Monks beerbistro feast

Speaking as someone who has been known to create a dinner menu based solely around a particular beer I had a taste for that night, it’s not always the easiest thing to pair food and beer together so they compliment each other. Sure, I know to drink IPA’s with my Thai food and an Imperial Stout with a dark chocolate dessert, but I’d be lost sometimes without Garrett Oliver in my cellar (via his book…) handing me the correct match. When I can leave both the (cooking!) and food and drink pairings to someone else, I’ll take it. I’m obviously not the only one. Tickets to the Monks/Cantillon/La Senne beer dinner sold out in just 12 minutes, most of them to patrons playing hooky from work (um… I mean “sick”) in order to barrage the front door when the tickets went up for sale. It was also a great opportunity to meet special guests Jean Van Roy of Brasserie Cantillon, Yvan de Baets and Bernard Leboucq of Brasserie de la Senne, Jean and Nassim of Moeder Lambic (beer bar in Brussels), and Dan and Tessa Shelton, beer importers or as we all know them- the enablers! The food menu was designed by Brian Morin, the world-renowned culinary brewmaster from beerbistro in Toronto, Canada.

We took the train in, arriving in time to have a drink at Nodding Head (Gordo’s Oatmeal Stout) and Jose Pistolas (Ithaca Flower Power) before walking to Monks. My mouth started salivating at first glimpse of the menu. Monks was even able to accommodate a non-dairy meal plan and I was able to sample from the “regular” and vegan pairings.

The courses, both regular and vegan (V), and beer pairings were as follows:

I won’t go through every course but I have a few observations about the meal. Frog tastes like chicken, possibly a little fattier, but I did everything but lick the spoon full of the bleu cheese and leek dip to finish it off. I’ll start ordering my beef “sushi style”- the steak tartare melted in my mouth- what Mad Cow disease??? Childhood memories of cupboards filled with cans of pickled beets kept me skeptical of course 5, but this yummy combo of yellow and red beets and lemon-pepper vinaigrette was delicious. The polenta I typically buy at Trader Joe’s resembles a gelatinous mass compared to the creaminess and parmesan flavor Brian packed in this masterpiece. Course 8 was my favorite conglomeration of food and beer- each piece by itself was good, but pairing the cheese on the brioche drizzled in honey was endorphin-producing, and the St. Lamvinous almost sent me over the edge.

Not to be outdone, the vegan dishes were also creative and thought-provoking. I’m familiar with hummus (chickpeas) and baba ghanoush (roasted eggplants with tahini), but not so much with tempa, a soybean cake that is similar to tofu but with a firmer texture and stronger, nuttier flavor. It is often used as a substitute for breakfast meats such as ham, bacon, and sausage. I also didn’t know much about seitan, a wheat gluten that sucks up sauces and marinades well, that is also used to make Tofurkey, the turkey substitute. If I didn’t know differently, I would have sworn the seitan was once a winged bird.

I had tried most of these beers before, recalling one memory of stumbling upon a dusty keg of Foufoune at the Cantillon brewery in Brussels last year (and trying to negotiate hiding it in my raincoat and rolling it back to the train station), but was blown away by something new- the La Senne Saison, which had an amazing dry finish and subtle spice coupled with succinct sweetness. Though we started each beer with a three ounce pour, every time I turned around, voilà – full glass again!

I also purchased “The Beerbistro Cookbook” which Brian graciously personalized. I might not be able to replicate the mouth-watering dinner I had at Monk’s but I can at least become slightly more educated about incorporating beer in/with my food. Tom, Fergie, and all the staff at Monk’s Café put on an incredible dinner.