June 1, 2008 - June 7, 2008

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Free beer Fridays: Sam Adams Longshot Grape Pale Ale

Filed under: Product Review

Another Friday, another six pack of free beer sits in my office. This time, Sam Adams has bestowed an intriguing concoction: Longshot Grape Pale Ale.

I have to admit, my officemates and I were a little wary. Would it be a "longshot" that we would enjoy it? Would it taste like a weird combo of grape soda and beer? In small quantities I have enjoyed beers with fruity undertones, though some walk a fine line, as if the brew couldn’t decide whether it was a wine cooler or a Miller Lite. What follows is a transcript of our sampling of Sam Adams Longshot Grape Ale.

Ward Rubrecht: Aw, this doesn’t even taste like grape.

Ben Palosaari: No, it tastes like Welch’s Grape Juice that has been left in the sun.

Jeff Severns Guntzel: I do taste the grape. It’s like while I was at the restroom some kid dropped a lollipop in my beer.

Jessica Armbruster: I barely taste the grape, but I’m impressed. It’s a decent beer. They went the subtle route as opposed to some sort of Puckers plus beer merger.

JSG: I am interested in the fact that they sweetened it with maple syrup. That’s classy.

BP: No, if I were in a restaurant, I would send this back.

WR: I’m not bothered by it. I wouldn’t throw it out, as evidenced by the fact that I haven’t yet.

BP: It could have been worse. At least it’s not raisin beer: “Two scoops!”

(Nate Patrin enters the room)

NP: If you hadn’t actually told me there was grape in this, I wouldn’t have noticed.

BP: So, here’s a question: Suddenly everyone in the world has died. Yet you live on. What is the first alcoholic beverage you would drink?

JA: Maybe some classy tequila. Or a black ‘n’ tan.

JSG: Frankly, I’d probably weep.

NP: I would go for the most expensive vodka I could find. Then I’d go for the most expensive orange juice. I would then make the most expensive screwdiver. Ever.

Posted by Jessica Armbruster at June 6, 2008 5:52 PM | Comments (1)

 

Drink of the Week: Prince Albert

Filed under: Drink of the Week

Prince Albert
La Belle Vie
Earl Grey-infused gin, tonic, and a lemon
$11.00

With its blue-blood sensibilities, this elegant cocktail is more likely to call to mind Queen Victoria's husband or a Saskatchewan city than any unfortunate associations with male genital piercing. La Belle Vie bartender Johnny Michaels, one of the top cocktail craftsmen in town, ingeniously infuses the gin for this drink with Earl Grey tea, such that hints of bergamot orange marry with juniper to give the drink an aroma of aristocracy that's far more sophisticated than the typical g&t. If $11 seems steep for a drink, know that Michaels pours 'em strong: If you're a buck seventy five, it'll give a good buzz; a buck and a quarter, you'd better surrender the keys.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at June 6, 2008 5:35 AM | Comments (1)

 

Balsamic Vinegar on Ice Cream

Filed under: Food

While visiting Madison last weekend, I managed to stumble into Vom Fass, the German oil, vinegar, grappa, rum and Scotch store where everything is available in sample form. More US franchises are on the way, and if God truly loves us, He'll park one of those puppies in Minneapolis or St. Paul.

The most vivid sample turned out to be a mango balsamic vinegar that screamed its mango force onto my palette with the intensity of an enraged Bobby Knight.

Clearly, this stuff was going to be clutch in the kitchen. Marinades, salads... mango to the nth power was in the offing.

As it turns out, splashing flavored balsamic vinegar on vanilla ice cream may be the best move of all. The acidic spike of the vinegar and the assertive presence of the allied flavor work wonders when pitted against the laid-back sweetness of the ice cream. The ice cream is a canvas; the flavored balsamic is neon-bright paint. A little scoop (using a hemispherical measuring spoon) and a splash team up to make a great post-dinner refresher.

