This past Tuesday I attended a fabulous beer pairing dinner presented by the Urban Grill and Wine Bar in Foothill Ranch along with Bottle Logic Brewing from Anaheim. I was honored to attend this event and I had such delicious food paired with several fabulous beers. For those of you that saw my post about the event and attended as well, thanks for coming! J In this article I would like to share all of the deliciousness with all of you so that you can know what to look forward to for the next beer and dinner food pairing event. Also, if you have never been to Urban Grill it is simply a place you must check out and now that I know what Bottle Logic Brewing is all about I will definitely be heading there soon as well!
When we arrived at Urban Grill, we were seated by the hostess and our first beer was brought to us to enjoy prior to our food. The first beer was the 714 Blonde, an American Ale (5% alcohol) which was a tasty malt beer that was very easy to drink and made me think of sitting on a swing on a hot summer day in my backyard with no cares in the world.
Soon after our 714 beers arrived, out came the Blood Orange Blonde (5% alcohol). This one had a lovely orange flavor and was balanced perfectly! This beer was quite refreshing and paired so nicely with our first dish!
Our first dish, the Crisp Duck Confit was prepared with heirloom tomato, arugula and spicy blood orange vinaigrette which was perfect to compliment the blood orange beer! I finished each and every last bite of this dish!
The next beer to arrive was my favorite beer of the evening and I even ended up purchasing a growler of it to take home. This next beer was called Pog Juice – an American IPA (6.5% alcohol) and it was loaded with pineapple, orange and guava flavors. This beer truly surprised me when I realized it was an ipa because that is usually my least favorite beer and this Pog juice literally blew me away! This just shows you should always try anything just once and not shy away because of a name.
The Pog juice was paired with a flavorful Seared Diver Scallop & Braised Pork Belly along with white cheddar, jalapeno polenta, and roasted pineapple beurre blanc. I was not sure of this dish at first in that I am not a big pork belly or jalapeño fan, but this combination was fantastic!! I admit I gave my hubby the fat from the pork belly slice since that part I did not fancy, but the meat itself was cooked perfectly and the jalapeno flavoring on the polenta was flavorful and not overpowering at all! If Urban Grill has this dish on the menu, I will be back to order it again!!
The 4th beer that was presented to us was the Greyhound, a West Coast Style IPA (6.5% alcohol) which had a fresh red ruby grapefruit flavor similar to the greyhound cocktail that is traditionally prepared with vodka or gin and grapefruit juice. This was a very refreshing beer and I almost finished the whole glass of this one as well!
To pair with the Greyhound, we devoured a Wild Mushroom & Lemon Arugula Ravioli that was prepared with grapefruit butter cream and chives to compliment the beer. I was licking the plate and even though I was becoming full, I know I would have finished another piece of ravioli if it was added to my plate! This was a fabulous dish that went perfectly with the beer!
Our fifth beer was The Double Actuator, a Double Imperial IPA (9% alcohol) that was dry hopped with mosaic hops. There was a slight bitterness to this beer with hints of blueberries, mango, and papaya. This was a pretty strong beer for those of you that like really intense flavors and a slight bite. I enjoyed this beer and it paired nicely with the lamb.
The main course that was presented with the Double Actuator was a Grilled Lamb Tenderloin prepared with grilled vegetables, horseradish au-gratin potatoes, blueberry peppercorn demi-glace, mango and guava relish! The lamb was cooked to perfection at a medium rare temperature to melt in your moth with each mouth-watering bite. Unfortunately, by this point I was becoming slightly full and I had to give half of my portion with the hubby, but this made him really happy. 🙂
Lastly, 3 beers arrived on our table in 4 ounce pours as our dinner session was beginning to wind down. All three of these were to be paired with our dessert plate. The first beer of the three we enjoyed was The Lagerithm, a Euro Dark Lager (4.8% alcohol). This one had notes of toffee and was quite flavorful. The second beer was a Cobaltic Porter (8% alcohol). This beer had flavors of roasted malt and sweet chocolate with a roasted coffee taste. The last beer of the evening was the Fundamental Observation, an Imperial Vanilla Stout (14.1%) After being aged in four different types of bourbon barrels and blended with Madagascar Vanilla Beans, the flavor was full bodied and intense. We were told that this beer sold out at the brewery within minutes and I could certainly see why! This beer tasted more like a spirit to me than a beer because the alcohol content was high. With strong, rich bourbon flavor, any lover of bourbon will not be able to walk away from this one!
Lastly, we had an Artisan Cheese board for dessert to share. Cheese plates are always a classic favorite of mine and I really enjoyed pairing the variety of cheeses, caramelized chocolates, raspberries, coconut and marcona almonds with all of the beers I had left!
After ordering a growler of Pog Juice Beer to come home with us and boxing up our leftover cheese, we stood up from the table, happy, content and well-satisfied!! 🙂 We both thoroughly enjoyed this dinner and we are looking forward to doing another one soon! When another pairing dinner happens at Urban Grill, I definitely recommend you attend. The staff at Urban Grill is always amazing, give great service and have fabulous food! Owner/ Executive Chef, David Hall certainly knows how to please!
Urban Grill and Wine Bar has a variety of different wines, beers, spirits and a variety of unique gourmet comfort food that includes sandwiches, steaks, seafood and more. Urban Grill and Wine Bar is located in Foothill Ranch at 27412 Portola Parkway. Let me know your thoughts about the Urban Grill and Wine Bar below! 🙂 To see another review of mine from a dining visit to Urban Grill, click here -> URBAN GRILL AND WINE BAR DINNER.
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