Ithaca Wild Game Night @ City Beer Hall

If you have not attended a Wild Game Night at The City Beer Hall, in Albany, you are missing one of the best food and beer pairs in this part of the world.  This dinner was even better than the Crossroads Brewery event two months ago.  Chef Dimitris was on his game.  I don't know many who can put out 120 wild boar chops cooked to perfection.  With extra waitstaff the food came out fast and hot.  Ithaca was able to prove they are more than just Flower Power.  Pairing beers from their Excelsior series helped.  The highlight for me was the last course.  Excelsior Brute Golden Sour Ale served with Venison Osso Bucco with marrow sauce over faro.

The food looked beautiful on the plates.  You can tell because even the owners are taking pictures  

 

Hudson Valley Hops at AIHA

Nice beer event at The Albany Institute of History & Art last Saturday the19th  David Carroll, the new Director of AIHA, said turn out was good for a new event like this and people were coming up to him and wanting to know more about beer making and hop growing in the region.  Breweries in attendance were Ommegang, Evans, Chatham and Keagan.  You know you are getting old when the sign for the first place you worked after college is in a museum's collection and you are out partying with your father in law.

Over at the TU Steve Says

Table Hopping Eat, drink and be candid By Steve Barnes | E-mail | About Table Hopping

Troy beer hall opens Saturday

May 16, 2012 at 10:14 am by Steve Barnes, senior writer

Broadway Brew Biergarten, the replacement for Broadway Brew in Troy, which was closed in mid-March as part of a two-month penalty ordered by the city, opens at noon Saturday (5/19). There will be 16 German and Belgian beers on draft plus 50 more beers in bottles. In a news release, owner Kareem Jandali says, “Broadway Brew Biergarten will be the only bar in Troy that will have picnic tables and free peanuts,” and promises, “As soon as you walk in, the décor and the authentic costumes the staff will be wearing will make you feel as if you were in Germany.”
The restaurant is located at 254 Broadway. More details on hours, menu and beer list when I have them. The Facebook page is here.

Pliny the Younger

Pliny the Younger over at SLATE

Ommegang throwing chef challenge

Ommegang throwing chef challenge

Eight Capital Region chefs will compete in the Ommegang Hop Chef Challenge in June, each preparing two dishes to pair with beer from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown. The evening is scheduled for 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, at the 11 North Pearl Event Centre in Albany. Dishes and beer pairings will be sampled by judges and the public. The lineup:

• Jaime Ortiz, corporate executive chef, Mazzone Hospitality
• Ric Orlando, chef-owner, New World Home Cooking and New World Bistro Bar
• Brian Bowden, executive chef, Creo
• Elliot Cunniff, executive chef, Colonie Golf & Country Club
• Rachel Mabb, Bitches Kitchen
• A.J. Jayapal, corporate director of food and beverage, Mallozzi Group
• Paul Ozimek, executive chef, Taste
• Marcus Guiliano, executive chef/owner, AromaThyme Bistro

The competition is part of campaign by Ommegang called Great Beer Deserves Great Food. Three such regional competitions are being held — in Albany, Washington and Philadelphia — and winning chefs will be invited to compete in a finale during the brewery’s Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival in August.
Tickets are $55 and are available online.

Can beer save America?

Take a look at this interesting story the bride found BY DAVID SIROTA over at SALON