This entry now becomes one for the foodies out there - Fogarty, if you're reading hopefully you'll appreciate it and maybe we can all go for a visit back to Copenhagen!
The entire theme or raison d'être of this place is that beer is just as good a drink to have with a nice meal as wine, and that it can be paired with dishes just as effectively. It's a growing trend, but I have never been to a restaurant quite as dedicated to proving that point as this one. It was such a treat though. I was presented first with a two menus: one for food, the other for beer. Nowhere was wine mentioned (although I did find out it was available if people wanted it). The beer menu had more pages than the food one, which was the first indication that this place had a lot of choice. I perused through the first 40 draughts before making a choice of what I would start the night off with and then moving to the food menu.
It turned out to be set up as a tasting menu - yeah! I haven't had a tasting menu since I took a special someone (wink wink, Sarah!) to Lumiere when Feenie was still the head chef. And boy did I enjoy that one. I have always described it as the only meal - nay, dining experience - where the quality and taste of the food was an actual topic of conversation. As such I was quite excited to have the experience again. I ordered a starter of carpaccio and crackers, a steak with seasonal vegetables for my entreé and a plate of selected cheeses with bread and a date jelly for dessert. I then studiously selected some beers to match with my courses. However, when I told the waitress my food selections, and proceeded to the beer, she stopped me and informed me that beer was already paired with each dish! I gave her a bit of an idea of what I liked and didn't like, and she then chose the beers for me! Just like a wine tasting!
I thoroughly enjoyed my Norwegian wheat beer to start, an American lager and Christmas Danish Ale (hints of orange and mint) through the main - with steak cooked to perfection, and my Winter Classic Porter (infused with espresso) with the cheeses (a nice selection of blue, mozzarella, edam, and mature cheddar). It was quite the pairing they did (my compliments!) and I had one of the best gastronomical experiences I've had in quite a while! It was great, and one reason I might want to head back soon!