for us to experiment with his play of four most unlikely paring of food.

I am embarrassed to admit. Although I love the wines from this region, I had only drunk white Châteauneuf wines a handful of times. They are not widely available in stores and only a small number of knowledgeable and a bit daring sommeliers put them in restaurants. This wine was creamy, slightly but not overly sweet with nose of apricot and lemon. Although this small production (7000 bottles) wine had spend some time in oak barrels, there was an obvious absence of “oaky-ness” that usually would turn me off. I liked this wine very much with the watermelon. It’s a nice summer pairing.

Softshell Crab, Kohlrabi, Rhubarb, Wasabi.

Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc, Domaine du Grand Tinel, 2003.

I love softshell crab. I love softshell crab very much when it is in season. For this dish, a nicely crispy, lightly fried piece sat on top an interestingly minty and slightly sour tasting apple kohlrabi puree with a watercress rhubarb salad next to it. A wasabi apple foam with ginger and basil sat on top to one side of the crab to accent the taste while contrasting the texture meat and the well seasoned batter. It was Chef Jason’s intention to make the seasoning and the batter an imitation of the KFC version as this was his homage to the KFC fried chicken. Initially, I thought there was a bit too much salt with the crab. However, it all made sense to me after he explained his purpose to us. The pieces did remind us of the KFC chicken. I very much enjoyed biting through the crispiness of the batter followed by the juice and the softness of the meat releasing into my mouth. The citrus-ness of the foam provided a very nice palette refresher in-between bits.

The wine is from another small producer with only 4.5 acres of vineyard. A nose of white grape was followed by a stronger liquorish and slightly tart taste. It worked very well with the fried food.

Ducking, Shishito Peppers, Lobster Mushrooms, Caper-Gooseberry.

Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, Domaine Lucien Barrot, 2000

Tourist Tree had two consecutively bad duck dishes of late at area restaurants; would this duckling break her bad luck or would the curse continue?

The meat was perfectly prepared. It was tender. It was seasoned right. I like the fact that it was not drowned in a heavy sauce which would otherwise shroud the natural flavor and the quality of the meat. The gooseberry and the duck made an excellent combo with the peppers and mushrooms being a nice companion.

The wine is from a producer that has been making wine in the ultra-traditional method since 1690 with grape bunches not destemmed before pressing, and grapes crushed and fermented in concrete vats, then aged in foundres.

I was greeted by the typical sweaty sock in a locker room nose of a traditional old world wine. It had lots of berries. It had a nice spicy after-taste. It was yummy. It was delicious. It was like biting into a very juicy steak.

Tourist Tree was very happy that she finally got to enjoy a well prepared duck dish.

Red Berry Charlotte, Dark Chocolate Mousse, Vanilla Bean.

Châteauneuf du Pape Rouge, Domaine Le Soustet, 2005.

This charlotte had the dark chocolate mousse filling in the middle. It was topped with toasted meringue, strawberries, cherries, and little pieces of gold foil. The sauce was made with vanilla, crème anglaise with pistachios and cassis.

This dessert was delicious. Not heavy, not too sweet. Spongy followed by smoothness of the mousse. The sauce was wonderful with strong hint of the cassis. The sponginess of the charlotte became very useful in soaking up the sauce.

It was a very daring move for the sommelier to pair a red wine with a dessert. I have found that sometimes when you contrast a pairing instead of complement one; you are rewarded with the most unexpected delight. I found this wine full of strawberry and cherry. It was definitely lighter and fruitier than the previous wine. It happened to go very well with the cassis in the sauce. Alcohol and alcohol; what else could you ask for?

No meal is complete without a few pieces of petit fours. It took us no time is finishing those.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It was a lovely evening with this delightful dinner. We were tucked into a semi-private table at one end of the dining room which allowed us to look out to the tree tops in the park outside through the large windows. Our locale however did not prevent the service from not keeping our water (and wine) glasses filled, bread basket replaced with warm breads from the oven, empty wine promptly glasses removed, and table being kept neat. Our side of the dining room was pretty full with diners for this dinner. The staff did a very good job in serving everybody within a reasonably short time for each course. I had an opportunity to talk with Chef Jason a while back about how he would handle large parties. He told me that his kitchen make everything fresh even for large banquets. No pre-cooking and reheating or sitting in warmers for hours. Timing and team work is everything. The sommelier also did personally pour every single wine at each table just before the course come out. Again, timing is everything.


