This dinner is one of my favorite's of the year. Tom Peters and crew always try to bring the best ingredients from the area to integrate into the menu including the beer. Makes you glad to be a "local".
We started out the meal with Stoudt's Kolsch, a nice light beginning for a 6 course meal! It was paired with Corn Soup w/Crab & Scallop Quenelle. The corn came from Buzby Farm in Woodstown, NJ and the crab from Maryland.
An excellent start with this rich dish.
Flying Fish of Cherry Hill supplied their Exit 16, a Wild Rice Double IPA, to accompany the salad of tomato, arugula & basil w/grilled peach-infused olive oil. The Jaune Flamee, Eva Purple Ball, Aunt Gertie's Gold, Black Price and Black plum tomatoes and basil from Z Food Farm in Lawrenceville, NJ, Arugula from Paradise Organics in Paradise, PA and Peaches from Fahnestock Fruit Farm in Lititz, PA. Another wonderful choice of products.
Next on the menu came from just a couple of blocks away at Nodding Head, another of Tom's partnerships. Brewer Gordon Grubb made this beautifully tart beer, Phreddie, a golden Belgian ale aged in his "magic" wine barrel with Brett added. It needed to stand up to the Monkfish Medallions, sauteed spinach and sauce beernaise and it certainly did. The Monkfish came up from Cape May, NJ and the spinach was from PA.
Where would a local products dinner be without a beer from Sly Fox? Brian sent over his Grisette, a refreshing Farmhouse ale in the Franco/Belgo style. Already feeling all the food, we were served a Confit Chicken Leg w/potato frisee, lardons and beans topped with a 2 hour egg. What's a 2 hour egg you ask? Just what it sounds like, an egg baked for 2 hours in the oven...see, you shouldn't have asked! Tom said it was the first time they did that, but it came out well. The chicken and eggs were from Meadow Run Farm and the fingerling potatoes from Z Food Farm.
The next beer was a new release from one of the most successful breweries in the region, Dogfish Head. Bitches Brew was an homage to the great Miles Davis and his breakthrough album of the same name celebrating its 40th anniversary. It is a 9% Imperial Stout blended with Tej, an African honey beer with gesho root. Delicious and mated well with the Birchrun Blue Cheese(from Chester Springs, PA) w/walnut tuile, roasted fig and balsamic drizzle.
The next beer was an old fan favorite from Yards Brewing, Old Bartholemew, a 9% English-style Barleywine full of malt and warm sweetness. To finish this grand meal, we had Toffee Cake with Old Bart Caramel Sauce from Theresa Wall of Tarts. The finish was as excellent as the beginning.
Of course, we then had to drive the long way home full and well-satisfied looking forward to the next event.