Monk's Cafe
Philadelphia, PA
1/23/07
As the cold winds of Winter began
to blow into the unseasonably mild Northeast, the travelers from Sunny
California arrived to host several events in Philadelphia. Vinnie and Natalie
Cilurzo, owners of Russian River Brewing, brought some of their best beers
to share with us. As usual, Adam Glickman and crew prepared an outstanding
menu to pair with the selections.
After a short intro by George
Hummel, Vinnie got up and gave a little background on the brewery and its
products. He explained each beer we were going to taste later. Let the
fun begin!!!!
Or first course was a seafood
mousse amuse on grilled meyer lemon accompanied by RR Damnation, a fruity
Belgian-style pale ale with a light hop finish.
The next offering was Spicy
Thai Shrimp and grilled watermelon to be washed down by RR Temptation,
a bretty libation aged in oak chardonnay casks. The rather spicy shrimp
was complemented perfectly by the light tartness of the beer.
Grilled scallops ended up as
a substitute for the smoked cod which was good for me...I love scallops.
Served with grilled cantaloupe and caviart on pickled dichons, the beer
choice was Sanctification, a nicely tart 7.5%abv selection with a hint
of grapes.
Next up was an Apple-glazed
Duck Breast w/maple glazed, baked lady apple. Monk's makes the best duck
anywhere and this was so excellent!!!! Supplication was the drink of choice
here. It is another funky beer aged in Pinot Noir barrels with cherries
added to the oak. Its tartness was in direct contradiction to the sweetness
of the pork.
As if we hadn't had enough,
a 6% hopped up IPA called Blind Pig was served to the delight of all the
hopheads in the place.( I got my wife's portion.) BP was full of citrusy
hops and a nice break from the Belgians. A Mini Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
w/grilled pineapple arrived and, feeling renewed, we dug right into this
outstanding course.
Last but not least, we were
forced to eat the Bananas Foster Bread pudding for dessert!!! A strong,
dark 9%er accompanied the pudding, Salvation is its name and its not! For
many, it was the Corruptor! Needless to say, after all that beer and all
that food, I'm glad my wife drives home!!
Now we only have 2 weeks to
recover until the other Left Coaster comes to take a shot at our liver.
Tomme Arthur of Pizza Port Solana Beach fame will be at Monk's to bring
some of his new offerings from his production brewery, Port Brewing. Hope
we see you there!!!