We enjoyed all of the dishes. The watermelon first course was an interesting experience; although I am not too sure if I would order it again. The softshell crab was one of the best I had this year. It’s too bad the season for the fresh crab is almost over. Tourist Tree truly enjoyed her duck, and so did I. I was happy that we did not have a heavy dessert which would put us over the top. The wines were wonderful. We were happy that this dinner gave us the opportunity to experience a few Châteauneuf whites which we typically do not have the occasion to encounter. Kudos to Sommelier Eric Simonis who runs a very nice wine program at the restaurant.

Chifa

  

When I was growing up, I had a Chinese friend who spoke fluent Spanish but Cantonese with an accent. I knew she was born and raised in Peru and her brother was the Honorary Consul representing that country. It never occurred to me that there had been a significant connection between Peru and the Chinese until I read about Jose Garces opening a new restaurant which would highlight the uniqueness a cuisine born out of two totally different cultures with considerable histories. He named the restaurant with the phonetic pronunciation of the Chinese words for eating a meal.

The design of the interior reminded me of an upscale opium den done 21st century. Many bloggers have already dissected the food since the restaurant opened last summer but few have taken the time to study the intricate decoration with the little touches around the place.

Enjoying a Rogue Mocha Porter while waiting for the many small dishes coming. “The food comes in small bits and are meant to be shared…” I hate that when somebody lectures me how I should eat my food when I am hungry and want my own very big mount of food just in front of me.

The complementary bread.

It arrived just in time when I was ready to start chewing on my napkin. Three small bun-like balls of bread with a thin layer of crust sprinkled with what looked like minute pieces of melted cheese served warmed. I have heard so much about this bread before this visit. It was fluffy, indeed delicious, and extremely additive. The restaurant had to downsize this bread after its initial opening since too many people were filling up with it before dinner. The dipping sauce was made with Sriracha sauce, guava butter, and Peruvian black vinegar. Awesome was not a word good enough to describe it. I was at one point eating it with my fork until Tourist Tree told me to stop.

Scallion Pancake.

They had a very interesting slightly mushy consistency inside but a crispy crust outside. The pancakes were served with slightly pickled cauliflower which cut into the greasiness nicely, and small pieces of crispy peanuts and what I believed to be ginger sauce drizzled over. This is a dish that need to be eaten piping hot. The pieces get soggy and hard when cold. I would call this dish “interesting”, not something that I would order again. They were definitely not the traditional flaky scallion pancakes from the old country.

Pork Belly Buns.

Grilled tender pork belly glazed with hoisin sauce, topped with pickled daikon and carrot togarashi mayo, sandwiched between two pieces of pillow soft bread. This combination of taste and texture was simply delicious and much additive. The Tourist Tree compared it to eating the traditional Peking duck, gone upscale and with pork belly instead.

 
 
 

 

 

Desayuno.

Braised oxtail with an egg and tissue-thin bacon pieces on top, sitting on a piece of arepa bread. The panca emulsion was made of roasted black pepper and tasted slightly sweet. I really liked the thinly sliced bacon that added dimension and texture to the dish. Unfortunately, the dish did not wow me despite its taste. May be nothing tasted just quite as good after the pork belly buns.

 
 

 

Duck Noodles.

Duck wontons with slices of muscvy duck breast in a “Peking” broth. The wontons were made with a thicker skin much like the qweilo version but they had consistency more like raviolis and were done al dente, nicely holding the ground duck meat inside. The clear broth was excellent with its depth of flavors and heavy dose of soy. The pieces of breast were tender, tasty and could stand on their own very well without being part of a dish.

Aji Mushroom.

