This blog is a little late seeing how the Hop Fest dinner was over 10 days ago, but the dinner this year was so good, I just needed to share it with you in hopes that if you are reading this next year you will make the decision to come.
This year's dinner was held at Blue BBQ in Chittenango. This is not your uncle's BBQ joint, at least it doesn't try to be. The dinner was set in the dining room of the restaurant which was closed to regular patrons that evening. (The bar area remained open with a full menu) The dining room is nicely appointed and it features chocolate walls with blue accent lighting. Nice tables and chairs were adorned with cloth napkins, glass goblets for water and five forks. Even I was curious about 5 forks, but it became clear really fast that we would need them all.
The premise of the Hop Fest paired brew dinner is to discover how various kinds of beers match up with a variety of foods. Tonight we would be trying 5 beers matched up with five courses. A young lady from Tri-Valley beverage was on hand to instruct us about the beers we were enjoying.
Now on to the dinner....
This year's dinner was held at Blue BBQ in Chittenango. This is not your uncle's BBQ joint, at least it doesn't try to be. The dinner was set in the dining room of the restaurant which was closed to regular patrons that evening. (The bar area remained open with a full menu) The dining room is nicely appointed and it features chocolate walls with blue accent lighting. Nice tables and chairs were adorned with cloth napkins, glass goblets for water and five forks. Even I was curious about 5 forks, but it became clear really fast that we would need them all.
The premise of the Hop Fest paired brew dinner is to discover how various kinds of beers match up with a variety of foods. Tonight we would be trying 5 beers matched up with five courses. A young lady from Tri-Valley beverage was on hand to instruct us about the beers we were enjoying.
Now on to the dinner....
The first course is pictured above. It came out and it looked awesome from the start. A note about Blue BBQ, Chef and Owner Bob Enigk is a Canastota native who has returned to Upstate New York to persue his culinary passions. The presentation, the taste, the thought put into the meal was all outstanding. Back to the first course. On the table in front of us was a bowl of clams that had been steamed in DogFish Head 60 Minute IPA. They were served in a garlic cream sauce and accompanied by a tasty bread stick. The clams were done perfectly and it was a wonderful start to the meal, but we still had no idea what was to come (a note to organizers -- table menus with the courses and pairings would have been a nice addition).
The 2nd course was a nice seasonal salad. It had smoked almonds and dried cherries on it. It was dressed with a nice vinagrette that was made from cherry beer. It was the Southern Tier Brewing Saison that was used for the dressing and it was served with that beer to taste as well.
The third course, just might have been my favorite. It was a pulled pork cannelloni with a creamy smoked gouda cheese sauce on top. It was fantastic. The pulled pork at Blue BBQ is award winning to start with, but pairing it with the cannelloni and topping it with fried leeks made for a very tasty dish. That course was paired with a Brooklyn Lager.
The fourth course was a Grilled Baby Tenderloin, served with beer and bacon mashed potatoes, crimini mushrooms, and Brooklyn Brown Ale Steak Sauce. A glass of the brown ale was the perfect accompaniment to this dish and boy did the flavors bounce off our taste buds.
Topping off the night was dessert. Everyone loves dessert and it was no different this evening. From the kitchen came a decedant piece of Chocolate cake which paired with a glass of Raspberry Beer again from Southern Tier. In the glass were frozen raspberries to act as ice cubes.
Without a doubt the meal was worth every penny of the $45 ticket to attend. We had friends in from Canada who immediately asked if they could come again next year. We said of course. So if you are thinking about the 2011 Hop Fest dinner and if it is worth it, yes it is.
The 2nd course was a nice seasonal salad. It had smoked almonds and dried cherries on it. It was dressed with a nice vinagrette that was made from cherry beer. It was the Southern Tier Brewing Saison that was used for the dressing and it was served with that beer to taste as well.
The third course, just might have been my favorite. It was a pulled pork cannelloni with a creamy smoked gouda cheese sauce on top. It was fantastic. The pulled pork at Blue BBQ is award winning to start with, but pairing it with the cannelloni and topping it with fried leeks made for a very tasty dish. That course was paired with a Brooklyn Lager.
The fourth course was a Grilled Baby Tenderloin, served with beer and bacon mashed potatoes, crimini mushrooms, and Brooklyn Brown Ale Steak Sauce. A glass of the brown ale was the perfect accompaniment to this dish and boy did the flavors bounce off our taste buds.
Topping off the night was dessert. Everyone loves dessert and it was no different this evening. From the kitchen came a decedant piece of Chocolate cake which paired with a glass of Raspberry Beer again from Southern Tier. In the glass were frozen raspberries to act as ice cubes.
Without a doubt the meal was worth every penny of the $45 ticket to attend. We had friends in from Canada who immediately asked if they could come again next year. We said of course. So if you are thinking about the 2011 Hop Fest dinner and if it is worth it, yes it is.
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