Above and Beyond Pub Food: Ommegang Beer Pairing Dinner at The Grange

There are some nights when having a good time comes easy, and there are others when you have to earn it. I stopped my appointments at 5:00 on Wednesday so I could get out of there before traffic got too bad. A quick check at 5:05 showed minor delays, so I grabbed my stuff, rushed to the elevator, and then out into the gloom. Threw everything in the car, turned the ignition, and…

…Nothing. It was dead, Jim. Deader than Marley (who, you must understand, was really dead at the beginning of the Christmas Carol). Deader than the proverbial doornail.

Okay, now that I've made a lovely metaphor salad, I'll continue. Our administrator tried to jump me off with her Mustang. Hubby was already coming to my rescue and rushed a little faster when I told him we couldn't figure out where to ground the black jumper cable clip (Honda engines are, apparently, made of plastic). Still nothing after he tried. So, we left it at the office and still got to the dinner with time to spare.

Oh, did I mention that the car and battery both came out of warranty at the end of December? How do they know??? As a writer, I'm offended that my car would do something so cliché.

So yes, I was ready for some beer. Ommegang is a New York brewery specializing in Belgian-style beers. The first beer, Belgian Wit (Witbier), was served with the hors d'oeuvres course, almond blueberry and goat cheese pinwheels, Salame Toscano, and Red Dragon, Ale, and Mustard Cheese from Wales. No, this wasn't typical bar food. Yes, it was all delicious and light enough to compliment the mild citrus in the beer.

The second course, jumbo lump crab cake with lemon mayo and parsnip crisps over roasted beet carpaccio, was served with and a little overwhelmed by the Ommegang Rouge, a very tart Flanders red ale. The first impression I got of the beer was of mustard in that it was tangy and a little buttery, and it had some funky blue cheese undertones. One of our table-mates thought it complimented the lemon mayo on the crab cake perfectly, but to me the pairing felt a little unbalanced, even with the strong flavor of the beets. The course itself had a fun variety of textures and flavors on its own.

Everyone agreed that the third course, braised duck leg with Yukon gold and sweet potato Dauphinoise, and roasted Brussels Sprouts, paired perfectly with the Ommegang Adoration, classified as Winter Strong Dark Belgian. At 10% ABV, this beer needed a course with some oomph, and it got it. The duck was cooked perfectly and served with crispy breadcrumbs on top to balance the tender texture. The Dauphinoise had an elegant balance of flavor with the two kinds of potato and cheese, and the Brussels Sprouts had been cooked to ideal "crisp tender." The beer on its own has gingery overtones and lots of spice, and the food cut the spice and smoothed it out, kind like what rich food does with a highly acidic wine.

Finally, dessert! I haven't stopped thinking about this one. I even got a picture, which got a little cut off at the bottom since I was shooting blind:

Yes, that's Chocolate Indulgence stout cake with grains of paradise ice cream. If you're not familiar with grains of paradise, they come from West Africa and used to be a substitute for pepper. In ice cream, they tasted kind of like rosemary and coriander, and it went really well with the chocolate cake. I'm not usually a stout person, but the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Belgian Strong Dark Ale wasn't bitter. Malty chocolate with a finish of barely sweetened cocoa kept me drinking it even though I was stuffed.

Was the beer dinner worth the car drama? Absolutely! Plus, Hubby and I got to have lunch together the next day when he replaced my battery. So it all worked out in the end.

If you haven't tried the Grange, or whatever the name will be after next weekend (long story, but it will be the same place and ownership with a new name), they're worth a pint and a snack. If you haven't tried them in a couple of years, the "new" chef definitely proved that he knows what he's doing. I look forward to the next time they let him play in the kitchen.

Next pairing dinner: February 24, Grain vs. Grape – 4 courses paired with 4 wines or beers; you can choose either or do a "Kitchen Sink" option with both.

Favorites from 2009 & Oeno-lutions

I originally wrote this on Christmas Day so I could get it to Geoff Koski for the Decatur News Online launch. I meant to post it yesterday, but never got to the computer. Yeah, I blame trying to catch up on the Doctor Who specials before David Tennant's final episode is aired tonight. So, here it is, a little late. I'll start over with resolution #3 today.

