Twisted Hippo - Saint Auggie's Day Feast

I had been to Twisted Hippo before and really liked it, so was excited to go to their St. Auggie's Day Feast.  Why would a brewery be celebrating the feat day of a Catholic Saint?  There are actually several reasons.  First, St. Augustine of Hippo is actually the patron saint of brewers.  Second, the mascot of Twisted Hippo, Pinky, is essentially a hippo, and third, Head Brewer and owner Karl Rutherford shares his birthday with the feast day of St.  Augustine.  The space is colorful and a little weird and we were seated at a couple of communal tables at the back of the main dining room.  That was decorated with a center planter full of tropical fruit.  There was a portable tap an infusion device set off to the side, which gave us the idea that they were going to do something special.  Things started out with Karl and his wife and partner, Marilee, telling the story of Twisted Hippo.  It started with Karl as a toddler running away on a pink plastic hippo, which became Pinky, next door to his grandmothers house.  It was here wear they also explained the connection to St. Augustine or St. Auggie.

 

We started out with a beer made for the feast, Ol' St. Auggie's Hoppy Farmhouse Ale with 3 variants: Hibiscus, which was very floral and surprisingly bitter, Mallorca Melon, which was very sweet, and Hop Infused, which was hoppy.  Of the four, I think that I preferred the Hibiscus variant.  Paired with the beer we were served Crispy Pig Ear Salad with Mixed and Microgreens, Green Olives, Crispy Pig Ears, and Hibiscus Ol' St. Auggie's Dressing.  This was served family-style and it was huge.  The greens were very fresh and the olives provided some saltiness.  The crispy pig ears were more tender than I would have expected.  There is a lot of cartilage in a pigs ear and they are frequently used as a dog's chew toy, so I would have it expected it to be leathery.  They were crunchy and chewy and had a nice pork flavor, but they were very edible and good.  

For our next course we were served an Okra Tagine with Okra, Tomatoes, Chermoula, Crispy Fried Onions, with a Crispy Baguette on the side.  Paired with this we had Wit Ever Man!  Belgian Wit.  Also served family-style and also huge, the tagine was another vegetarian dish originating in Morocco, which is important because St. Augustine was from North Africa.  Hippo was the ancient name of the Algerian City of Annaba.  This was a little spicy and very flavorful and despit the fact that there was a ton, I would have eaten more.

Our North African glutton fest continued with Beef Meatballs in a North African Tomato Sauce with Saffron Cous Cous and Cilantro Pesto served on the side.  This was paired with Ballooner Weisse Berliner Weisse.  This was also very tasty and flavorful, though with the saffron, it stained my beard.  With the amount of food we were being served, I was also getting kind of full.

Realistically, the last course could have been the main course, but the food kept on coming.  Our next course was another family-style feast in two parts.  We started out with Stoemp, a very rich, Belgian version of Mashed Potatoes combined with other root vegetables.  This version combined Mashed Potatoes with Leeks, Carrots, and Cabbage.  The stoemp was the side dish for the Braised Lamb Shanks braised with Pinky Toe Table Stout, Red Wine, and Herbs.  Paired with the Stoemp and the lamb shanks was the Chubby Monk Belgian Stout.  It was all good and very filling, but I had to limit my lamb intake if I was going to get to dessert.  The stoemp, though, I may have to make myself.

With many beer dinners, the heaviest beer is saved for last, and in many cases, that would be the stout.  As I noted, the stout was actually served with the main entree, so they came back a little and went with Run-AMZ Double Dry Hopped IPA.  This was served with a crazy Pavlova.  A Pavlova is a Meringue Dessert topped in Whipped Cream and topped with fruit.  It's like a neater version of an Eton Mess.  With this Pavlova, it had the typical Meringue and Whipped Cream and was topped with Figs, Spiced Mango Jam, Fresh Papaya, and Pomegranate, and garnished with fresh Mint.  While I was very full, by this point, I really enjoyed it.  I like both the beer and food at Twisted Hippo, whether it's on the regular menu or if it's part of a special dinner.  I will definitely return for some good food and drink, but I will especially return for a special dinner.

