Distilled Opinion

Omaha Fish Fry Season 2012

Our Man in Omaha — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:38:49 +0000

It’s the time of year again to stand in line, drink beer, and get some fried fish. All in the name of supporting the community, or at least a good time. Luckily, Omaha is the world’s Fish Fry capital^{[citation needed]}.

Here are some of the standouts that I’ve been to in the last few years:

Holy Name: Outdoor, free beer, BYOB, and a loyal cult following. The line can be quite long during peak hours. Check out this writeup for a first-person perspective. Fridays March through April 13 4:30 – 8:30 pm (Their website is out of date)

St. Vincent de Paul: Long line, all indoors, good fish, and they serve Lucky Bucket. Fridays from Feb 24th through March 30 from 5:30 to 9:00 PM

Mary Our Queen: A classic. Fridays Feb 24 – March 30. 4:30 – 8:00.

Check out the World Herald’s Fish Fry Finder for a map and comprehensive list.

If anyone has any recommendations for another great fish fry, let me know.

House of Loom Beer Pairing Dinner

Our Man in Omaha — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:09:54 +0000

On February 9th, House of Loom teamed up with Lucky Bucket Brewery and the Boiler Room to do a five-course dinner paired with beer as part of 2012 Omaha Beer Week.

The event was phenomenal. How could I not enjoy it, with my favorite restaurant, favorite brewery, and one of my favorite bars all in one night? Chef Paul Kulik from the Boiler Room accomplished an impressive culinary feat: pairing food with beer. Beer is a notoriously difficult drink to pair with food; it’s carbonated with strong malty flavors and it takes some creative dishes to make a pairing that works.

Here is the run-down of the courses:

First: Lucky Bucket Pre-Prohibition Lager with house boudin blanc, mustard, and broiche. The food, which is named in typically foreign terms, is actually a kind of bratwurst emulsified in Lucky Bucket on a bun with mustard. The pairing here was excellent, obviously. Beer and brats are a classic for a reason.

Second: LB IPA casked with ugli fruit and dry-hopped with a very citrusy hop. The food was spicy chicarrones, which are pork rinds spiced with chili powder and fried and battered with LB IPA. I’d never had pork rinds before, and these were good, like extreme, high-class Cheetos. The IPA was literally a one-of-a-kind stand-out. A local rock-star homebrewer, Tom Malowski, designed this beer with finished Lucky Bucket IPA, ugli fruit, and the citrus hop. The beer was by far my favorite. It was basically IPA and orange juice, but much more delicious than that sounds. The pairing was interesting as well, not the best combination of the evening, but the citrus and spice blended very well. As Paul said, it had “citrus, spice, fried food with a little bit of heritage mixed it.”

Third: Certified Evil with a salad of roasted squash pearl barley and smoked lardo vinaigrette. Lardo is cured back fat, an acidic substance that made a great dressing. The pairing was an excellent and counter-intuitive choice. Certified Evil is Lucky Bucket’s imperial porter and has a powerful roasted taste. My first thought would have been to pair it with roasted short-ribs or barbeque, but Paul’s choice of a light and acidic salad with sage and barley accents proved a wonderful counterpoint to the richness of the beer.

Fourth: Chocolate Stout with brewer’s yeast waffles, stout syrup, and brown butter ice cream. No translations needed here. This was everyone’s favorite, practically causing a riot when the dish was brought out. I can still taste the syrup, which was made with the same Chocolate Stout that was served. I’d never had Lucky Bucket’s new beer, but I was pleased. Despite 150lbs of chocolate per batch, it did not share the choking syrupy consistency that most chocolate beers have. According to Chris Sund, the Lucky Bucket rep, this was because they used coco nibs instead of only coco powder and milk chocolate. The result is remarkably clear and drinkable. The brewer’s yeast waffles were made with active yeast scraped from Lucky Bucket’s lager fermenting tanks. The combination was astoundingly sweet and chocolatey, and the syrup had a rich, phenomenal molasses texture that made a worthy counterpoint to the buttery ice cream and chocolate stout.

Fifth: Barley Wine with Landaff cheese from the New Hampshire farmstead creamery. Full disclosure: barley wine is not my favorite. Yet Lucky Bucket has a solid offering that is not as overwhelming as some I’ve had in the past. The pairing was logical and tasty. The Landaff cheese in was excellent and had a flavorful kick that cut the intensity of the barley wine very well. Paul chose cheese because it has the complexity to pair with beer, even barley wine.