“Oh, I just love Decatur!

How many times have we heard this when we tell other Atlantans what part of town we live in? I just love Decatur, too, although parking can be tough. Still, it’s worth it, because whether you’re eating on the square or venturing off of it, there’s something for just about any taste and budget. Here are a few of my Decatur favorites from 2009:

Favorite “let’s just grab dinner out” place: If you hadn’t guessed this already, I’m a big fan of Feast Restaurant, by the railroad tracks near the intersection of Howard and Candler. Teri Rogers has set up this cozy spot with good food, a great wine list, and fantastic desserts. I would describe it as “bistro fare.” We went there for our five-year wedding anniversary in October, and they treated us wonderfully. They do great wine and beer dinners as well.

Favorite wine list: Yes, this would be Café Lily. We’ve never had a bad meal there, and they’ve got a great selection of zinfandels.

Favorite place to take parents (or have them take us): My in-laws are absolutely addicted to the mussels at Watershed. We never say no if they want to go there for dinner when they visit. You can even find famous violinist Kirsten Browning and me lunching there from time to time.

Favorite place to stop for a pint after Mass: How convenient for The Grange Public House to be located just down the hill from our church! Great selection of beer including some Belgians. Yes, there are places to find good beer in Decatur that aren’t the Brick Store (which I like a lot as well)!

Coffeecoffeecoffeewine! Yes, we love JavaMonkey. It’s a coffee shop with pretty good sandwiches and great desserts from Southern Sweets, which is another favorite lunch/dessert place. I did try a couple of other places for dessert this year, but none of them can hold a cake server to Southern Sweets.

Favorite newcomer: I’m baffled by the Atlanta food critics’ response to The Iberian Pig. Every “real person” (i.e., not professional food critic) I’ve talked to about it has loved it. I need to go back and try the entrees before I can write my review, but Hubby and I were impressed with the wine and tapas on our first visit.

(added since DNO launch) Favorite "let's do lunch!" place: I can't tell you how many times we'd driven by Duck's Cosmic Kitchen before we decided to stop in one morning for breakfast. I had a chocolate chip scone, and -- please pardon the cliche -- it was love at first bite. Since then, we've gotten bread, and it's become my standard lunch place. The pizzas and sandwiches are all really good, and the baked goods have never disappointed.

So now that I’ve hit the highlights of 2009, it’s time to turn my thoughts to what I look forward to in 2010. One of the reasons I started my blog was because I wanted to have a place for non-professional wine and food lovers to go to for thoughts and descriptions that aren’t incomprehensible if you don’t speak that wine expert dialect. That also means I have a lot to learn, and I recognize my shortcomings. So, here’s what I hope to accomplish in 2010, both for me as the Random Oenophile and for the blog:

1. Drink and write about more European wine. I fell short on this one last year and plan to do better. I need to not be so easily seduced by labels with those magic words Lodi, Willammette, or Walla Walla (although I do get excited by Bordeaux blends and wines from the Cotes du Ventoux region – that counts for something, right?). Have been more intrigued by French pinot noirs lately, so this is a good time for this resolution.

2. Following from number one, drink and write more about wine from interesting places. Like Texas. Yes, my annual professional conference takes me to San Antonio this year, and we’ll likely be going up to Austin as well in search of wineries. If you ask anyone from Texas, their state is way more interesting than any other state, so it counts toward this resolution. That will be another check on the “states I’ve visited wineries in” list.

3. Post a little more regularly on my blog. Going to aim for 1-2 wine/food posts per week plus one Friday Flash fiction post. Regularly updating my web site goes under this number, too. I’m also excited by a new opportunity, to contribute to Decatur News Online. I hope for that to be a mix of regular blog posts and other articles.

4. Have at least 10 pieces of writing, whether they’re novel queries, short stories, or other things out for submission at all times.

5. Take the train to work more.

What? You thought it was going to be lose 10 pounds? Not quite – I’ve got more wine to drink and more desserts to eat! Hopefully my regular visits to the Decatur/Dekalb YMCA and the half mile walk between home and the MARTA station and the other half mile walk between the station and work (for a total of 2 miles round-trip if you’re counting) will help to offset that.