O.Noir - Montreal

When I went to Montreal, I not only looked for the best places to eat, but also those places that were unique to Montreal.  One of the places that I went to was a place called O.Noir, which served dinner in the dark.  The restaurant is located on a wide boulevard that has been made car free, so there is at least a walk of half a block even if you are dropped off on the corner of the street on which the restaurant is located.  The restaurant has a large storefront with glass windows looking into the lounge where you start your experience.  The space has a cement floor and a plank ceiling with inset lights.  There is a bar at the back of the room with hanging lights and a set of lockers off to one side where you are to store your cell phones, watches, and any other light making accessories.  It is in the lounge where you make your drink and dinner selections.  You have the option of ordering two or three courses. and there is also an option for every menu and drink selection to get a dealer's choice and find out after dinner what it was that you ate.  My thought was that knowing what you were getting would make it easier to wrap your head around what you were eating and drinking, so I went all in and ordered three courses and a cocktail, all dealer's choice.  Not only would I not know what I was getting, I wouldn't even know what to expect,  After I ordered, I was directed to a table to wait for my waiter, who was blind, who would direct me to my table. I was told to grab his shoulder and follow him.  The room was pitch black and I was seated at a two top next to a brick wall.  It was so dark that my eyes were seeing swirls of light trying to see something.  From the voices in the room, I would say that the room was crowded.  I heard French, of course, but I also heard English at at least 4 other tables, in addition to Spanish, and what sounded like Russian.  Those were the languages that I could recognize.  It was loud and there were a lot of people speaking, some in languages, that I didn't immediately recognize.

 After sitting in the dark and listening to the room and the conversations around me, there were a group of doctors from South Carolina and Florida sitting one table over, my cocktail was brought to me.  It was interesting. It started with Vodka and also used Creme de Violet, Egg White, Ginger, Simple Syrup, and was garnished with an Orange. I immediately recognized the egg white and could tell that it was a white liquor.  I knew that it wasn't gin and thought it was vodka, but I wasn't certain because of the floral flavors that came from the Creme de Violette and the spice of the ginger.  I also recognized that it was garnished with an orange.  While the flavors were familiar, the combination was not, but I did like it.

My Appetizer was a Turkey Croquet with Spicy Mayo and a Side Salad with Vinaigrette. This was interesting.  The croquette was the first thing that I found and I thought that it was some sort of fried meatball.  I ended up eating it with my hand because I had some difficulty cutting into it with my fork.  While I was eating it, I found the spicy mayo.  I figured it was a sauce for the meatball, so I dipped the meatball into it a few times.  What was left was solid enough that I was just able to grab it with my hand and put it in my mouth.  The side salad I found last and that was mostly eaten with my fork, though it did involve me using my other hand to put the greens onto my fork to eat them.  After the first course, I quickly realized that I would need to wash my hands at the end of the meal because I was going to need to use them more than I normally do when eating.

The main course was actually easier to eat (after I felt around with my hands a little bit).  It was Pork Osso Bucco with Mashed Potatoes and Crispy Kale.  The mashed potatoes and crispy kale were easy to eat by fork and the mashed potatoes were easy to recognize by taste.  The Kale, I was kind of clueless on.  The meat was tender and I immediately recognized it as pork, though I did not recognize that it was an osso bucco.  I was able to mostly cut it off the bone, but since I had mostly resigned myself to eating with my hands, I had no problem with picking the bone up and chewing the meat off of the bone that I was unable to cut off.

Dessert was a Cheesecake with Berries and an Oreo Crust.  With dessert, I wasn't exactly sure what I was eating, though I knew that I liked it.  I recognized berries, chocolate, and cream cheese, but I couldn't put it all together.  It probably didn't help that it came apart so easily that I ate the individual elements separately.

I really enjoyed my experience here.  I had done a dinner in the dark before in Chicago at a pop up in a private residence, but with that dinner we wore blindfolds and our menu was made to eat by hand, so it was a little less messy.  This was more like something that you would find in a restaurant which made it a bit more difficult to eat.  It was all good, but I definitely had to wash my hands after dinner.