Mixed mushroom in aji cream sauce under a thick flaky pastry cover. I loved the pastry and the different textures from the variety of mushrooms swimming in this light cream sauce slightly enhanced by the aji pepper. Personally, I could use more heat in the sauce and I definitely did not like the small pieces of tofu and potato in it. They were more of a distraction than enrichment to this dish.

Congee.

Ginger congee with glazed veal cheeks, Chinese broccoli and red chili. The veal cheeks were awesome! They were soft. They were tender. The sweetness from the glazing on the meat played very well with the slight kick of the ginger in the congee. The dish was presented to us with the meat in the bowl, with the waitress pouring the congee into it at the table. OK, that’s too much drama!

 

 

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Banana Picarones.

Pumpkin banana funnel cake, honey anise lace, spicy peanut sauce, banana sorbet. Everything that Tourist Tree likes in one dish (except the anise) and it’s a dessert! The honey anise lace was more a crisp. The sorbet was not too sweet; just the way I like it. The peanut sauce was awesome. Just give me a spoon. I can eat it straight out of a container, thank you! This slightly strange but interesting combination worked very well with the pumpkin banana funnel cake which itself was pretty awesome!

 

The Treat.

I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.

The Treat.


I do not remember the name which the waitress called this when she put it on our table. I would just call it “The Treat”. It was basically a rice crispy treat with a deep flavor of condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon, with a design of a dragon printed on rice paper on top. Yum! Exactly what I needed after the dessert.

El Camino Real

It doesn’t look like much from the outside. Just a ground floor restaurant in a low-rise condo development and because of the big windows, it could have passed for any retail store with smokers huddling outside the entrance. When you step inside, you might think that you were somewhere just north of the Rio Grande. The décor has a somewhat Texas Wild West feel complete with huge caricatures of cactus on the giant windows. That is if you don’t look beyond the windows and see the modern new condo/commercial development across the street that would put you right back to the still being gentrified NoLib.


All these come after the initial shock from walking into this faux Texas make-believe: The deafening noise from the crowd at the bar trying to talk over the music, other people, and even themselves. I don’t have the best of hearing from years of listening to loud music in confined spaces, but that was even loud for my not so 100% hearing.

The place has done a pretty good job re-creating a Southwest environment doing Tex-Mex food. Interestingly, the menu doesn’t show “Tex-Mex”. It instead has “Tex” and “Mex” with BBQ on one side and typical Mexican peasant food on the other. It even got me all excited when I saw Shiner Bock on the beer list! That’s the official Aiiyah BBQ beer! That had not been available in Philly! Sorry to say, the excitement was dashed when the waiter told me that the only way they could get that beer was to order 40 cases directly but the shipment has not arrived yet. #$%!@^*!

Tourist Tree trying to console the disappointed Aiiyah who didn’t get his Shiner Bock. He had a Laurel Double Bock instead while Tree drank a Dog Fish Brown Ale.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
Our fried pickle chips arrived at our table sizzling hot. They were so fresh and hot from the fryer that I could not even pick them up but these pickle had a nice taste to them and the spice in the thin batter had given the chips a good spicy after-kick. The caveat was you had to eat them hot. Once they had cooled down, they became soggy and quite greasy. The spicy mayo sauce did not excite me. It was more of a distraction.
 

After some arm twisting, I was able to persuade the Gringo Tree to forgo one of her favorite food groups by skipping the burrito and go up the food chain for the ribs instead. Both the pork and the beef ribs arrived at the table stacked high like wood ready for a bonfire. They also arrived dry with no sauce on them but grilled nicely with some char on the meat.
 
 
 
 

Pork Ribs

Beef Ribs

The pork rib was tender but not falls-off-the-bone tender. The side view showed no pink smoke ring on the meat. Was this Texas rib smoked at all? The rub on the rib tasted decent but there was no character in it. Whatever spices used for the rub did not get carried into the meat which was moist but…, bland.