Finally, I look forward to bringing you more wine notes from the Random Oenophile’s West Coast correspondent James Bassett as well as further notes and thoughts from Dan Browning, who helps me out when I can’t be in two places at once. Hubby has also expressed interest in more collaboration, which is exciting because he’s a very humorous writer.

Thank you, dear readers, for helping to make my blog a success in 2009! Here’s wishing you happy eating, drinking, reading, and writing in 2010!

Oenophile at Large: The Grange

I have a lot to catch up on, but I wanted to go ahead and post my review of The Grange.

Hubby and I arrived at Decatur's new Irish pub at about 6:45 and found it to be pretty crowded with only one table available outside and a couple of empty ones inside. We chose seats at the bar and took stock of what had changed since it was the Angel. The first thing we noticed was how much brighter it is inside. The formerly dark walls are painted white, and the carpets have been replaced by wooden floors. Or have they always been wooden? It's been so long since the Angel closed that we couldn't remember. Either way, it's now brighter, although the inside layout is the same with the bar in the center, booths and tables to either side, and the fireplace in the back. It looks a lot more open, but it should still be nice and cozy in the winter.

The Grange is run by four siblings who actually are Irish, and they're hands-on in the running of the restaurant. Colin, behind the bar, took care of us, and we saw the others around throughout the evening. The entire bar, all four sides, seemed a bit much for him to handle, and he and his sister noted that they'll be better prepared next weekend with a bar back. In general, they had only a few of the problems that one might expect for an opening night, for example, the kitchen getting behind and overwhelmed.

Hubby and I started with the Risotto Balls, which are Parmesan risotto with bits of bacon that are breaded and fried and served with marinara sauce. They're an original take on cheese sticks. The house salad is a small plate of lettuce, sliced cucumber, and tomato with a savory oil, vinegar, and tarragon dressing. Hubby got the burger, which was cooked medium and served with "chips" (fries), and he reported that the seasonings in the burger were very good. I had to wait a bit for my Guinness Braised Brisket, which was served with fr, er, chips and a side of peas and carrots. It was flavorful and tender, although I would have liked for some sort of sauce with the meat, perhaps some of the cooking liquid. One thing I appreciated about the brisket is that it wasn't a bit greasy. We made the acquaintance of a nice couple at the end of the bar, and they gave us reviews of their food. The Meat Pie was "a little dry," and the mashed potatoes could have used some gravy, but the Shepherd's Pie was very good. For the sake of completeness, I made a sacrifice for the blog and had the dessert "The Dubliners," which are profiteroles with Guinness ice cream and dark chocolate honey sauce, even though I was already full. They were excellent.

As for libations, yes, it's a pub, so the beer list is over twice as long as the wine list, but both have an interesting variety. I started the evening with a Chouffe pale ale and then went on to sample the house wines, which are from Twisted Winery just south of Lodi, California. I had the Merlot, which is a fairly straightforward berry bomb, the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is still fruity but has a little more complexity and a hint of caramel on the finish, and the Zinfandel, which is everything one might want in a Zin, especially after it breathes a bit, as one would expect from that region. All three wines were very smooth and went well with food. Hubby stuck with beer. Our new friends sampled the beer as well as wine and deemed the 2007 Astica Malbec to be "so-so," but the El Coto Crianza was good.

The bottom line is that once they make the necessary tweaks like putting an extra person behind the bar and getting the kitchen flow worked out, this should be a really fun place to hang out, eat, and drink. I really like that they chose an interesting label for the house wines and that the noise level, even at the bar, allowed for easy conversation. I think that the Irish sibs are well on their way toward making The Grange a true community pub.

Score card:
Atmosphere: Open, light, friendly, good noise level
Food: Very good
Wine list: Nice range for a pub; they don't have the Brick Store's beer list but should have enough variety to make most people happy
Wait staff: Very Good at the bar; seemed to have adequate numbers out in the restaurant
Desserts: Very Good; only two choices, both chocolate-centered (which is fine with me)
Vegetarian friendly? Yes, if they want to mostly stick to starters and salads; only one vegetarian entree
Kid friendly? Surprisingly so with a kids' menu
Would I go back? Yes, regularly