| Tap and Mallet Dogfish Head Beer Dinner | |
Hot on the heels of our own beer and food pairing, we hit up a Dogfish Head themed one over at Tap and Mallet here in Rochester. Tap and Mallet has pairings once every three or four months. The last one we went to, last spring, was one of the best meals we’ve ever had in Rochester. All the beers for that one were from Victory Brewing. The main entrée was an absolutely amazing meat loaf, which is currently on Tap's menu in two different forms; as an entrée and as a sandwich. Both are wonderful.Regardless of how much we loved the Victory meal and how much we love Dogfish Head beer, we were actually quite close to skipping this event. See, it came with a relatively steep price tag of $65 (tax and gratuity included). That makes it one expensive meal, especially for Rochester, NY. We can't remember how much the Victory meal was for sure, but we think it was closer to $35, a no-brainer of a price. After some debate, we decided to go for it anyway. The rationalization came with the thought that we would at least know whether these dinners at that price would be worth it in the future. My sister got in on the plan too and made the trip all the way up from Pittsburgh to attend. The price wasn't too much of a hurdle for others either. The dining room was packed. It was pretty evident that they sold it out. Here is our rundown of the courses and our thoughts on each. Pictures can be seen, in order, in the gallery section of this entry. -First Course- Asian Ahi Ceviche, served over Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar Blanched Broccoli Rappini Dogfish Head Chateau JiaHu Rate Beer | Beer Advocate This was the scariest item on the menu for me. As much as I love trying new and exciting things, fish is still something I have trouble getting behind, especially when it isn't cooked with heat. I'm not going to be able to type in here that I enjoyed the Ahi on its own, but the dish as a whole was quite good. It was like a great little starter salad. Someday, maybe I'll get over my obnoxious and mostly subconscious aversion to fish. -Mike I on the other hand, like fish. I have not been exposed to too much ceviche so was super excited to try Ahi Tuna. It had great flavor and I loved the salad of purple cabbage and bitter rappini (even if my dish was missing tomatoes). It pared wonderfully with the honey-like JiaHu, making it one of my new favorite beers! -Heather I love curry! I love spaghetti squash! I'm definitely making this for dinner soon, minus the mussels. The mussels were good because the curry overpowered them completely. The mussel texture was great and the overall presentation of the dish was beautiful. The two big flavors playing off the curry and the cask IPA didn't totally work for me. I think I would have enjoyed this beer more paired with something else or I was too distracted by the curry. I'm also not a cask fan but my sister-in-law loved it and ordered a pint on the side. -Heather This was the second time I had ever had mussels. The first time was also in a Tap and Mallet dish, paella that used to be on the menu. I had pretty much the same opinion each time; they were good, but nothing I found myself craving. As a whole though, I loved this dish. I look forward to trying Heather's take on the idea. The beer was also very good. I was a little disappointed to find out that 75 minute was just a blend of 60 and 90 minute. After the fact, I researched it and found out that much more is done than just mixing it. It was a very good beer. -Mike -Third Course- Columbian Shredded Beef Brisket over Jalapeño Cornbread with an Aji Sauce and Guacamole Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron Rate Beer | Beer Advocate The great kitchen team at Tap and Mallet knocked the main course out of the park again. The beef really did melt in my mouth. I loved the South American flavors. The cornbread had the perfect amount of heat to go with the refreshing guacamole. I want this dish on Tap's everyday menu. I asked for just that on Twitter and received the ambiguous response of "Def maybe." I'll keep my fingers crossed. I had never had the Palo Santo Marron before. It was definitely a strong beer and a nice pairing. It had the high-alcohol taste so many Dogfish Head beers have which will probably keep it off my "must buy" beer list. -Mike I love the idea of this dish. Who doesn't like brisket, cornbread, and guacamole! But mine was cold so I had a hard time truly enjoying it. I liked it, but as the main course, wished it were served hot. The spiciness of the food paired well with this strong beer. -Heather -Fourth Course- Comte and Gruyere Fondue served with an Artisan Pretzel Twist Dogfish Head Chicory Stout Rate Beer | Beer Advocate Cheese is a good thing with beer! This was tasty but the cheese to pretzel twist ratio was silly. I wasted wonderful fondue…so sad. -Heather Seriously, thinking about all the fondue that probably went in the trash sure is depressing. We all joked about eating the rest with a spoon. Dipping those two in the cheesey goodness was glorious though. -Mike -Fifth Course- Bitches Brew Black Currant Banburry Tart Dogfish Head Fort Imperial Raspberry Ale Rate Beer | Beer Advocate At this point in the meal I was quite full. It was sad that I had to force this nice dessert down a bit, but it was for the best. I appreciated the modest serving size. (It was probably a good thing I didn't eat more of that fondue.) Mixing the fresh raspberries with the tart really gave it a clean taste. It wasn't either too heavy or too sweet like so many desserts end up. I really liked it, although I didn't necessarily get any of the Bitches Brew beer taste. We had just had a bottle of Dogfish Fort over the holidays with family, so I knew what to expect there. Given that I was the driver for the evening, I took a quick sip, enough to enjoy the pairing, and then handed it off to my sister. She finished it off; though, based on the faces she gave, I'm not sure she actually enjoyed it. -Mike Well, I didn't polish off my main course like Mike, leaving me room for desert. This was interesting with the contrast of dried currants in the tart and fresh raspberries on the side. The pastry also had a nice texture. I was so happy to see a chocolate drizzle, a nice way to end the meal. Fort Imperial Raspberry Ale, what can I say, is a very strong raspberry desert beer, meant for small glasses. -Heather The meal was definitely good. There is no doubt about that. Tap's owner and cooks both admitted to some errors and to being over busy, and that was evident in the execution of a couple of the dishes. Overall, we were very happy we made the decision to go. Sadly though, if the dinners continue at that price, I don't think we'll be attending all of them. We'll have to pick and choose based on the menus and themes. 
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| By Mike on January 22, 2011 at 8:43pm EST | Topic(s): beer pairing dinner tap and mallet events restaurants |
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