Beer Pairing at Judges' Hill Restaurant

I met Chefs Rob and Sarah of Judges' Hill Restaurant at the Independence Brewery's open house this New Year's Day. The two chefs were promoting a beer dinner they're putting on January 16th. Both seemed really excited about the event, which they have planned themselves.

I love beer pairings, especially when a dish has been prepared specifically with a beer in mind. Especially when the chefs are so enthusiastic!

If you're a like minded Austinite, consider attending Judges' Hill Restaurant's beer pairing on January the 16th. They're serving a five course meal with a selection of Independence Brewing Company's beer.

I've transcribed the menu below:

Austin Amber paired with Boursin and portabella crostini with oven dried cherry tomato & fried boudin balls with spicy remoulade.

Bootlegger brown with kobe slider with sage derby, mole, balsamic onions, house-made sweet pickles, parmesan-truffle gaufrettes.

Stash IPA with butter lettuce wedge, champagne soaked apricots & cherries, bleu cheese, smoked pistachio vinaigrette, candied pistachios.

Freestyle Wheat with shrimp, chevre & black pepper grits, braised collard greens, cirtus chipotle vinaigrette.

Convict Hill Stout with up-side down molasses pear cake, convict hill ice cream, convict hill caramel, toasted almonds.

You can make your reservations at (512) 495-1800.

Update: You can read about and see photos from Jennie's test of this dinner here.

Uchiko Media Event

Warning: Sometimes I attend events that feature food but not beer. Feel free to skip this one if you're into beer but not food.

I had the incredibly good fortune of being invited to a media mixer at Uchiko this September. Uchiko is one of the closest things in Austin to a completely imagineered experience. Yes, I'm comparing Uchiko to Disney. And yes, I consider this a good thing.

Like Disney's best attractions, Uchiko lives in a universe with its own rules. As a visitor, you never touch and rarely even see plastic. The menus are paper and cardboard. The check arrives in a cardboard folio.

The walls are decorated with unfamiliar objects and curious antiques. The food is prepared with what might be new flavor combinations and unusual ingredients. The furniture has the weight of careful craftsmanship.

I want to talk more about the Uchiko experience, but for now check out my video from the event:

Finally, you can find my photos from that night here.