Gordon Biersch Baltimore Releases Brewer’s Select and Limited-Time Menu

Gordon Biersch Baltimore will be releasing it's Brewer's Select Belgian Strong Ale on March 5th and hosting a tapping party on the 6th. Be sure and give it a try as I'm sure brewer Chris Cashell has the Belgian thing on lock considering his background with Brewers Art. If Belgian Beer isn't your thing their Pils is as good as they come. A pint of Pils and the Redwood Porter Chicken they'll be offering for a limited time sounds like a dinner I can get behind.

More information can be found in the press release below:

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant welcomes spring with the tapping of Brewer’s Select and a limited-time menu featuring three new entrées. Varying by location, this popular beer release is brewed in-house and selected by each local brewer. Brewer’s Select showcases a wide range of styles from an Imperial Pilsner to an Alt Bier, while still adhering to Gordon Biersch’s exacting standards.
 In Baltimore the Brewer’s Select will be a Belgian Strong Ale and will be available from March 5 through March 30 or until the beer is depleted. Guests can be one of the first to try the new beer and menu offerings at a tapping party held on 3/6 at 6 pm.
Gordon Biersch will pair Brewer’s Select with a limited-time menu which includes a new starter, Porter Meatballs (meatballs topped with cremini mushrooms in a porter cream sauce and garnished with crispy onion strings), and three new entrées:

• Redwood Porter Chicken (Seasoned chicken breast, sautéed with mushrooms and grilled red onions in a porter cream sauce, accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus) 

• Rancher’s Bison Burger (Half-pound lean bison burger topped with goat cheese spread, pepperoncini’s and smokehouse bacon)

• Herb Mahi (Grilled mahi brushed with a citrus herb sauce and topped with grilled red onions. Served with confetti brown rice and grilled asparagus)

The menu will also feature a customer favorite Lobster & Shrimp Mac ‘N Cheese (Sautéed lobster and shrimp tossed in a parmesan-havarti cheese sauce with bowtie pasta).
To round out the meal, Gordon Biersch will offer a Turtle Cheesecake (Traditional cheesecake drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauces and topped with pecans) on its limited-time menu which runs through March 30.

Pabu & Sake 101 with Tiffany Soto

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend a Sake 101 Class taught by Tiffany Soto at Pabu. As much as I love to read and learn about beer,  it's always fun to learn about something new. So when the chance to learn from a Master Sake Sommelier came up I was excited to accept the opportunity. 

The cost of the Sake 101 Class is $25 and that gets you a tasting of 5 different Sake's, a few different snacks (we had fire roasted edamame and Pabu wings) and a roughly hourto hour and a half long class taught by Tiffany on all things Sake. Going in I had next to no knowledge of Sake and found the class extremely informative and fun. Of all the fermented beverages out there Sake has to be the most intensive in regards to what goes into putting out a finished product. The care involved is amazing. 

The Sake 101 class is essentially a way of learning to navigate the vast world of Sake. You learn common misconceptions about Sake. For example, sake is not meant to be served hot or taken as a shot. Students are taught the basic components (Rice, Water, Yeast, and Koji-Kin) of Sake and what they mean to the finished product. And maybe most helpful we were taught a variety of common vocabulary that can help you learn to navigate a Sake menu. One of my favorite Sake's of the tasting was an offering called Aoki Honjozo Diaginjo Niigata. Prior to this class I would have just saw four words and had no clue what to expect. Now I know that the Sake in front of me is a 5 ingredient Sake because of the word Honjozo, the rice was milled by at least 50% because of the word Diaginjo, and that it was produced in the Niigata prefecture.

If you'd like to learn more about Sake follow Tiffany on Twitter @HeySakeLady for more Sake related information. And be sure to sign up for one of her Sake 101 classes. They really are a blast and even if you don't come away loving Sake (you will!) you'll learn a whole bunch of cool facts that might help you answer a Jeopardy question or two in the future. 

After class, Deana and I decided to stick around for dinner. When you're inside one of  the best Japanese restaurants in Baltimore you don't walkout without eating....especially if you're a food blogger. And so we ate and we ate well. 