Sauce and Bread Kitchen - Foraged Feast 2018

I like Sauce and Bread Kitchen, the Bakery/Hot Sauce factory/Cafe that does pizza on Fridays and the occasional dinner that you have to be on their mailing list to attend.  I am on their mailing list and have attended several of their dinners, but it has been a while, so I was happy to see their announcement for their Foraged Feast, a dinner where many of the ingredients used in the various dishes were foraged.  Looking at the menu beforehand, things looked very good, so I was pretty excited.  Dishes are served family style, though Sauce and Bread Kitchen is a BYOB, so anything that you want to drink, other than water and coffee at the end of the meal, you have to bring yourself.  Whether you want to share that is up to you.  I brought enough beer that I thought interesting that I was able to share some.  I brought an Ommegang Fire and Blood Red Ale with Ancho Chilies and Jaden James Monkey Butter Porter.  The Red Ale was good with a nice head and the Ancho Chili bite was very light.  The Peanut Butter Porter was weird, but I expected it to be weird.  It had a strong peanut aroma and finished with flavors of chocolate and coffee like many dark bears.  It was like eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup for breakfast.

We actually started with an Amuse Bouche, 3 Sisters Crostini with Hominy, Winter Squash, and Chickpea Miso, and Radish, crisped on Pickle Bread, with Ramp Giardinera.  As with all amuse bouches, it was a little bite of wonderfulness.  I tried the crostini with and without the giardinera and it was good either way, though better with the giardinera.

Our first actual course was a Hawks Wing Bao with Smoked Dryad Saddle Mushrooms, Sweet Onion in Peanut Miso BBQ Sauce, Shaved Asparagus/Birds Eye Pepper Salad, Wild Chive, and Chili Peanuts.  It was fresh, spicy, crisp, and crunchy, and was a lot easier to eat than I expected.  I would have expected that trying to hold it together while trying to eat it, might have squeezed many of the vegetables out.  This did happen to a small extent, but for the most part, it stayed in the bun.

After our first course of mushrooms, we continued with another course of mushrooms.  We were served Wild Mushroom Pasta with Chilled Buckwheat Noodles, Ramp Olive Oil, Poached Morels, Sauteed Morels and Golden Oyster Mushrooms, and Fried Pepitas.  This was really good.  It was tender, nutty, and the ramp olive oil acted as a nice vinaigrette.  It reminded me of a vegetarian dish that I make every summer.

Our entree was our only dish that actually had meat and that was fine because everything else had been great, thus far.  We had a Choucroute.  Choucroute is the Alsatian version of Sauerkraut (and sausage).  This used a Venison Andouille Sausage.  While venison eaten at home is generally wild, venison found in a restaurant is generally farmed.  For the Choucroute itself, that was pretty wild, using Grilled Escarole and Ramp and Carrot Kimchi (the Korean version of Sauerkraut).  It was tart and flavorful with a little spice, though admittedly, the escarole was a little tough to eat.

For dessert we finished with a Financier Pistachio Vanilla Cake with Rhubarb Sorbet, a Candied Basswood Leaf, and an Edible Flower.  While the ice cream and cake were good, the best part about this was the candied basswood leaf.  It was sweet and very delicate with a lightly crisp texture.  The flower, also very delicate, unsurprisingly tasted like a flower.

This dinner was a lot of fun and I would be happy to see what they come up with next year.  

  

Midland Brewing Company

 

Friends know that I like to visit local breweries.  Midland Brewing Company is in my hometown of Midland, Michigan and has been in operation since 2010.  When it first opened, it was little more than a taproom that served nothing more than beer, some of which were pretty good.  As it grew, they started canning beers for distribution and needed to employ a contract brewer to maintain demand.  They have undergone an expansion in the last couple of years, temporarily closing their brewpub/taproom, so they could expand brewing capacity and to install a kitchen so they could serve food.  They reopened the brewpub last year and it has been upgraded a lot.  The place has the look of a lodge with wooden furniture, wooden floors, and a wooden bar, referencing Midland's logging past.  There are also many logging tools hung on the walls as decoration and to further emphasize Midland's logging past.  

