Beer and food pairings

Are there any restaurants in the city that has beer and food pairings. Although I am a fod and wine lover, venturing out to finer brews intrest me. I like sweeter robust beers and lagers.

I think Hop Haus does but am not positive:

646 N Franklin St
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 467-4287

Tony_Spilotro wrote:I think Hop Haus does but am not positive

Hop Haus has a dozen or so "gourmet burgers" and each is listed on the menu paired with a recommended beer.

I can't recommend Hop Haus for food, although a few LTHers had better luck than I did.

I'd suggest trying Hopleaf instead and asking a server for recommendations. I bet they have some ideas.

I haven't been there in a while, but I remember Hot Chocolate having occasional beer and cheddar tastings.

Also, Unibroue has occasional beer and food tastings around town - you might want to get on their mailing list.

Hot Chocolate
1747 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago
(773) 489-1747

I don't think it's a regular thing but there is a 3 Floyds Dinner coming up this Monday at Vie. Here are the details, as sent to me in a recent e-mail:

Chef Paul Virant and Vie welcomes the Brewmasters

from Three Floyds Brewing Co. in Munster, IN.
Join us for a 7 course tasting menu with matching beers.

PASSED

beer braised littleneck clams

house made pretzel, cured ham, mustard

buttermilk soaked and fried frog legs

PickelHaube Pilsner



FIRST

deep fried lobster claw and spence farm ramp,

watercress, spring radish, malt vinegar
Gumballhead American Wheat Beer



SECOND

fried country cottage farm egg, house made morcilla,

werp farm frisee, fried spring onions, mustard vinaigrette
Robert the Bruce Scottish Ale



THIRD

beer and cheese soup with crawford farm fresh ham croque monsieur

Ham on Rye Smoked/Rye Beer



FOURTH

wood-grilled sturgeon, roasted barley, hen of the woods mushrooms, aioli

Brian Boru Red Ale



FIFTH

slow-cooked kilgus farm goat, egg noodles,

fava bean sauerkraut, preserved orange butter

Alpha King Pale Ale



SIXTH

rabbid rabbit sorbet



To FINISH

warm sticky toffee pudding, rhubarb, whipped organic crème fraiche

Decimator Double Bock



MIGNARDISE

chocolate truffle

Dark Lord Russian Imerial Stout


Monday, April 7, 2008
6:30pm Welcome Reception, 7:00 pm Dinner

Reservations should be made by calling Vie
708/ 246 - 2082
Space is limited.


$110 per person excluding tax and gratuity

It sounds amazing but unfortunately, the timing is bad for me.

=R=

A tip o' the goblet to ya, nr706. Thanks for the referral. =)

Anyone who is interested in subscribing to the "Uni-croue" event announcements list is welcome to PM me and I'll send you my address. Just F.Y.I., I'm currently planning my next pairing seminar at In Fine Spirits' new Wine Bar in Andersonville later this month. Details will be announced to the Uni-croue later this week.

Jerry's on Division has a beer recommendation listed with all of their specials. They have a top notch beer selection.

Jerry's on Division
1938 W. Division
www.jerryssandwiches.com

Otom and Moto will both do beer pairings for your set menus on request (tell Moto in advance; most of their cellar stock is down the block).

I know that Moto currently has a beer pairing with one course in their tasting menu. They use Unibroue's Trois Pistoles.

folks interested in beer and food pairings may wish to check out this event.

BeerAdvocate has a calendar of events on it that is probably the best place to find out about special beer dinners happening in the area. They also have suggestions on what beers go well with what cuisines that help you guide yourself when dining out/cooking.

In that same vein, Garret Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, has a a great book, The Brwemaster's Table, with a detailed list of beer pairings in the back. My brother, God bless him, took that list, shrunk it down to wallet size, and carries it with him to reference whenever he is dining out.

This is another site to check out.

Cafe Matou does them roughly quarterly. The next one is Thursday 17 April featuring beer made by the good folks at Piece.

Call for a reservation - they expect to sell out (and they don't do these events on Open Table)
http://cafematou.com/
(773) 384-8911


Cafe Matou
1846 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

folks interested in beer and food pairings might want to check out this event.

Just need to chime in here - Jon from Dine & Drink, Inc. (Volo, Paramount Room, Kitsch'n) - especially at the mention of Garrett Oliver. Paramount Room (on Milwaukee) has an incredible beer friendly menu and the staff is extremely knowledgeable and happy to give their food & beer pairing recommendations (try the Guinness Ice Cream "Black & Tan" Float). My Chef Partner Stephen Dunne and fellow Volo veteran Shawn Koch (Paramount Beverage Director) offer a dozen taps rotating regularly with Belgian, Craft, and Trappist brews (plus over 20 more bottles), and last month hosted its first Belgian and Craft Beer Dinner including Duvel, Ommegang, Maredsous, and Le Chouffe - all outstanding.

So besides offering beer flights nightly, and "shorty" 8oz drafts to sample with a mix of gourmet caliber food anytime... this month's food & beer pairing dinner actually features Garrett Oliver* (mentioned in the earlier post) and Brooklyn Brewery on April 28th.

*Oliver is the foremost authority in the United States on the subject of traditional beer, is a spokesman for the craft beer revolution, a member of the Board of Governors of Slow Food International, and an award-winning brewmaster and award-winning writer on the subject of food & beer pairing.

Check out the Paramount Room site for menus and more info on the food & beer pairing dinner coming up: http://www.paramountroom.com/index.html

Again, had to add my 2 cents, but I'd rather drink beer than talk about it. Cheers!