Exploring Tampa-Southern Tier Beer Dinner

Last night Jamie and I attended a Beer Dinner at The Pub. The Pub is located about five minutes from our apartment on Bay Street which is an area outside of International Mall. Bay Street has lots of different restaurants and bars all with outdoor patios. When I first moved to Tampa I thought it was a very strange concept to have all these great restaurants 20 steps outside of a mall, but I have warmed up to the idea and it is now one of our favorites places to go out.

The Pub itself is a British Inspired bar with a lot of craft beers on tap from the United Kingdom. About two months ago they began hosting a monthly beer dinner. The dinner is five courses paired with five different beers, and all of the courses have the beer you are tasting cooked into it somehow. Last night's beer was from a brewery called Southern Tier located in Lakewood New York.

Here is a picture of Jamie and me when we first arrived at The Pub

The restaurant had reserved the second floor for the beer dinner and there were about 50 people in attendance. The first course was a grilled flatbread with prosciutto, poached pears and blue cheese with a balsamic glaze. This was paired with their Pale Wheat Ale. The beer was not as fruity as a typical wheat beer however it was very refreshing and light. (Please excuse the pictures, I had left my camera at home so they're all taken with my phone)



The second course was a beer cheese soup with a cayenne cheese straw and it was paired with the Iniquity Imperial Black IPA. When this course was first brought out I thought for sure I would not like the beer. I was pleasantly surprised when I took my first sip. Although the beer was very dark it did not taste like a typical black beer. It was very 'light' and smooth and easy to drink. I put light in quotes because this beer is 9.0% ABV!

The next course included an arugula salad with grilled corn, bacon, goat cheese and a cornbread crouton. A 2x IPA was served with the salad. The 2x IPA was made with 4 different types of hops and although it is an IPA the hops didn't consume your taste buds.



The main course was a braised short rib over a white cheddar grit cake and succotash paired with an Unearthly Imperial IPA. This IPA was quite hoppier! You could smell the hops while the beer was sitting on the table. This was also the first time I had ever had grits and they were quite interesting!

The dinner finished with a ppumpkin creme brule with cinnamon whipped cream and a Pumking Imperial Pumpkin Ale. I would have liked more of a Pumpkin flavor in this ale, but it was still nice for fall. 

All in all the night was a lot of fun and we got to try some different beers that we may not have typically ordered. Rumor has it that next month's beer dinner is being hosted by Cigar City Brewing, a brewing company about 10 minutes from our apartment. We have also heard that they are brewing two beers specifically for the dinner so we will definitely be checking it out!



We're Back!

Jamie and I recently traveled to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for 8 days. My Aunt and Uncle rent a beach house in the OBX annually and they invited us to join them with my cousins and their families. We had a week filled with sun, sand, cocktails and dance parties!

Jamie and I began our 14 hour drive to the Outer Banks after we got out of work the Friday before Labor Day Weekend. The drive wasn't as bad as we thought it would be so we decided to drive straight through the night instead of stopping and staying somewhere overnight. We made a few stops along the way to stretch our legs and rest and we couldn't pass up a trip to South of the Border, even though we arrived at 4am! We made it to the Outer Banks bright and early where we met our Tampa neighbor, Andrew, who was also in the OBX for vacation.

Once Aunt Dawn and Uncle Grig arrived we met them for lunch and then headed to the beach house. There were some signs of Irene; a few boats were misplaced and some waterside restaurants were missing their decks but all in all most of the houses and business survived Irene. We arrived at the house around 3pm and headed to the beach until the house was ready for us!

Most mornings were spent at the beach soaking up the sun. The ocean was still pretty rough so we didn't venture in much. Afternoons were usually spent by the pool where we would relax and play floating beer pong and in the pool flip cup. Once we had had enough sun for the day we headed inside to carrying on a beach house tradition-the dinner teams! Each year that we had attended the beach house our family has split into teams to make dinner each night. This may sound quite simple but we take it very seriously! Each team has a name and is responsible for making an appetizer, dinner, dessert and signature cocktail for their assigned night. The result is 5 nights of very tasty and elaborate meals and everyone has a great time creating their menu and cooking together with their team.

Another highlight of the trip was celebrating Uncle Doug's 50th birthday, otherwise known as The Day of Doug! The Day of Doug was a surprise and began with a breakfast of Jane's coffee cake, cheese strata and hash brown casserole cooked by Jamie and I (and a few helpers!). Then we all watched a slide show of Doug through the years made by Farrell, David and Aunt Dawn. Doug was then escorted to the spa at the Sanderling for a massage and we later picked him up for some drinks at the infamous tiki bar. The afternoon was spent by the pool playing beer Olympics and relaxing.  The night ended with a wine tasting of 9 Virginian wines and a fabulous southern dinner cooked by Aunt Dawn and Uncle Grig.

Our week of vacation ended too soon, as it always does, and on Saturday morning we packed up our cars and headed home. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone but we know that we will be home soon for the holidays! Below are some pictures for the week at the beach.

Here is a picture of the view from the deck on the first night

Charlie on the beach, looking like a Walrus with Cheese Puffs in his mouth

The boys on the second night enjoying some pre dinner cocktails

Jamie and I after a day at the beach

The first dance party of the beach house 2011!

Cousins! You can tell we are related by our skin tones

Uncle Doug and baby Charlie on the Day of Doug

Cheese strata, Jane's coffee cake and hash brown casserole-breakfast for the Day of Doug

The girl cousins floating on the Port O Pong after some in the pool flip cup

Here is a picture of the group, minus Kirk

This is a great shot of the group with half of the house in the background 

All ready for the first Pack game of the season

Charlie enjoying his very own 'shot'

Jamie and I enjoying pre dinner wine tasting

XOXO,

Crystal, Jamie & Bandit