Having been here a few times, I have tried many of their beers and have developed a few favorites.  When I go in, I will order a flight so I can try something new as well as get back to my favorites.  Their serving tray for flights is pretty cool.  It has a chalk board on the front of the tray so it's easy to keep track of which beer is which.  For my flight, I went with favorites Lime Rock 2.0 IPA, Copper Harbor Ale, Margarita Gose, and a new and weird one I had not tried yet, the Peanut Butter Porter (whose actual name was Lumberjack Brawl Oatmeal Porter even though it also contained Peanut Butter).  All of the beers that I tried were pretty good.  The Lime Rock IPA was crisp with a citrus flavor that moderates the bitter.  The Copper Harbor is malty and has a flavor somewhere between a Red and a Golden Ale.  The Margarita Gose is light and tart with a salty finish, and the Lumberjack Brawl was rich and dark with a nice peanut butter finish.  Of the beers that I tried, my favorite fell between the Lime Rock 2.0 IPA and the Margarita Gose.

While I had been here a few times before, I had never actually eaten here.  I did look at the menu, saw the food coming out of the kitchen, and smelled the smells, and things really looked good, so I decided to stop for lunch one day when I was up there.  It does have the standard bar food: burgers, chicken sandwiches, fries, and chicken wings, but it also has fish and chips, flatbreads, barbecue, a meat and cheese board, and tacos, among other good stuff.  I decided to start things off with some Fried Pickles that were served in a basket with some Spicy Aioli on the side.  The pickles had a nice crispy breading, but still retained their juicy pickleness.  The Aioli was creamy and had a nice burn to it.  It did provide a nice complement to the pickle flavor, though the pickles were also good on their own.   The basket contained a nice number of slices and even though I did share them, there was plenty for all.

There were many good things on the menu that I considered, though I decided to go light and ordered Fish Tacos.  They were done with Ancho-Rubbed Cod, Shredded Lettuce, Pineapple Pico de Gallo, and Chipotle Cream Sauce, on Flame Grilled Flour Tortillas.  Ancho Chiles are spicy, but they are one of the milder spicy chiles, so while they did add some spice to the fish, it wasn't overwhelming and added a nice burn.  The Chipotle Cream Sauce, made from smoked jalapenos added a warm and smoky spice to it.  The pineapple in the pico de gallo moderated the spice and added a nice citrus finush that went well with the cod.  There were three tacos served, which provided a nice and hearty meal.

I like the beer here at Midland Brewing Company, so I will return just for that to see what's new.  the great food just makes it easier to come here.  I will definitely have to return for the barbecue, the charcuterie, and the flatbreads.   

Hopewell Brewing Monday Dinner with Wood

 

 I have been to Hopewell Brewing's Monday Night Dinner several times.  The brewery invites friends who are chefs at pretty good restaurants around town to prepare a private dinner at the brewery where the brewery will provide the beer.  It's like the beer dinners that are done at many restaurants except in this case, it is the brewery that is the host and the restaurant that is the guest.  In this case, the brewery invited Wood to do dinner there.  I have been to Wood for brunch and for a benefit dinner and I have had bites of their food at other benefits, but I have never been for dinner.  With the tastes I have had of their food, I do know that it's very good, and they are on my list for dinner sometime.  As was typical we started out with First Lager, their first beer (surprisingly).  I have mentioned in the past that the pub space is kind of plain, a friend actually used the word sterile, though I don't know if I would go that far.  There is a window into the brewing area in the back of the pub looking at three large vessels, one with googly eyes.