There were two bottles of BBQ sauces on the table, sweet and spicy. The sweet sauce was, sweet; but it also suffered from a lack of character as with the rib. There was nothing special about it. The spicy version was marginally better with a little more taste in the flavor department but not in the spicy area. It was also a bit too much on the sweeter side.

The beef ribs were big. They were attractive and looked delicious. They were quite tender and juicy but a bit too much on the fatty side, even more so than this cut of meat should had been. The meat was more flavorful than the pork rib but that probably due more to the fact that beef in general has more flavor than pork instead of a well execution of a properly used spice rub to bring the flavor out.

I enjoyed eating the beef ribs more so than the pork ribs; not because they were that good, but because, unfortunately, it was just better than the other.

The cole slaw was in perfect alignment with the rest of our meal; nothing absolutely wrong but just a simple lack of flavor and hence, character. The carrots in this dish did add a very nice and refreshing crunch to the otherwise underperformance of this ensemble.


Something that I did enjoy was the Texas toasts that came with the ribs. Each piece was toasted just right and with the right amount of crunchiness and softness. Perfect for soaking up the grease from the ribs.

 
This restaurant has everything going for it: The concept, the décor, the vibe, and even a rowdy crowd to go with the bar. Unfortunately, the kitchen could not turn out food that would put this place where it should be. It has the potential but it did not seize the opportunity to tap into that potential. At times, it seemed the kitchen purposely had turned its attempt to dial down the food to suit the gringo taste; much like an “authentic” Chinese restaurant making Egg Foo Yong and Chow Mein for the indifferent Gweilo taste.
The same can be said for the service. We sat at the bar for a good many minutes before we were served despite the bartender walking back and forth in front of us during the entire period tending to mundane things. Our waiter was cheerful and helpful when he first came to the table. It did take him a while to come back to take our order and he did return after our main dishes were delivered. That was the last we saw of him until I went searching for him for the check after our meal and had been sitting around for a while with an empty table while the deafening noise was becoming painful. May be, it was this same noise that had turned off my brain function for taste which had made our dinner uneventful.

The lackluster performance of this restaurant was a surprise considering that this place is owned by the same entity who also owns the very well-received Bar Ferdinand across the walkway. So El Camino Real has not been real enough to be a contender for good BBQ in the city. I do not know how the “Mex” side of the menu fares but judging from the “Tex” side, I am not holding out much hope. I would return to this place on a quieter night for a nicely chilled Shiner Bock with some fried pickles before going to dinner somewhere else, with a pair of eye plugs.

 

 

Beer Week Super Blog Pt 8

Day Ten


Local 44

It was the last day of the Beer Week. We returned to Local 44 for a special occasion with seven beers from Russian River Brewery on tap. It was billed as the largest gathering of Russian River beers on the East Coast, and it was probably true. Personally, I had hardly seen any of its beers outside of the West Coast and I definitely had not seen seven of them on draft in Philadelphia at the same place at the same time.

We arrived sometime around 1:30PM and the place was quite crowded. Two of the seven beers had kicked already! We were surprised and impressed to find out that people started lining up outside the bar at 10:30 in the morning for the 11:30AM opening!

While Tourist Tree was deciding which beer to get first after squeezing herself up to the bar, the guy sitting next to her gave her a quick run down on all the beers. He had all seven of them already!


I really wanted to try the Consecration since it is aged in cabernet barrels. Unfortunately, it along with Pliny the Younger were gone already. We started with the Domination and the Rejection. I liked the Belgium style Domination (7% ABV) a lot. It’s creamy and buttery with bits of malt. The Rejection (6.1%) was a Belgium style black beer that was a bit on the bitter side. I was told that it was brewed for the Valentine’s Day. Nice!

We had the Blind Pig (6%) next. It’s hoppy and Toutist Tree liked it. I enjoyed the Salvation very much. It was sweet and very easy tasting. It reminded me of a mild porter even though it was made in Belgium style. I guess you would be saved if you did drink enough of this 9% beer.

