We recently went to dinner at Michael Symon's Roast, a downtown Detroit restaurant that deserves every accolade it has received since it opened. We'd been there before for beer dinners, and a couple of times for their Cocktail Hour, but had yet to order from their full menu.
We were joined by Son-of-Mr-Cicerone which gave us an opportunity to share more dishes.
Here's how it went...
APERITIF Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere (me), Pilsner Urquell (Mr Cicerone) (fresh and softly malty), Founders Dirty Bastard (Son-of-Cicerone)
APPETIZERS Charcuterie platter (all made in-house, wonderful), Beef Cheek Perogies (the dough was to die for), and Roasted Bone Marrow (a hit with me more than my dining companions). My beer choice with the appetizers was Rochefort 6. It was light-bodied but O! so full of raisin-y flavour. Mr Cicerone chose the Dirty Bastard, and Son-o-C was still nursing his.
ENTREE Me- Bacon-wrapped trout accompanied with redskin potatoes drizzled in a mustard cream. Oh my. Was this fantastic! De Ranke XX Bitter was my beer of choice (perfect with the fish). Mr Cicerone chose Beast of the Day, which was a suckling pig, and they prepared it with a light salsa verde. I don't think I have ever had such tender, moist pork before, it just melted in your mouth. He chose a Rochefort 6 to go with. Son-o-C opted for a fillet of steak, and pronounced it superb. He asked us to pick a beer for him, and we went all out and chose Rochefort 10, which we all had to try of course. We shared sides of field mushrooms (a huge portion, and full of Umami-rich shitakes), and the famed roasted brussel sprouts which were sweet and delicious, and had roasted walnuts throughout.
DESSERT Though completely sated, we couldn't pass up a dessert beer, and decided on Stone Russian Imperial Stout. Son-o-C was interested in the Creme Brulee, which we pronounced to be a perfect choice to go with the beer, and in the interest of science and of course all things Cicerone-y, we decided we had to taste the Guinness ice-cream, rich & full of cream, and also a fine accompaniment to Stone's wonderful stout.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I've been trying to wrap my head around the concept of "umami". Are there any Michigan beers that exemplify the umami flavor? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteUmami in beer is not typically a happy occurrence. It's not a flavor that I can typically perceive in beer, except in some really old oxidized beers, which can have a pronounced 'soy sauce' flavor, which tends to stomp on the other flavors in the beer. I sometimes wonder if there is an umami component to the Brettanomyces Bruxellensis produced range of flavors, but it could be the beer talkin'....
ReplyDeleteLook for umami in miso soup, shiitake mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, and cured meat.