I really like
Forbidden Root Brewery. Their base beers generally start out exploring Belgian styles, though they also do a lot of IPAs. Having said that, comparing their finished beers to the starting beer is like comparing Vodka to Gin. While gin starts as a basic clear liquor, the addition of botanicals makes it a completely different thing. The same can be said of the beers of Forbidden Root. They work with some very standard and recognizable styles, but the addition of different botanicals changes them significantly from where they start. In addition to their creative beers, they have an interesting food menu in their brewpub and regularly host beer dinners where the kitchen can play and the brewery can pair their interesting beers more directly to the interesting food coming out of the kitchen. Their last beer dinner of the year was a Southern-style Dinner where the chef could showcase the food that he grew up with. The dining room has a large 4 sided bar in the center which is full service, but there are also tables on either side of the bar (the entrance is at the front and the brewing area/kitchen is at the rear of the space). When I have dined (and drank) here, I have sat both at the bar and on either side. There is a large communal table in a semi-private hall in the back of the space that sits in front of the brewery (and next to the kitchen) where the beer dinners take place. I sat on one end of the table where I could see everything, though it did put me, at times, at a distance to the food that was being served.
We started out with an Amuse Bouche with its own beer pairing, Collaborade, a German-Style Wheat Beer that was served with a Shrimp Hush Puppy with Creole Remoulade and Chives. The yeast in many wheat beers will give a beer the flavor of bananas. While that was there, there was a lot of Lemongrass added which gave this beer a lemon flavor without being exceptionally sour. The hush puppy was crisp and had a lot of shrimp flavor, which went well with the lemony flavor of the beer. The remoulade, a French-made condiment with a mayonnaise base similar to tartar sauce, but with Stone Ground Mustard, spices and Red Pepper, added a nice spice and went well with the chopped shrimp in the hush puppy.
Our first official course started with the beer as did most of the courses. We were served Atomic Child, a New England-style IPA which was actually less hazy than other NEIPAs that I've tried. It also was brewed with White Grapes and had a definite grape finish. Paired with this were the Fried Green Tomatoes with Black Eyed Peas, Pickled Shrimp, Buttermilk Vinaigrette, and Tobasco Vinaigrette. It was crunchy on the outside, very juicy on the inside, and had a nice tart flavor and the two vinaigrettes added a nice sour and spicy flavor that went well with both the tart tomato and the grape flavor of the IPA.
The first entree was some Fried Chicken which has been popular in Chicago for the last few years, Nashville Hot Chicken, which was served with a Pullman Loaf, Slaw, and a Dill Pickle. The chicken was paired with 200 Units Golden Ale, a good golden ale, but one of the most standard takes on a beer that they do. The heat in Nashville Hot Chicken can vary widely. Some is barely hot and some is so hot that you can barely eat it. This was very hot. The crust was very crispy and the meat was nicely juicy. It was hot, but it wasn't so hot that I couldn't finish it, though I did have to eat it slowly. The pickles and bread did help to cut the heat somewhat.
After what I had eaten so far, I was starting to get full. The food at this point was very good and there were two courses left, so onward I went. The second entree was essentially the signature course and it kind of blew the diners away. It started inauspiciously with their Hoodie Weather Oak Aged Vienna Lager. Shortly after, they brought out a board with slices of Texas Toast and Grilled Lemon. This was obviously not the entree, but it was good enough that the kitchen had to bring out another loaf. The Vienna Lager had a nice oak flavor and was good enough that I forgot to take a picture of it until I was almost finished. By that time, the star had arrived. It was a Low Country Boil, a large pot of seafood and potatoes served in the broth made from the boil. Included in the boil were, Mussels, Prawns, Andouille Sausage, Corn, Red Potatoes, more Grilled Lemons, and Fennel. This was really good and while there were some people that had been getting boxes for previous dishes, this was not something that would have traveled well in a cardboard box. It was really good and the pan sat on the table for a while while we worked on it.
And then came dessert. Most of the table was very full by this time, but after what had been a very good dinner so far, no one was going to turn away before having it. There was a small pause, which was actually kind of a good thing, so people's stomach could kind of reset. The beer came out which was a Basil Raspberry Hefeweisen and the chef came out shortly thereafter to tell us that he had had to do some improvisation because the dessert wasn't coming together as he had hoped. On the menu for dessert was Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream. Unfortunately, the Ice Cream Machine decided to die on that day, so they had to try other methods that ended up not working. We were served Mini Apple Pies, which were very good with Vanilla Ice Cream, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, and a Brown Sugar Crumble. While it wasn't what the chef had hoped to serve, it was still very good and served as a good finish to a very good meal. I like both the beer and food at the Forbidden Root Brewpub and will definitely return for more of the same.
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