The last we had was the double IPA, Pliny the Elder (8%) which was very nice too with its hoppy but sweeter taste. (Picture above: Notice the two Fullers on casks. Yes! )

The crowd thinned out a bit as the afternoon moved on. We managed to get a few seats by the bar so we could relaxingly enjoy our beers and have……


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Breakfast BLT


It’s so simple yet it’s so good. A basic BLT sandwich with the addition of an egg and some seasoned mayo. When you bite into the sandwich, the egg yoke breaks and oozes all over it. The crunchiness of the toasted bread, the crispiness and the salt from the bacon, the refreshing tomato and lettuce, plus the egg yoke…need I say more? This was the perfect item for a late brunch with a beer! The added bonus is the never-too-greasy chips made in-house which are good to have at anytime. I only wish that they would use a more upscale bacon, like thick pieces of applewood smoked bacon, instead of run of the mill variety.

We met Derrick and Erin at the Memphis Tap Room the week before. They are regulars there since they live just around the corner. They are also serious marathon runners. Should I dare to guess that beer is part of their training regimen? Besides being fellow Fat Tire Beer fans with Tourist Tree, we discovered that they are also PTs!

When the conversion turned to Fat Tire Ale again, we found another fan sitting on the other side of us. He was on the way to the sold-out Zythos America Beer Fest at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. He was having a warm-up beer before heading into some serious Belgium beer tasting.

While Aiiyah had a Fuller’s London Pride for his brunch dessert; Tourist Tree needed something a bit more substantial: A truffled chocolate-covered pretzel from Naked Chocolate.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The talented Doctor Professor multi-tasking by walking and enjoying her delight from Naked Chocolate.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Capogiro
 

It would only be appropriate to end the Beer Week with an afternoon snack at Capogiro with one of the beer flavored gelatos. We continued our experimentation pairing the beer gelato with other flavors: Rogue Chocolate Stout with Straccitella, and Rogue Chocolate Stout with Café Mocha. We liked both combinations very much, with each having its own distant taste.

 

 

Mémé

Cured Foie Gras, Dates, Bacon, “Monte Cristo”

We celebrated the Foie Gras Week with this $5.00 special offered just for the occasion. A piece of cured foie gras on top of an ensemble of bread, bacon, and dates, fried Monte Cristo style; topped with balsamic vinegar and with a sprinkle of sea salt. Absolutely delicious with the smoothness of the foie gras, crispiness of the bread and the bacon, sweetness from the dates, saltiness of the bacon and the sea salt, plus the added dimension of the balsamic.

Watercress, Red Cabbage, Grapefruit, Leek

The salad was very nice with the mixture of the fruitiness of the grapefruit and crunchiness of the vegetables. The dressing was very nice and not overwhelming. We particularly liked the crunchy fried leeks in the mix.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Chicken, Roasted Mushroom, Sweet Onion Grits, Maderia


This chicken dish is listed under the “Plate for Two” section of the menu. The chicken was brined overnight (I think). Then the breasts were slow cooked sous-vide while the legs were cooked in duck fat. It was finished off in the oven just before leaving the kitchen.

 
 
 

For somebody who is usually not a chicken eater unless it is fried beyond recognition, I have to say that this chicken was very tasty! The meat was juicy, tender, and full of flavor. I do not like white meat but I even tried a little bit of Tourist Tree’s and agreed that it was very well done and full of the natural taste. We liked the roasted shiitake mushrooms a lot. They were not big but meaty and done with great flavoring with the natural Madeira chicken jus.
 
 
 
 

The sweet onion grits were served on the side. They were very thick in consistency. The sweetness of the onion was a nice counter-balance to the seasoning on the chicken.


The chicken itself was on the small side for me, even as an organic bird. If I were very hungry, I would have no problem eating the whole plate by myself. I am not a big fan of restaurants who promote “for two” or “for sharing” dishes. Just be honest with what is on the plate and leave me, the diner, to decide whether it is for one person for two. Regardless, this particular chicken was a solid dish and these two diners enjoyed it very much.


Day Ten Beer Tally: Russian River Domination, Rejection, Blind Pig, Salvation, Pliny the Elder; Fuller’s London Pride.