It's hard to go wrong in terms of the balsamic you use; although I'm partial to fruit flavored vinegars, even wine-style balsamics can be used to assemble a wicked simple and elegant summer dessert.

Posted by James Norton at June 5, 2008 11:36 AM | Comments (3)

 

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Filming at BLB Tomorrow

Filed under: Events

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Food Network's examination of the nation's quirky eateries, will be filming with host Guy Fieri from noon- 5 p.m. with free beer, cocktails, and food. Plus, you might finally get to make a withdrawal from your 15 minutes of fame while you scarf down a Pulled Pastures a Plenty Pork sandwich or toss back a white Russian.

Posted by Ben Palosaari at June 4, 2008 2:17 PM | Comments (4)

 

Make It a Date: Sauced

Filed under: Restaurants

1. Get Arty
Across the street from Sauced, the Warren is a gallery/performance space that exhibits the work of neighborhood photographers, painters, and sculptors, and more. Workhouse Theater, a community theater group based in Camden often performs at the Warren. They just finished a run of ‘Night Mother by Marsha Norman and have performed everything from No Exit by Jean Paul Satre to Scenes from a Christmas Carol by Valerie Borey and Charles Dickens. Tickets are usually priced around $10. Check their website for upcoming shows.

2. Take a Stroll
Walk along the wide, tree-lined, 3-mile-long parkway, Victory Memorial Drive. The boulevard was designed to recognize the lives of local men who served in World War I, with 568 elm trees planted to comemorate the soldiers from Hennepin County who gave their lives. The paved path wraps around to the north and west of Sauced and it's conducive for bike-riding, stroller-pushing, and hand-holding.

3. Dessert To-Go
Walk down to 42nd and Thomas and stop in at Papa's Pizza and Pasta. Papa's recently opened a takeout deli and now serves a rotating assortment eight different kinds of Italian gelato.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at June 3, 2008 6:00 PM | Comments (1)

 

Special Drinks of the Week: the Clinton Concession edition

Filed under: Drink of the Week

Tonight, Twin Cities denizens, we have a front seat at living history -- and who wants to face history sober? Not you, not me, and probably not Hillary Clinton either.

If the reports are correct, Clinton will concede that Barack Obama has won enough delegates to secure the nomination. His speech tonight in St. Paul will serve as notice of victory. If you're like us (and God help you if you are), you'll want to be awash in liquid refreshment for this moment. Here are five cocktails to get the fuse of democracy lit inside you.

5. The Clinton Concession: Angostura Bitters, sour mix, Southern Comfort, and Red Bull. Garnish with hazelnuts and lots of ice.

Besides the obvious reasons for including bitters, Trinidadians use water and the Angostura variety to cure an upset stomach. Hillary herself might do well with that folk remedy tonight. The nuts are, of course, for Bill. Southern Comfort is in memory of Clinton's "southern strategy" of appealing to white folks. Red Bull is so she may retain energy to campaign on regardless. Which foreshadows the last drink ...

4. The Clinton Long Island Ice Tea
1 part tequila
1 part rum
1 part gin
1 part triple sec
1 1/2 parts sweet and sour mix
1 splash Coca-Cola®

In honor of Clinton returning to her job as senator from New York. A regular Long Island Ice Tea is usually also made with vodka, but this recipe comes up one ingredient short.

3. The Clintonini
1-1/2 oz vodka
1 oz. Sour Grape Kool-Aid

On a night like this, Hills will need a stiff drink. Terry McAuliffe has noted that she can really knock 'em back, and she'll need a no-chaser number like this one. As for the Kool-Aid, she's been drinking it this far -- why stop now? Sour Grape flavor for effect.

2. The Faux Congratulation: Alexis Bailly Ice Wine, garnished with James Carville's tears.

This is what Hillary may use to toast the Democratic nominee. Ice wine is sweet and appropriate for a "cheers," but is also forged in cold. The Carville tears are rare and expensive, but worth every penny.