In past dinners, the beers were paired with the courses.  For this dinner, things were a little looser.  We were given four beer tickets to choose our own beers and to make our own pairings, and while many restaurants served four course meals (family style), the guys from Wood served more than 4 items.  Some, it could be argued, could be paired together to make a single course, but where exactly one course ended and the next would then begin is kind of unclear.We started out with Foie Gras Biscuits served with Honey Butter and Braised Collard Greens with Spanish Morcilla (Blood) Sausage.  The muffins were very good, though where the foie gras may have been used is unclear.  my only thought is that because it has a very high fat content, it at least partially substituted for the butter that would normally be used.  They were light and fluffy and tasted good with the honey butter.  As far as the collard greens are concerned, I am generally not a fan of greens of that type because, to me, the leaves are too stiff and they frequently have a strong flavor.  With the Morcilla Sausage, though, the fat tenderized the greens and provided some very nice flavor.  My first beer with dinner was the Side Salad Grisette (a low alcohol Belgian style, similar to a saison, with a mildly tart and funky flavor) which was very good and went well with the greens.

Our next set of courses, we were served Hoppin' John with Sausage, Marinated Fingerling Potatoes, and I had a Take Care Biere de Miel.  Hoppin' John is a Low Country Southern dish featuring Black Eyed Peas and Rice.  Wood is generally, a French inflected restaurant, though this dinner seemed largely Southern, I'm not sure how that decision was made, but it was good.  I'm not sure what the sausage was but it was tender and peppery and the Hoppin' John was tender and flavorful.  The potatoes were perfectly tender and seemed to be prepared with a lot of greens which enhanced the flavor.  I had had Take Care before and knew that I liked it.  A biere de miel is another Belgian style similar to a saison, but using honey.  It isn't exceptionally sweet, but has a nice head and a good malty character.

Our main course was pork, specifically, a Braised Pork Saddle taken from a whole pig that was carved just before service.  It was incredibly tender, sweet, and very flavorful.  There was also a Carolina Mustard Style Barbecue Sauce that was served on the side, but the pork was so good, that I never got around to trying it with the barbecue sauce or even the barbecue sauce on it's own, for that matter.

 After the pork, we arrived at dessert and as with many desserts, it was paired with a dark beer by the brewery.  We were served Hopewell Deluxe, an Imperial Coffee Stout made with Metric Coffee and served out of bombers as opposed to the other beers that were on tap.  It was very full bodied and had a great coffee flavor and it did go well with the Snickerdoodle Cookies and the Apple Crisp that we were served for dessert.  The cookies were soft and had the slightest tart flavor, and the Apple Crisp was fried apples topped with biscuit dough.  It was good, but I prefer my crisps with a granola topping.  After finishing dessert, I had only used two beer tickets of the four that I was given so I decided to finish with a fruity beer.  Ya Filthy Animal is a Tart Red Ale brewed with Spices, Black Currants, and Plums modeled after the mulled wines that are served in the winter time.  It was a very good finish to a very good dinner.  I enjoyed myself,the food, and the beer.  I will most certainly return at least for a beer to Hopewell, and Wood will move up on my places to go for dinner.     

Dixie

On the surface, it may not have made a lot of sense to visit a new restaurant on the day that Game 7 of the World Series is happening, but when you consider that the place has gotten a lot of buzz and might seat 32 people at most, it makes a bit more sense.  Dixie is located in Wicker Park in the same place as the former popular and successful restaurants, Scylla (Stephanie Izard's first restaurant) and Takashi (Chef Takashi Nagahashi's (Slurping Turtle) namesake fine dining restaurant).  While I was sad to see Scylla close, I was happy with Takashi.  I am hoping that Dixie follows that pattern.  As far as design is concerned, there was very little change between Scylla and Takashi.  With Dixie, however, they made many changes, the primary being to move the entrance to the gangway on the side of the building.  There is a new front porch with rocking chairs and a door, but the door has a sign that says, "In the south, we always enter a restaurant from the side." with an arrow pointing to the gangway.  The new entrance is toward the rear of the building under a stairway to the cocktail lounge 1952 1/2 which occupies the space that the upstairs dining room once did.  The entrance is where the kitchen once was.  In it's place is a bar and lounge.  The original dining room is similar in shape to what it was, but the kitchen has been moved to an area formerly occupied by a bar (widened and lengthened) and there is counter seating looking into the windowed kitchen.  In the old restaurant, there was a stairway in front of the bar leading to an upstairs dining room and banquette seating on the opposite wall.  In the new restaurant, the stairway is still there, leading to the previously mentioned cocktail lounge, 1952 1/2, but the banquette seating has been shortened and small 2 person booths have been added.  There has been a table underneath the stairs and that still remains.  There are many knick knacks and pictures hanging on the walls.  My booth had several old newspaper ads which were interesting to look at.  Looking at the menu, I saw a lot of stuff that looked really interesting and good, so I decided to start with a cocktail (which is made by 1952 1/2).  As this is a Southern inspired restaurant, the cocktail list leans toward whiskey and they have a pretty extensive whiskey list.  While I will drink and enjoy whiskey cocktails, I prefer gin and they did have a nice looking gin cocktail on the menu, so that is the way that I went.  The drink I ordered was called James River (which is a major river in Virginia, starting in the Appalachians and ending in Chesapeake) and it had Hayman's Navy Strength Gin, Manzanilla (a sherry with the flavor of Chamomile (also mazanilla), a hop cordial (white liquor infused with hops), pineapple, and lime.  It was strong with a pronounced floral and botanical flavor which fit well with the hop flavor.  The pineapple and lime gave it a tart and tropical flavor and it all came together very well.