The Keg is Kicked


The Philly Beer Week came and went in a blink of an eye. Although we could only do a fraction of the organized activities, we did manage to enjoy a lot of different beers, most of which we never had before, plus some of our old favorites; and even some beer flavored gelatos, cheese, and food. We enjoyed all ten days of this week very much. We had a wonderful time going to different places, tasting new beers, participating in activities (silly or not), eating interesting food, and spending quality time with each other. However, what we treasured most was the experiences we had with all the people we met and the fun we had with them over a beer or two. That was unexpected and a nice surprise to us. We met people from all walks of life, backgrounds, ages, sexes…. Some highly educated, some very artistic, some a bit unique, but they were all super friendly and down to earth with no problems striking up a conversation on topics that sometimes even bewildered us. We might have been all different before we walked through the door but once we were inside, everybody shared the common love of good beer.

For everything we had spent during this Beer Week, we could have had a wonderful dinner at an upscale French restaurant with a bottle of Ch. Margaux or Rothschild, or both. But it would never equal the experiences that we had during those 10 days of Beer Week, particularly those interesting interactions with all the wonderful people we had met. That was priceless!

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

Benjamin Franklin

Aiiyah finally drinking something healthy: Water

Beer Week plus one day: Off to detox!!!

Beer Week 2009 Super Blog Pt 7

Day Nine

Couch Tomato


The Doctor Professor said, “It’s important to have a good nutritious lunch.” We went to Couch Tomato for a relaxed meal and plan for the day’s festivities. We love this place since it makes everything fresh everyday.

Contrary to our programmed behaviors, we did not get any pizza despite the intoxicating aroma of the fresh sizzling pizza pies coming out of the hot oven that kept waving to us and gesturing “come with me…come to me…”

 
 
 
 
 
 

Portabella Salad and Tomato Cilantro Soup
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Blazing Saddles Wrap
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The salad was made with portabella mushroom, goat cheese, sun-dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds. I chose the balsamic vinaigrette with this salad and tossed in the addictive and slightly garlicky croutons. The soup was made with nicely pureed tomatoes and cilantro. I loved the thick consistency of the soup and that little kick of spicy aftertaste. It was great dipping the warm wheat bread in it. The wrap was made with black beans, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, bell peppers, sweet corn, and tortilla chips. It was basically a salad wrapped inside a soft tortilla and came with salsa and sour cream on the side. I do not understand the concept of this food contraption but Tourist Tree loves her wraps.

 

R: It was the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. We ran into a friendly Leprecon in front of McShea’s giving out gold coins.

 

 

L: Totally nothing to do with Beer Week but beer related: Whole Food was doing Irish cheese tasting. This Kerrygold Stout Cheddar is made with Guinness and was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kite and Key

We could not make it to Kite and Key early enough and missed perhaps one of the most entertaining events for the week. The Throwndown in Franklintown pitted the “slightly heavier” owner of the Yards Brewery against the very much slimmer owner of Kite and Key in a sumo match completed with geisha girls, live music, etc. The entertaining video for this comedic event is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6p-J2KEfkM

Blogger “Brewlounge” has posted the pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89461323@N00/show/

We finally arrived at Kite and Key for the Founders beer event in the very late afternoon with the place pretty much overrun by people in various forms of green attire carousing their pseudo Irish bloodline while imbibing the cheapest beer on special.

Luckily, there were a good number of beer geeks there to appreciate the finer selection of the more interesting beers on tap. We didn’t get the chance to talk to the Founders reps but we did get to enjoy some of its extreme beers.


 
 
 
 
L: Beer geek attire complete with a mug on the head.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R: St. Paddy’s attire with flashing lights.

 

 

We loved the Backwoods Bastard. It’s a 10.2% ABV Scottish ale aged in bourbon barrel with distinctive taste of a scotch whisky with sweetness, caramel and nuts. We also had some Breakfast Stout (8.3%) which is one of Aiiyah's favorites with its chocolate and coffee flavors. And as you know, a good breakfast is so important! As a “two-fer”, the caffeine in the beer also would get us going for the rest of the night.