1. The Fight On: Absinthe (complete with wormwood) chased with Irish coffee.

In case the reports are erroneous and Hillary chooses to stay the course, she'll need absinthe -- the real stuff, with the hallucinogenic ingredient -- and all the caffeine and booze a body can handle. Bottoms up!

Posted by Jeff Shaw at June 3, 2008 11:26 AM | Comments (3)

 

Straight Talk About Chicken Wings

Filed under: Restaurants

While driving around St. Paul yesterday, a restaurant awning caught my eye: "Cora's Best Chicken Wings." "Best" was underlined. Normally this kind of gastronomic smacktalk would be merely intriguing, but coming hard on the heels of a column wherein I'd proclaimed Chelly's chicken wings the best in the Twin Cities, it was seriously disconcerting. What if Cora's wings were better?

Two wings cost a mere $1.82, a good price, if nothing else. But the result was lackluster. The sticky, burnt-caramel, Chinese-restaurant tasting glaze was relatively yummy, but it concealed the somewhat dried out and mediocre chicken flesh that most wings are built upon. These wings were not the "best." They were merely OK.

Happenstance (i.e. a sudden desire to browse Ax-Man Surplus) then brought me to JJ Fish & Chicken at 1647 University Ave. in St. Paul.

The wings from Fish & Chicken had a dry, almost sandy breading, but they were fried to order (and thus super hot) and relatively tender. The meat was moist, and the hot sauce that came with the wings had a nice, serious burn to it without being purely abusive. All in all: a contest with Chelly's, but a contest that Chelly's wins. It's hard not to favor Chelly's spice-laden breading, and its luxurious quality of chicken.

There are, undoubtedly, more wings out there to be tried, but for now... Chelly's stays atop the mountain, proud and victorious.

Posted by James Norton at June 3, 2008 10:33 AM | Comments (4)

 

Food Events This Week

Filed under: Events , Events

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Taste of the Nation's fundraiser for Share Our Strength, an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger, takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the Chambers Hotel. Chefs from several noteworthy Twin Cities restaurants--Asher Miller of 20.21 Restaurant, Hector Ruiz of Café Ena, Indio, and El Meson, Sameh Wadi of Saffron, Rick Kimmes of Oceanaire, and more--will join Chambers chef Michael Agan in serving apps and cocktails. Cost is $38 per person and 100% of proceeds go towards fighting hunger.

Thursday, June 5
Bremer Bank is hosting a cookoff to benefit Second Harvest Heartland from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Seventh Street Park Place (between Wabasha and St. Peter) in downtown St. Paul.

Four cooking teams--made up of a motley crew that includes Russell Klein, chef at Meritage, Jason DeRusha of WCCO, and the St. Paul Saints pig mascot, Mudonna--will compete to create a nutritious dinner made of products typically found at a food shelf. How well Mudonna manages to slice and dice with hooves instead of hands remains to be seen...

Sunday, June 8
Slow Food Minnesota features chef Seth Bixby Daugherty (formerly of Cosmos) will be talking about serving good food in schools at a potluck picnic from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at Hidden Falls Park in Saint Paul

Bixby Daugherty and his wife, Karen, recently formed an organization called Real Food Initiatives to raise awareness about food issues in schools. Slow Food will provide meat and veggie burgers to grill after the discussion and asks guests to submit recipes for the dishes they bring for a new Slow Food Minnesota cookbook (they're looking for dishes made with traditional methods and local ingredients--not the sort of place where one wants to show up with a liter of Diet Coke and a box of Twinkies). Cost is $5 for members, $10 for non-members and due to limited accommodations, reservations are required and may be made online at
www.slowfoodmn.org or by mail (with check) to Barbara Horter, 14137 Whiterock Road, Burnsville, MN 55337.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at June 2, 2008 12:01 AM | Comments (0)

 

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