We ordered the Robata Platter which consists of 5 different meats on skewers served over a bed of rice. There were a variety of chicken, pork, and steak skewers but the highlight for us was the Berkshire Pork Belly. It's the one I took a bite out of before I remembered to take a picture. Whoops! Pork Belly makes me forget to think. The flavor of the pork belly was so huge. It was simply marinated in Japanese pepper and sake which allowed the pork flavor to shine through. And the texture was very unique. It's not often you bite into a piece of meat as thick as this and still manage to get a super crunchy exterior while at the same time maintaining a tender and juicy interior. That's a bite of food I won't soon forget. 

We also decided to try the Tsukue Chicken Meatball with Jidori Egg Yolk for some chicken on chicken action. They were another solid appetizer and I really enjoyed using the egg yolk as dipping sauce. The smooth and creamy texture coating the meatballs made for a unique bite. If you like what adding an egg does to a burger, you'll be a big fan of using an egg in this way.

And now we get to what was the best part of the night and also the most intimidating. See, I was a sushi naysayer from way back. I've tried it here and there but there was always an odd taste I couldn't get over. It wasn't that I thought it was bad, I just never liked it. However, I try to keep an open mind so I told myself that I wouldn't taste sushi again until I was sure I was getting it from a restaurant I knew was putting out a great product. Pabu was that place and the Ken's Roll you see before you was some of the best food I've ever had. It made me love life to be eating something so tasty. The roll consisted of shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, avocado, pine nuts, and chili garlic furikake. It was the perfect bite and this is coming from a guy who avoids nearly all fish. There was tender rice, crunchy tempura shrimp, the creamiest avocado that has ever crossed my lips, and tuna that literally melted in my mouth. It was superb and I now consider myself a sushi yaysayer. 

After riding the wave of savory perfection that was the Ken's roll we decided to end the night with Pabu's Desert Omakase. The Omakase includes Green Tea Panna Cotta, Crimson Honey Gelee, Japanese Style Cheesecake, Blueberry Sorbet, Sesame Peanut Butter Ice Cream Mochi, and Tograshi candy bar. I really enjoyed the Green Tea Panna Cotta. I've never had anything so light and delicate before and I found it very interesting to have a tea flavored desert. The Blueberry Sorbet was fantastic as well. It tasted as if I were eating the freshest berries around. What I found most enjoyable about the Sorbet and Gelee was how they worked as a great palate cleanser. Both had soft flavors that played an excellent contrast to the bigger flavors we had at the beginning of our meal. 

Between the Sake 101 class, pork belly, and sushi our trip to Pabu was one of the most fun food related dates Deana and I have had in ages. Everything about the restaurant from the people to the food to the decor were top notch and I can't recommend a visit strongly enough.

Price: It can be as cheap or as expensive as you want to make it.

Recommendation: A must visit as far as I'm concerned

What to Order: Ken's Roll and be sure to sign up for a Sake 101 class.

Gordon Biersch

The second I heard a Gordon Biersch was opening downtown I was pretty pumped up. As far as I'm concerned, if every restaurant were a brewpub I'd be a happy man. And knowing that Gordon Biersch specializes in traditional German beer...well, that definitely didn't quell my excitement either.

Speaking of German beer, these guys do it right. I ordered the fleet to get a feel for everything they offered and left very impressed. Most of their beers, like the Marzen and Schwarzbier are lagers, but my favorite of their staple beers is the hefeweizen. This doesn't surprise me as I've been a hefe fan from my early days but theirs really stands out. The banana flavor, typical in hefeweizens, really comes through and makes for an extremely refreshing beer.

I had the lucky fortune of being invited by Gordon Biersch to try their Summerbrau (a Kolsch style beer) on a separate visit and I was very impressed with that beer as well. As their brewer Chris Cashell explained to me, Kolsch style beers are meant to be gulped down in the summer. Thankfully, the relatively low ABV and straight forward flavor profile make that possible. Summerbrau pours a gorgeous clear yellow and smells tart and lemony with a grainy malt aroma blanketing it all. Everything that comes through in the aromatics plays into the taste as well and combines for the perfect beer. In fact, it was so good I decided to bring a growler home with me.

But, don't let me get carried away. Gordon Biersch is about more than just the beer. They also serve up some delicious food. What you see pictured above is a plate of perfectly cooked Steak Frites. I asked for my steak to be cooked medium rare and that's just what I got. The meat was juicy and tender and I was surprised to find myself enjoying the steak sauce they swirled about. Normally, I'm not a steak sauce kind of guy but it worked really well here. The frites were also done well, althought, I did find them to be a bit salty. However, you're going to have a delicious beer sitting right there to wash it all down so the extra salt isn't as big of a deal as it might have been at another time.

