Beer Dinner With Celina Tio!

Fresh from her appearance on Sunday's Iron Chef America, Julian chef Celina Tio stopped in at Beer Kitchen Monday for a night of delicious foods and beers.

We had a new photographer tonight. He wanted to go a more artistic route with this one.

The first course of Trumpet Royale with foie gras butter, toasted brioche, and watercress & lemon paired with Orval was a strong start to the meal.

I LOOOOOOVE mushrooms. Yes, all caps and like six O's worth. These had a lovely earthy flavor, and meaty, that complimented the foie gras butter and watercress. The house-made brioche tied it all together. And the Brett  in the Orval lent some more earthiness. Orval's a really good beer. One of the hoppier Trappist Ales. This was all so good.

Up next a nice, light salad - baby wild arugula, grapefruit, olio verde, celery root, and brazil nuts - and a Stillwater Beer Table - Table Beer. 

The Stillwater is a light, effervescent farmhouse ale, coming in at just under 5% ABV. The hops in the beer add citrus notes that tied in with the grapefruit, and there was a bitterness that went throughout everything in the course. Sweet from the grapefruit, more earthy in the arugula, and funky in the beer. A light course all around. 

Now some meat. Crispy trout "almondine," wild rice pancakes, and bacon-y mustard greens. Boulevard Harvest Dance.

This is not just some trite statement. I don't like fish (well, cooked fish. Sushi is amazing and I really, really like shellfish). But this was great. The trout was tender and the skin was tasty, the greens were full of flavor, and the beer is one of my favorites from Boulevard. It was picked for this course to kind of mimic a Sauvignon Blanc that would be traditionally paired with the dish. If all fish is this good, maybe this dish will get me into eating fish.

The fourth course paired Emelisse Russian Imperial Stout with a lamb shepherd's pie. 

This was so good. Mashed potatoes and lamb and fantastic stout, what's not to love? Everything was rich and delicious. I would eat this every day forever. Some sweetness in the stout and smooth mashed potatoes provided a counterpoint to the for the lamb. 

Ahh dessert. I like desserts. As does my official photographer.

Thank you to Mr. Jeremy Danner for taking photos and this video. He actually was sideways by this point. Luckily, technology is amazing and things like that can be fixed.

Orange-almond cake, orange caramel, and whipped vanilla bean mascarpone, with some New Belgium Trippel.

A warm cake and mascarpone is a fantastic combination. This was a light and delicious dessert, perfect for the end of this meal. Sometimes a dessert can be too much (not really, dessert is usually awesome), but this hit the spot. The Trippel wasn't too much for the cake, and the orange flavor was muted and didn't overpower the whole course. 

Another successful beer dinner! A heartfelt thank you to Celina Tio, the food was wonderful! 

Now, if you'd like to have an opportunity to have some of Chef Tio's food for yourself, visit her at Julian in Brookside soon. In fact, on February 12, she'll be having a special meal, preparing the same courses from her episode of Iron Chef America. Contact Julian at 816.214.8454 for more details on what will be a unique experience!

As for the next beer dinner at Beer Kitchen, keep March 4th free for the annual Grain vs. Grape Dinner. French food, French wines, and Belgian beers. Yes, we'll be skipping February, but luckily it's not a leap year, so it won't be too long. Check back here, Facebook, and Twitter for more details when they're released. And we'll have some cool stuff coming up over the next couple of weeks! 

A new friend comes to Kansas City - Perennial Artisan Ales

Though the NFL may be taking the week off (unless you count the Pro Bowl, which technically counts as football, but... yeah), Beer KC never has a bye weekend. Especially when we have a special guest in town!

On Saturday, January 26th, come help us welcome Perennial Artisan Ales to Kansas City! Our friends from St. Louis will be having a launch party at The Foundry from 4-6 pm, with Perennial owner and brewmaster Phil Wymore on hand. Phil will be around drinking some of his fine beers and mingling, available to talk about the beer, the brewery, or anything else that might come up. 

There will be four of their beers on tap - Hommel Bier, Saison de Lis, Aria, and Abraxas. Aria is the only one of the four I haven't tried, but if it's anything like the other three I'll want to have all of it. It's a Belgian Pale Ale with Brettanomyces. Oh my that sounds wonderful. The Hommel Bier is a dry-hopped Belgian Pale Ale, Saison de Lis is a saison with chamomile, and Abraxas is a big stout, with a Mexican twist of Ancho chilies, cinnamon sticks, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. And if all of those somehow aren't enough for you, we'll be offering a special flight of the beers with a cheese pairing for each for $18. So you can get the flight with the pairings, or you can order each beer as a full or 6 oz pour. Or a combination thereof. AND chat with the founder of the brewery. 

So that's Saturday. Sunday, why not take it easy with brunch at McCoy's or Beer Kitchen? That night, don't forget to tune to Food Network at 10 pm to watch KC's own Celina Tio as she takes on Michael Symon on Iron Chef America! Then Monday, head to Beer Kitchen for the next beer dinner, featuring Chef Tio. Sounds like the weekend is pretty much set. 