The event shows how a pairing should be done, and proves that with some creativity it’s possible to pair with beer. Chef Paul did an amazing job designing the event and it’s great that Lucky Bucket will work with homebrewers and restaurants to create something really worthwhile like this event. Having Paul and Chris to talk to in an intimate environment was a great learning experience.

Hopefully Lucky Bucket, the Boiler Room, and House of Loom will team up again for another phenomenally fun and informative event.

Lucky Bucket Brewery
11941 Centennial Rd La Vista, NE 68128
(402) 763-8868

The Boiler Room
5:30 to close, Monday through Saturday
1110 Jones Street Omaha, NE 68102-3205
(402) 916-9274

House of Loom
1012 South 10th Street Omaha, Nebraska 68108
(402) 505-5494

Corrections: I originally had Chef Paul’s name as Chad. Not sure where I got that.

Get your Greek on at the Olympic Flame Restaurant in the East Village, Des Moines, Iowa

distilledopinion — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:14:06 +0000

The Olympic Flame restaurant on the north side of the East Village offers both Greek and American dishes. It was one of the first new restaurants to stake a claim along Grand Avenue way back in 1988 and is now part of a series of quality restaurants and businesses that are expanding along Grand Avenue as the East Village continues to grow.

Lunch selections at Olympic Flame are straightforward and reasonably priced. You can order either Greek-style cuisine or typical American-style food such as hamburgers. The prices offered for the menu items make it clear that the Olympic Flame is working to offer reasonably priced meals. I don’t get the impression that it wants to go head to head with Zombie Burger with its higher prices and fancy theme or the sushi bar next door. At the same time, it is fun to try some ethnic-style food without breaking the bank. I have not tried the dinner menu but from the listing I suspect that the dishes are substantially more complex. The prices listed in the menu are still very reasonable.

I tried both the Greek salad ($3.65 and $6.55) and the gyro ($5.55). The gyro was fairly typical without any unique qualities or unusual sauce. At these price points you are getting a standard city deli-style gyro along the same lines as what Mr. Filet offers on the other side of the river.

Olympic Flame Greek Salad

The salad that I tried was also an equally competent but standard Greek salad. Like the gyro, there wasn’t anything about it that made it especially unique. The salad lacked the super-large slices of feta cheese and giant olives that some Greek restaurants add.

For dessert, I tried the Baklava. It seemed to be a bit hard to cut. It was too large to pop the whole thing into my mouth, and the sticky baklava sugar sauce kept me from picking it up with my fingers. But once I chopped it into smaller pieces it was very tasty.

Note that the restaurant does not have an airlock to keep cold air from blowing in during he winter.

Olympic Flame

Hours
Lunch Monday 10:30-2:30,
Lunch and Dinner Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30am-9:00pm

514 E. Grand Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
515-243-4361

Tassel Ridge Chocolate Granfinale

distilledopinion — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:18:00 +0000

I was shopping for some gifts at Gortz Haus Gallery in Grimes, Iowa when I came across a bottle of Tassel Ridge Chocolate Granfinale dessert wine ($20). It sounded like an interesting wine to try, so I bought a bottle. When the right occasion arose, we opened it and we all agreed that it was a wonderful dessert-style wine. It had a full aroma and palate of chocolate and red wine. Tassel Ridge recommends that it be served at room temperature and that does help bring out the full flavor. Another pleasant surprise was how long the bottle lasted. We finished the wine off over a three week period and there was no perceptible oxidation or degradation in the aroma or flavor. That was quite surprising. One beef that I have with fortified and dessert wines is how poorly some of them age in the bottle after being opened. That fact always bothers me when I spend good money on the smallest bottle I can find but can’t really bring myself to finish off the bottle in one or two nights. This bottle is recommended for those who might want to stretch the pleasure out over a few more days.

In addition to the traditional sweet wines, wines that Iowa ought to be able to market include Rieslings and dessert wines. Chocolate Granfinale is a worthy entry into that market.

