PW Pizza Excel Dinner

This probably had to be one of the best PW Pizza dinners that we've been to and I certainly wish Excel Brewing Company was a lot closer to St. Louis, as they are located in Breese, Illinois.

Normally I require outstanding pairings to get high ranks but Excel's beers were so accessible, I really think they can compliment most foods.

I could drink the Lefty's Lager all day long...perfect light, summer beer with 5% ABV and 15 IBU. Perhaps not much flavor to it, but it really let the Goat Cheese & Green Apple Bruschetta be the star.

Goat Cheese & Green Apple Bruschetta

Not only was the appetizer a little more exciting than the usual salad, the Roasted Chicken Pizza and Prime Rib Pizza were quite amazing. Again, the milder beers really let the pizza shine.

Roasted Chicken Pizza

I loved the huge chunks of tomato as well as the roasted chicken, but I had to pull off the jalapenos. It was there since it was matched up to a "IPA" type of beer. I am also a huge fan of their honey wheat crust!

Prime Rib Pizza

This was just as awesome because it was covered in delicious vegetables (caramelized onion, bell and banana peppers, mushroom) in addition to the prime rib. The Bose Roggen beer can be compared to a Schwarzbier since it's full bodied, but no bitter after taste.

Patience gave the dessert and the Southside Stout Trifle two thumbs up!! Chocolate cake, caramel, pecans, and toasted marshmallows on top inside an individual glass serving.

Southside Stout Trifle

Here is their full beer list and we got to try four out of six!

Excel Beer List

Resources:

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

Excel Brewing Company = http://www.excelbottling.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Wine Merchant Cheese Class June 2014

This month's cheese class theme was Italy, and like wine, is also my second favorite after France.

I was a little overwhelmed by the powerful six pairings of wine, and I had to eat quite a bit of bread so that I could drive after the class...luckily the cheese was able to stand up to the wine as well.

Menu

My favorites had to be the first couple since I love the highly acide, creamy cheeses: Tenerone (Goat's milk) and Pina Brigante (Sheep's milk).

Although, the Taleggio had an awesome flavor and was perfectly paired up with teh 2009 Podernuovo IGT "Therra" from Tuscan region, aka a "Super Tuscan".

And I should have know that the rich and intense Amarone would pair up well with a blue cheese.

Italian cheese plate

Resources:

The Wine Merchant = http://www.winemerchantltd.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Five Bistro

Unfortunately, this restaurant has closed.

Typically, when I'm driving south on Kingshighway, I am usually heading to the Hill and someplace Italian. but on the northern edge, hides an excellent restaurant Five Bistro.

The interior is beautiful and the restaurant is surrounded by its very own garden on both sides, which I recommend peeking at when it's not the cold and rainy weather that we had at the end of winter. Luckily, there were plenty of dishes to warm us up with a local and seasonal menu!

We made a reservation for the middle of the week but it probably wasn't required, and again, this was back when the weather wasn't the best. I have no doubt you'll need a reservation for the weekends. Certainly upscale enough for a birthday or special occasion dinner.

Since Patience and I often have a hard time narrowing down our choices, we appreciated a smaller menu, which fit all on one sheet. (Now the cocktail menu is another story, and you may just have to try a few.)

cocktails

You have a choice of a handful small plates, which we shared easily so we could try a few items, or choose from several full entrees which covered all the bases of salmon, chuck roast, pork belly, and a chicken leg confit. (The menu will definitely be different due to the season, but I was happy to see one of each.)

Here were our small plates that we sampled and they were so good, we actually ordered more than one plate of the risotto!

Risotto Milanese

We all started off with a 5BistroGarden greens salad that came with white asparagus, candied pistachios, Baetje Farm cheese, and a deviled chicken egg. Almost too pretty to eat.

5BistroGarden Greens

In addition to risotto, we also go our other favorite - pasta! But not just any ordinary pasta, but a Missouri Nettle Ravioli with wild morel mushrooms!! Talk about attention to detail!

Missouri Nettle Ravioli

As for the Grilled ScharfFarm asparagus, it worked out well that I got the egg in trade for the bacon so everyone was happy on this dish.

Grilled ScharfFarm asparagus

Five Bistro also serves a housemade charcuterie plate, house cheese selections, which can be ordered separately, as well as a prix-fixe menu with or without wine pairings.

Resources:

Five Bistro = http://www.fivebistro.com/

Photos by: Patience Scanlon

PW Pizza Boulevard Dinner

Last month's PW Pizza dinner featured Boulevard Brewing from Kansas City and every time I hear their name, I think how I should take their brewery tour when I'm over there. Even though it's not that far away, I really don't know much about their beers so it was nice to sample a few.

We started with the 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat with a salad...

Grilled Zucchini salad with Tomato Basil Relish in a Balsamic Reduction

For some reason, Boulevard seems to have the hoppiest beers. Even in their "light" beers! I actually enjoyed the second "light" beer, the Boss Tom's Gold Bock, over the 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat. Not only was the Boss Tom my favorite beer of the night, it was part of the best pairing with the Roasted Garlic Shrimp Pizza, which was on my favorite Honey Wheat Crust. Unfortuantely, I didn't get a picture of it, only the piggy one...

Piggy Pizza

Of course, they paired the pork pizza with the IPA, the stronger flavors, while the Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale was paired with the Peach & Mango Tart.

Peach & Mango Tart with Lemon Grass & Vanilla Ice Cream Paired with Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

As a special treat, they also invited us downstairs to check out the 21st Street Brewer's Bar for a 2 oz sample of the Brett Saison, which was outstanding. Hopefully, that one will be available for a while...

Menu

Resources:

Boulevard Brewing = http://www.boulevard.com/

PW Pizza = http://pwpizza.com/

Photos by Patience Scanlon

Wine Merchant Cheese Class May 2014

As a follow up to the American cheese class in April, the May version featured French cheeses, not only my favorite country for wine and cheese, but the class included my all time favorite cheese, Epoisses.

Kicking off the night were traditional light, white wines with high acid that's always a wonderful compliment to the creamier cheeses, shown in the upper right on the plate below.

The second cheese, Langres, a cow's milk cheese from the Champagne region, was even washed in a white wine to make for an easy pairing.

Once we switched over to the reds, the cheeses became richer in order to stand up to the fruity and drier wines. I learned that the cows make larger wheels in the summer, but since there is less milk in the winter, the flavor can be more concentrated.

Also for the first time, I got to try an Ossau Iraty Fermier, the largest wedge on the plate, which is a higher standard designation due to the milk coming from a single farm. This sheep's milk cheese, the richest cheeses over cow and goat, along with the Epoisses, pictured just to the left of the Osau Iraty, went fabulously with the bold Chateauneuf du Pape.

Luckily, my personal photographer attended with me this time so the menu and delicious cheeses are featured below.

French cheeses

French Cheese Class Menu

Resources:

The Wine Merchant = http://www.winemerchantltd.com

Photos by Patience Scanlon