Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing in San Marcos, California has no luck when he comes east to Monk's. This is the second year in a row where it snowed on the night of his event. This year was a lot worse as it was more ice than snow. Expecting some lousy weather in Philadelphia, we left Somers Point early. Little did we know that the weather was worse than anticipated. The first 45 miles of the trip were uneventful, but when we reached Rt. 42, we found a good bit of icy slush on the highway and a multitude of accidents. A mile or so east of the Walt Whitman Bridge, we stopped dead on the road. Here we sat for at least 45 minutes and then proceeded to crawl across the span for another 45 minutes. The trip up Broad St wasn't much better but we could see the end in sight. Three hours after leaving home, we finally arrived at Monk's. 65 miles, 3 hours....nice! We were certainly ready for a beer!!!
We were only one course behind which we quickly made up for. Skate Wing in a butter sabayon was tasty and was served with Lost Abbey Red Poppy.
Right away we received the second course. A Cod Fritter and a Manchego Cheese Fritter w/smoked paprika aioli and romesco sauce. The Lost Abbey Cable Car accompanied this delicious combo.
We were just beginning to calm down from our harrowing trip and up came the third serving. Chicon, a Belgian endive wrapped w/ Ardennes ham and napped with a bechamel sauce. The always good Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi was poured with it.
Next up was one of my favorites, Scallops w/ beet jus served up with Amazing Grace.
Just when you thought you could eat no more, a rack of Wild Boar was set in front of us w/root vegetable sauce. One of the incarnations of Veritas was poured to accompany this large serving.
Last but not least came one of Tomme's greatest creations, Angel Share, a high octane brew served with the Sacher Torte.
Had a great time as usual and the trip home was not too bad. Most of the ice and traffic were gone.