Restaurant Week with Beer KC!

Starting tomorrow (January 18), Kansas City will enter Restaurant Week! All sorts of great restaurants around the town are going to have prix-fixe lunch ($15) and dinner ($30) specials. The best part? It's actually like 10 days long. The best best part? McCoy's and Beer Kitchen will both be participating! Now, here's what's on the menu at each establishment. Of course, you'll still have the option of the regular menu items at each spot. And wonderful beers. Obviously.

Check out our menus, and take the opportunity to check out some other great restaurants in town!

McCoy's Public House

For the lunch special, you can pick two of the following courses. Dinner gets three.

Starters

Maple Leaf Duck Confit

With Roasted Wild Mushrooms, Herb Polenta and Balsamic Jus

Warm Chard Salad

With Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, Spiced Almonds and Red Wine Vinaigrette

Pancetta-Wrapped Gulf Shrimp (lunch)/Sea Scallops (dinner)

With Savory Brioche Pudding and Charred Tomato Butter

Entrees

Cherry Ale-Braised Short Rib

With Cheesy Risotto and Horseradish Peppercorn Demi

Turkey Meatloaf

With Roasted Red Potatoes, Smashed Cauliflower and Cranberry Gravy

Winter Vegetable Lasagne

With Smoked Tomato Cream and Farm to Market Baguette

Dessert

Triple Berry Cobbler

With Caramel-Cashew Crust and Vanilla Ice Cream

Mini Chocolate Stout Cheesecake

With Salted Beer Nut Brittle

Beer Kitchen

Your choice of two courses for lunch, three for dinner

Starters

Roasted Tomato Soup

With Grilled Triple Cheese “Crouton” 

Pair of Crispy Root Veggie Cakes

With Sun-Dried Tomato Drizzle and Creamed Leeks

House-Cured Salmon Salad

With Fried Capers, Lemon Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese Crouton

Entrees

Chicken Schnitzel Burger

With Fontina, Onion Jam and Lemon Aioli on Brioche Bun

Homemade Gnocchi

With Blackened Cauliflower, Wilted Spinach and Toasted Almond Butter

Porcini-Dusted Scallops

With Port Wine Reduction, Fried Leeks and Whipped Chevre Potatoes

Dessert

Chocolate Basket

with Dark Chocolate Mousse and Fresh Berries

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

With Honey Sour Cream and Almond Brittle

Iron Chef Beer Dinner!

The first beer dinner of 2013 is coming up towards the end of January, when Chef Celina Tio of Julian will be preparing a five-course dinner at Beer Kitchen.  Chef Tio is a proud craft beer enthusiast, so this should be a great event.

That's a pretty fantastic lineup, both food and beer.

All of our beer dinners are not to be missed, but this one especially will be a hot ticket... the dinner is taking place the day after Food Network airs Chef Tio's culinary battle with Michael Symon on Iron Chef America! So make your reservation at Beer Kitchen or by calling (816) 389-4180, watch Chef Tio's episode of Iron Chef America on January 27 at 10:00 PM, then head to Beer Kitchen at 7:00 PM on January 28th for her dinner. $60 (tax and gratuity included) for a a five-course dinner pairing prepared by a world-class chef. A deal!

And one last bit of quick news - be sure to keep the evening of Saturday, June 1st open. That's the date of our 2nd annual Summer Beer Fest! Check back here and on the Facebook pages for Beer Kitchen, McCoy's, and The Foundry for more details as we announce them.

We've got 2013 covered

So you made a resolution to drink better beer in 2013. Good choice. At Beer KC, we have options.

For example. The Foundry now has Sierra Nevada's Imperial Stout, Narwhal on tap. It's a complex, big beer, with a 99 on Ratebeer.com. So you could do worse than start your New Year's resolution there. Plus, the label is pretty killer. I mean, look at it -

So hardcore. The narwhal is the perfect combination of whale and unicorn. This beer's the perfect combination of malts, hops, and bold flavors.

If you want to stay local, well then, there's another beautiful stout made right here in Westport. Ursa Major is still on tap at McCoy's, and this year's version is mighty mighty good. If that sounds a little heavy for you though, the crowd-pleasing Ginger Shandy is back on tap! Hurry and get some before it's gone (and if/when the keg blows, don't worry, it'll only be gone for a short while, until we get more made. You guys go through that one in a hurry!). The McCoy's Winter Warmer is on tap, just in time for... well, it looks like some warmer temperatures are coming for Kansas City. So just have one because it's delicious.

Even better - get a growler of your favorite McCoy's beer! If you don't already have one of our 30 oz growlers, you can buy one with the beer, and take it to share your resolution with friends. Spread the gospel of good local beer. Or keep it for yourself, we wouldn't blame you. Bring the growler back to refill it, and you'll save a couple bucks. Another resolution you can check off - be wiser with money. Man, we're going through these things, you better make a couple more.