L: Tree rejoices that the Mad Elf is still on tap.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

R: Aiiyah needs one of these green bowties for next year.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

POPE


It’s Ginger Night at the POPE. Ginger beers and gingers! Both Yards and Tröegs were bringing their ginger beers there in firkins. I hadn’t had ginger beer in a long time, so with my own ginger in tow, we headed to there.

It was an interesting change of scenery from our previous stop. There was hardly anybody in green but there sure were a lot of redheads!

The Yards Ginger Beer was, interesting. There might be a hint of ginger in the mix but I didn’t think it was gingerly enough. I like a ginger beer to have enough of a significant kick from its namesake ingredient. That was a bit disappointing. The Trögs was even more, interesting. It was hoppy. It was reddish in color. It was…not a taste of ginger! What’s going on?



 
 
 
 
We ran into Nick from Tröegs later in the night. He revealed to us that there was a production problem at the brewery and they just couldn’t get the ginger beer done to their satisfaction. So the firkin that we were drinking was actually the Hopback. A-ha! I knew it! I knew there was something wrong with that ginger beer! Bait and switch! But Tourist Tree loved it.
 

Ginger drinking: Pose number 1.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ginger drinking: Pose number 2.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Ginger drinking: Pose number 3.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

R: Aiiyah found a new friend with a panda bear tattoo on her arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

L: Tree found her tree house outside the bar.

 
 
 
 Le Virtù


After a nice amount of beer enjoyment (Nick insisted on buying us a few extra rounds of Trögs even though he was drinking Yards himself. Hum…), we were in desperate need of dinner. We took a pass on Izumi up the street since the place was still pretty crowded plus we didn’t feel like sushi that night. We walked into Los Caballitos but there was a 45 minutes wait even at way past 9:300PM! We had a decent meal at Le Virtù last summer followed by a disastrous one. I was very hesitant when we walked in this time but it was getting late and they could seat us immediately.

We were greeted by the warmed cheese bread while we were waiting for the dinner. These soft and airy little snacks tasted so good after several hours of tasting beer. They re-energized our taste buds.

The antipasto platter was impressive. There were frittata, crostini with roasted pepper, grilled eggplant, grilled artichoke, mozzarella, cheeses, olives, prosciutto and various other cured meats, olive paste, plus a few other items. I could just have that as a meal.

 

 

 

Scrippelle M’Busse

The soup contained several “crepes” holding pecorino in a chicken broth. The crepes were soft and tender but filling. The soup was excellently done with chicken pieces in it.

 

 

 

Waiting for the main course.

Fazzoletti al Ragu d’Anatra


“Handkerchief” pasta in braised duck and beef ragù with shaved parmigiano. The pasta was very tasty and satisfying but the duck was the dominant taste in this dish.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Timballo di Scrippelle


Seven pecorino crepes layered with tiny meatballs, tomato sauce, spinach, mozzarella and parmigiano. This dish reminded me of a lasagna. I believe it was the same type of crepes used in the soup. They were puffy and fluffy in this dish. The “tiny meatballs” were indeed tiny! They were the size of something you pick out of a nose! Aside from the disappointment with the size of the meatballs, the dish was indeed quite palatable. Although I would like to see a bit more sauce in it.

We realized that it was the newly minted billionaire and Eagles owner, Jeff Lurie, sitting at the table next to us.

Le Virtù delivered a pretty solid meal. The antipasto was quite awesome. The soup was a good comfort food item with a nice home-made touch. We enjoyed both pasta dishes but I much preferred the handkerchief with the braised duck and beef ragù over the seven layered crepes. The service was quite nice but not in the outstanding category. We were a bit surprised to find that the absolutely horrible waiter who contributed greatly in ruining our experience there the time before was still working at the restaurant, although as a runner on this night. He must be related to the owner!


Day Nine Beer Tally: Founders Backwoods Bastard, Breakfast Stout; Yards Ginger Beer, Tröegs Hopback (multiple rounds thanks to Nick).