375ml
17.2% alcohol by volume

2012 Bravo Gala

distilledopinion — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:44:57 +0000

Ken Arlen Orchestra at Bravo Gala Des Moines 2012

The Des Moines Bravo Gala is probably Des Moines’ “society party of the year.” At $250 a pop it is not cheap. Cocktail and Evening dresses for the ladies and Tuxedos and bow ties for the men are the order of the night. But lest you think that this is a stuffy affair, you need to stay past the serving of fantastic buffet dishes and hit the dance floor where the Ken Arlen Orchestra put on a pretty fantastic show, as they have every year. Cocktails were available for free, starting with the “Knapp Knockout Punch” and ending with Opulent Chocolate Martinis. The Knapp Knockout Punch did manage to hit me with several right hooks that I think are attributable to the Juarez Triple Sec used in the drink. It ought to be a crime to mix $45 bottle Templeton Rye with $5.50/Liter Juarez Triple Sec, even if it was only a half ounce of triple sec. I’m just guessing here based on what I could see, but I think that this is the recipe for the Knapp Knockout Punch:

Pouring the Knapp Knockout Punch

1 low ball glass filled with ice
1.5 ounces of Templeton Rye
.5 ounces of Triple Sec
Finished with lemonade.

The Chocolate Martinis were also a hit. This martini used top-shelf ingredients, starting with Opulent Vodka. Godiva Chocolate Liqueur was used in lieu of cheaper alternatives. believe that the recipe for those was as follows:

Chocolate Martini

In a large shaker add:

6 ounces Creme de Cacao
3 ounces of Opulent Vodka
3 ounces of Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
top off with cream
Shake and pour

Iowa City’s Bluebird Diner – updated review

distilledopinion — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:04:21 +0000

I’ve eaten at Iowa City’s Bluebird Diner several times since it opened in 2008. It is a very straightforward eatery just a few blocks east of the Iowa City bar and restaurant scene at 330 E Market Street. It is usually fairly busy on any weekend with a fame or some other event going on where alumni are prowling around looking for real food. Generally speaking, Bluebird offers up straightforward food with a little extra twist.

Breakfast. I have had a couple of breakfasts at Bluebird lately. One question we always have is whether to go to Lou Henri or the Bluebird. The Hamburg Inn is usually left out of the conversation for some reason. It is sort of a toss-up. I think that the coffee at Bluebird may be better on average. It is hard to tell who makes better pancakes, since a pancake is usually a pancake. The same is true with omelets. As long as the ingredients are fresh and the cook competently prepares the dish then it ought to be good. It is clear that Bluebird has more of a small-town diner feel than Lou Henri which is ever so slightly more upcale, but truth be told there are not that many differences. Lets get to the food.

Bluebird Belgian Waffle $5.75

Cinnamon Roll French Toast $5.50

The only disappointment was the Cinnamon Roll French Toast. It seems that it was made of the previous day’s roll and was dry — too dry to make a good french toast.

Lunch. The lunch offerings tend toward the burger and sandwich fare but like a lot of diners there is something to please just about anybody. I had the Krakatoa, which was a massive burger with cheese, bacon, and an olive on a spear. It was one of the better burgers I’ve had. In fact, Big City Burgers in Des Moines ought to try to duplicate the heft of this burger. Prices are commensurate with the larger size of the offerings. The Classic Reuben was just as it should be and the soup of the day was declared to be great. This is not a cheap place to eat. Service was diligent and competent.

Bluebird Krakatoa

Bluebird Classic Reuben

330 E Market St.
Iowa City, IA
319-351-1470

Masala Indian Vegetarian Cuisine in Iowa City

distilledopinion — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:17:37 +0000

Masala serves authentic vegetarian Indian food. Each item on the menu is identified as vegetarian-style, vegan, or gluten-free. Some dishes can be prepared in a variety of ways and for those dishes with sauces, the waiter asks if you want it mild, spicy or real spicy. My days of eating spicy food are long gone but I can attest that the mild sauces are absolutely harmless and still very tasty. After eating meals as Masala I’ve never left with that empty feeling that some vegan dishes do. The bread (Naan) was great as well. Masala does a great job of balancing a good and hearty meal with a “not too spicy” fare. All of the various entrees we all ordered were fabulous.

The service was attentive and the waiter was interested in making sure that we understood the different options. The inside decor is definitely is fairly simple and the seating is spacious. The menu itself is fairly large with a lot of different options.

I highly recommend Masala if you are looking for something different in Iowa City.