While I enjoyed my first cocktail, I decided on my dinner.  I started with a Deviled Crab Beignet which was Deviled Snow Crab in a light and crispy Bun with Collard Greens, Hidalgo Peppers, lots of Butter, and a Scallion garnish.  This was one of my favorite dishes this year.  The beignet was light, crisp, and buttery, with a very airy interior filled with plenty of shredded snow crab.  Hidalgo peppers are a close cousin to a Habanero  and while they are spicy, they aren't nearly as spicy as a regular habanero.  Spread around the beignet, they provided both color and a little spice which enhanced the overall flavor.  the collards and scallions provided some vegetal flavors to add to the bitter side of the dish.

My second appetizer I had previously tasted at the Meals on Wheels Celebrity Chef Ball and wanted to try it again.  It was a Southern spin on a very popular Mediterranean dish and was very good itself.  It was a Boiled Peanut Hummus with Boiled Peanuts (obviously), Carrots, Baby Cilantro, and Chicory.  Boiled Peanuts definitely have a different texture than roasted peanuts, but they also have a different flavor which is kind of a cross between chickpeas and peanuts.  The carrots were fresh cut and were to be eaten with the hummus like a dip (like they are with regular hummus) and the chicory and cilantro add some depth of flavor with some bitterness.

Before I continued with my entree, I ordered another cocktail.  I generally do not repeat cocktails and I wasn't in the mood for whiskey, so I explored the menu.  There was another gin drink, but I decided to do something different and ordered a drink called Grounds for Divorce.  It started with Aged Apple Brandy, Rojo Vermut (Spanish Red Vermouth), Bitters de Torino, Cream Sherry, Fig Bitters, and a Maraschino Cherry skewer as a garnish.  I will say that while it wasn't bad, there was too much of the wrong type of bitter.  I did finish it, although I probably will not order it again.

The chef behind this restaurant, Charlie McKenna, is originally from Charleston South Carolina, which gives him bonafides in the world of Southern Cuisine.  He has also been the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest Grand Champion at Memphis in May as well as finishing in the top five several years in a row, and running Lillie's Q so he also knows his barbecue.  I had no problem ordering the Barbecued Ribs on the menu here.  The ribs at Dixie were pretty different from other ribs I have had in the past, but they were still very good.  The ribs were smoked (as good ribs should be) were topped with Ground Peanuts and Scallions, coated with a light Persimmon Barbecue, and sat on top thinly sliced Persimmons.  The meat was tender and flavorful with a little resistance coming off the bone.  The persimmon gave it light sweet and tart flavor and the and the peanuts complemented the pork flavor. 

For dessert, I went with a Southern classic:  The Chocolate Chess Pie.  It had a Saltine Crust, used Sorghum Molasses, and had plenty of Whipped Cream on the side.  It was dense and sweet with a little saltiness from the Saltines and provided for a great finish to the meal.  While I am sad that takashi closed.  Dixie is a very good replacement.  I am very happy to have gone here and would gladly return.