Incredibly Expensive and Yet a Good Deal
Instead of giving each other gifts for Valentine's this year, Otis and I decided to go out for a fancy dinner together, and when we received the flyer advertising a Shelton Brothers Beer Dinner at Hugo's, it was obvious we should sign up.
March 11 was an unseasonably warm day, especially coming on the heels of a wicked cold snap that was making me wicked cranky. And, since we anticipated drinking a fair amount of beer, and are responsible citizens who don't drink and drive, we walked from the West End to Hugo's, spending the twenty minutes or so anticipating our dinner, and pondering whether it would be a really reasonable way to spend 200+ dollars.
It turns out, it is possible to experience a meal as simultaneously incredibly expensive, and yet a good deal. This meal was advertised as a six-courser, with paired beers that would compliment the food. We ended up with nine courses, including intermezzos, and nine beers. Even better, one of the Shelton brothers, Will, was present to narrate and embellish on each of the incredible beers, most of which were so outside the mundane norm that I'm not really sure if I even have the vocabulary to describe them.
Luckily, Will had the vocab, plus a droll delivery that complemented his eccentric bald head and geekish obsession with the minutia of each beer's provenance and specifications. He was a charming guy with an obvious love for his work, and a great sense of humor. Interestingly, he is a vegan who couldn't eat any of the normal courses presented. Of course the Hugo's folks created special dishes for him, which he said were delicious. I do find it hard to believe they were as tasty as what we had, though. Since I'm being fairly long-winded I'm going to use the extended entry field, so click the link below to hear about the details of the meal.
1: Belgian frites, curry mayo, with High & Mighty XPA.
What can I say about this fries except that they are cooked in duck fat? Yum. The beer was interesting. I'm not normally a fan of American IPAs as I find the hoppiness way over the top, but this was delicious and not overly done. A great complement to the fries.
2: Surf & Turf--beef tartare and Maine shrimp tartare, with Bink Bloesem and Kulmbacher Pils.
I think this was my favorite course. The shrimp was sweet and fresh, and the beef was full of flavor; the textures were complementary; and the second beer, the German pilsner, was the best beer of the night. it was completely dry and crisp, without a hint of skunkiness. I could drink it every day.
3: Salmon loin & flash fried cake, with Thiriez Extra.
The salmon was incredibly fresh, but the cake was the highlight of this course for me. It was like a tiny cake of salmon tartare, still raw on the inside, but crispy and fried on the outside. There was a yummy horseradish dipping sauce. The beer was great too. I think Will called this a good 'session' beer, meaning you can go down the pub and make an evening with it. If you're English.
4: Rose de Gambrinus sorbet, with Rose de Gambrinus.
I thought I had had lambic. I thought wrong. This beer is as far from the sweet syrupy concoctions I thought were lambics as humanly possible. It's tart, acidic, and barely fruity. Incredibly good. Definitely something you only want as an after-dinner sipping beer, but just life-alteringly yummy.
5: Root beer glazed lamb shoulder, with Gavroche.
I don't eat lamb, normally, partly because I don't like it, and partly because of an important stuffed animal I had as a child. However, I figured that under the circumstances I owed the lamb at least a respectable tasting. It was really really good. It came with carrot froth, which made me think of Marcel from Top Chef, who was a fiend for the froths and foams. I'd often wonder what they taste like, and now I know. Carrot froth, at least, tastes like frothy carrot juice. Not necessaarily a bad thing-- it was actually very tasty-- but a little less exciting than I had anticipated. The beer was great, a nice not-too-sweet amber.
6: Crispy duck breast & long pepper sausage, with Achel Trappist Extra.
I really don't like duck, it tastes unpleasant to me. Otis said the duck itself was good. The sausage wasn't too duckish, so I ate a little of that, but I felt like this course was sort of all over the place, flavor-profile-wise. It had a little potato cake with duck fat, red cabbage, some cocoa nibs, sour cherries, and chocolate mole. It just seemed like too much to me. I did really like the cocoa nibs, which are very trendy in foodie circles right now.
The beer, however, was outstanding. I've always been a fan of Chimay, but the Achel was like Chimay taken up about 10 steps to perfection. A really full flavor, with a nice acidic background, this stuff rocks. Evidently it won a 97 rating at this year's World Beer Championships. (Now that would be a fun event to attend...)
7: Entire Stout ice cream, date filled donuts, with Entire Stout.
This stout was very malty-tasting, almost like molasses, but not too sweet, and was both delicious to drink and fab in ice cream. I adored the little donuts, which reminded me, oddly, of hamentashen.
8: Fresh baked mustard-filled pretzels.
It's a testament to how tasty these are that Otis and I both said we were full, and yet ate these up in about three seconds.
All in all, the beer dinner was a remarkable and memorable evening. I don't think we'll be rushing out to drop that kind of cash on dinner any time soon, but it really was worth it. I'd much rather have the memories of a night like that, than a new pair of earrings, and I know Otis feels the same (if you insert some new thing he likes instead of earrings).
