Back to the Beer Bistro

February 14, 2007 by
Filed under: Uncategorized 

We returned to the Beer Bistro last night – we were there only a few days ago (see post) but that was for Winterlicious whereas this was for Valentine’s Day. (Yes, it was a day early but that was because Kerri had a girls’ night planned and I had badminton.)

We kicked off the evening with a bottle of Deus, which we promised ourselves we’d do having heard about it on our previous visit. It’s a Belgian beer (brewed at Bosteels) that’s transferred to the Champagne region of France where it’s treated much like a champagne with the bottles inverted and the yeast expunged and bottle recorked. [OK, so I stole most of that sentence from the description on the RateBeer.com web page for Deus.]

Given we were sitting in the kitchen again, Kerri asked Brian (the head chef) for suggestions for starters to pair with the Deus, especially as he’d been the one to mention the beer last time. We settled on steak tartare (seasoned with Belgian strong ale, fried quail egg, warm Cantillion toast, fresh horseradish), Pilsner Maki Roll (spicy blue crab salad with tempura, wasabi & soy) and Corn Dogs (duck leg confit, pineapple mustard, cherry beer ketchup). [I'm borrowing from their menu for the added information, in case you'd not guessed.]

For the main course, Kerri actually went with another starter: Bacon Wrapped Shrimps (bbq spice, herbs & Berkshire beer-bacon) while I had the Coq au Bière (nut brown ale-braised chicken, bacon, mushrooms, tarragon, creme fraiche dumplings). The chicken was very nice but to be honest I prefer the dumplings Kerri makes to the creme fraiche ones.

And for dessert, Kerri went with a bottle of Unibroue‘s Éphémère Pommes with three types of ice cream (Dragon Stout and Skor Bar; Barleywine Caramel and Spiced Pear; Peanut Butter Cup Früli Strawberry Jam). I went with the very chocolatey Rogue brewery’s chocolate stout (a 650ml bottle, which was bit too much) with Chocolate Peanut Butter Cappuccino (with Mill Street Coffee Porter and a crazy nut biscotti).

Yet again the food was very good, and it was nice that the kitchen staff recognised us – a week and a half isn’t all that long a time but I’m sure they see a lot of people. Kerri suggested we have our wedding anniversary here too, and bring a 1988 Chateu Mouton Rothschild … she and Brian kicked some ideas around and it looks like a date!

In the end the total damage (including tax + tip) was $220 … and a quarter of that was just the Deus!

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Comments

6 Comments on Back to the Beer Bistro

  1. Insaniac on Thu, 15th Feb 2007 7:05 am

    2. The Rogue chocolate stout is awesome! Have you tried Rogues’ Hazlenut Brown Ale? Its to die for.

    Lemme guess – Kerri had the Duck corn dogs.

  2. paul on Thu, 15th Feb 2007 7:15 am

    3. I don’t think I’ve tried the hazelnut – maybe another trip to Volo is needed? :)

    We shared the starters, so I had some of the duck too.

    I’ve not forgotten about your problem – I’ve not had time to look into it but hopefully tonight.

  3. Andrea on Fri, 16th Feb 2007 9:49 am

    4. I think I just wet myself.

    How were the cookies?

  4. paul on Wed, 21st Feb 2007 12:19 am

    5. They are great – I shared some but had enough left to bring them home.

  5. Andrea on Wed, 21st Feb 2007 9:10 am

    6. Just noticed your reference to Volo. You realize that it’s a block from where I live? I’ve had brunch there but never the beer, although I was impressed with the beer menu.
    (Maybe I should change my birthday drinking venue to Volo.)

  6. paul on Wed, 21st Feb 2007 1:50 pm

    7. It’s got a great beer selection (on a par with the Bier Markt or Beer Bistro) but it can be a bit pricey for a whole evening. (I wouldn’t object if you changed the venue but people who only drink domestic beer might.)

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