Deana was the lucky winner of the brewhouse chicken. When we were doing our "what are you gonna have" conversation prior to ordering we both had this meal in mind. Ever the gentleman, I decided that she should order the chicken and so she did. The chicken was grilled and smoothered in a gravy they make using their Marzen beer. Deana found her meal to be tender and we both really liked the gravy even though we found the main flavor to be garlic and less Marzen. It should also be noted that the squash and zucchini served on the side were actually prepared well and weren't thrown on as an afterthought like I see done far too often.

For dessert....yes, we still found room....we ordered bread pudding. Man, it was the good stuff. The bread was hot, thick, moist, and gooey. I always make fun of the chefs on Chopped who cook bread pudding in the dessert round, but if I were a judge you'd never hear me complaining. Gooey bread, pecans, caramel sauce, and melting vanilla ice cream are a few of my favorite flavors and when put all together like this you've got a desert for the gods.

If you haven't made your way to Gordon Biersch yet, be sure to put it on your to do list. The food is delicious, the beer is great, and they have some great outdoor seating for this time of year. And if the Summerbrau sounds like it's up your alley, better get up there sooner than later as it's only offered seasonally.

Price: Average
Recommendation: Like Beer? Like Food? Then you should visit.
What to Order: Steak Frites, Bread Pudding, and a hefe.

 

The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit 2013: Chazz A Bronx Original

The rules of The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit are simple.  Each category is worth 2 points (allowing for half points). The only pizza I'm considering is the basic slice of cheese. At the end of the year, the highest score wins the coveted Baltimore Bistros and Beer's Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit title. This week's entry is Chazz: A Bronx Original. Click here to see how the last entrant fared.

Droop Factor - If you look at the picture above you can tell there is some serious grease going on. I haven't seen anything that shiny since I took in my reflection after 9th grade football practice. Chazz makes a dense greasy pizza so it was a nice surprise when the crust held up. Droopy mess denied!

Score - 1.5

Greaseification -  We're back to that fine line greasy pizza likes to walk between sloppy mess and unhealthy deliciousness. Unfortunately, the pizza I had on this day was a bit too greasy. Normally, I have no problem mowing through a pizza but in this case I was full after only a slice or two.

Score - .5

Aroma - I used to think that I loved the smell of sauce, herbs, and toppings but this Pizza Pursuit has taught me that I also long for a quality bready crust smell. Chazz has that in spades. The smell of a coal fire oven baking a pizza ain't so bad either.

Score - 1.5

Cheese - The cheese on this pizza is what I like to refer to as "Ninja Turtle Cheese". If you're my age and a dude there is no doubt you know what I'm talking about. It's that cheese that is super stringy....something every Ninja Turtle pizza had back in the day. Little Doug was digging the stringy cheese. It was creamy and salty, but there might have been a little too much for my taste to bump the score up a notch.

Score - 1

Sauce - Chazz has an excellent sauce. The tomatoes are bright and acidic and they top it with just the right amount. However, the high dosage of cheese overshadows the awesome sauce. A little more balance between cheese and sauce would go a long way with me.

Score - 1.5

Crust - I was really disappointed by the crust. Yes, it held up when I gave the droop test and it's not that the crust tasted bad. It's just that everything on top kind of ruined it for me. The crust was weighed down with so much cheese and sauce that by the time I was eating my way through the pizza the crust was falling apart rather than breaking and giving me that cracker bite I expect from a coal oven baked pizza.

Score - 1

Overall Score - 7 out of 12

Please note that this score only reflects my views of their cheese pizza and not the restaurant as a whole. In the future I plan to review my entire experience and you'll be happy to know that the rest of my visit was better than expected and has me intrigued for future visits.

If you're a fan of Chazz's and you're baffled at the mediocre score you should know I'm baffled as well. I went in expecting to LOVE the pizza, but it just didn't turn out that way. Perhaps it was what I call the "Jurassic Park" effect. As a kid I hyped that movie up in my head so much that when I saw it for the first time I was nothing but disappointed. That Raptor being smart enough to open doors pissed 12 year old Doug off. But I gave the movie another chance and over time it became one of my all-time favorites. Perhaps, Chazz will follow the same pattern, but for now they fall to the middle of the pack in The Great Baltimore Pizza Pursuit.