Masala

NOW SERVING LUNCH BUFFET:
Monday – Thursday 11:00 am to 2:30 pm
Friday – Sunday 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
DINNER
Sunday – Wednesday 5:00 -9:30 pm
Thursday – Saturday 5:00 – 10:00 pm

9 South Dubuque Street
Iowa City, IA 52240
PHONE: (319)338-6199

2012 Wine and Food Showcase – Des Moines Metro Opera

distilledopinion — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:51:42 +0000

In my opinion, the best wine and food event in Des Moines is still the annual Wine and Food Showcase. I make sure that I don’t miss this event just as I try not to miss any of the operas at the Des Moines Metro Opera (Don Giovanni this year!). The food is great (and plentiful) and the wine tastings are about as broad as you can get at this level. This is a great way to sample some of the new U.S. and international wines that the wine distributors are bringing to market. From what I can tell, they usually uncork a lot of winners that are great for the price. Glazer’ of Iowas, Global Wines Distribution, Vine Street Imports, and Johnson Brothers will all be there. There will also be the usual domestic and international beer distributors along with Goose Island, Madhouse, Millstream, and Olde Main. For Iowa wine lovers, the selection will be as small as usual with Tassel Ridge being the only one on the list. This year’s event is set for February 17, 2012 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Des Moines Marriott. One additional feature that makes this event special are the auctions. Last year some collectors put their wines out for auction and there were some very interesting selections up for bid.

Don’t eat before you get there because food is provided by Café di Scala, Crème Cupcake + Desserts, Gusto, Maytag, sbrocco, splash, Tartine, and a dozen more. They go all out and make great dishes.

Don’t be put off by the $50 ticket price. It is well worth it. VIP tickets are $100 and they get to start in an hour early. The money goes to support the Des Moines Metro Opera, so it is for a good cause. Of course I’m biased and happen to like opera.

Omaha Beer Week 2012

Our Man in Omaha — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:30:12 +0000

If there’s one thing that can rouse me from the blog-fog I’ve been in for the last few months, it’s a week-long beer festival here in Omaha. Omahabeerweek.com has the rundown. Here are a few highlights that I’m looking forward to:

Friday Feb 3rd
Crescent Moon: a special pint-night with Nebraska beers and (another) celebration of Lucky Bucket’s 3rd birthday
Upstream: Cask ale festival!

Saturday Feb 4th
Everywhere: bus tours between bars!

Sunday Feb 5th
Jake’s: chili cookoff
Krug Park: South Omaha Brewers tasting and competition

Monday Feb 6th
Crescent Moon: Vintage beer tasting (yeah, actual vintage beers from as early as the 70′s)
Jakes: A guy from New Belgium will talk about the weird and wild Lips of Faith series

Tuesday Feb 7th
Crescent Moon: Green Flash tap takeover
Krug Park: Lucky Bucket tap takeover

Wednesday Feb 8th
Jake’s: Wasatch Brewery will have some beer and conversation
Krug Park: Upstream tap takeover
Lucky Bucket Brewery: Seminar on extreme beer by Zac Triemert

Thursday Feb 9th
Krug Park: Empyrean casks
The Lauter Tun: Some jazz and beer & cheese pairing

Friday Feb 10th
Crescent Moon: Beertopia’s Extreme Beer Dinner
Jake’s & Krug Park: beer cocktails and O’Dell Saboteur unveiling
Krug Park: Meet the Boulevard brewer
Lucky Bucket: Movie night

Saturday Feb 11th
Crescent Moon: Extreme Beerfest
Everywhere: bus rides between bars!
Lucky Bucket: free tours all day

Seriously, check out Omahabeerweek.com, there’s just so much going down that it’s impossible to really summarize.

2012 Tropical Wine Festival February 3, 2012 at the Botanical Center

distilledopinion — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:35:29 +0000

I will throw in a quick plug for the 2012 Tropical Wine Festival on February 3, 2012 at the Des Moines Botanical Center. I attended last year’s festival and it was packed. The venue can’t really be beat, but the Botanical Center does not have a whole lot of meeting room space. The cost is $30 beforehand through Midwestix and $35 at the door. If you are a fan of Iowa wines, then this is a great way to sample the offerings of about fifteen different wineries. Last year the hors d’ouevres were too sparse to feed the packed crowds, but the promotional materials for this year’s event seem to suggest that there will be more food. That would be a welcome improvement. You can also dine at Splash or Bos and use your bottle without a corkage fee. This event is organized by the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail.

Date: Friday, February 3, 2012
Time: 6 pm to 9 pm
Place: Des Moines Botanical Center
909 Robert D. Ray Drive
Des Moines, IA