LOVELIKEBEER’s “Assembly” Vegan Beer Pairing Dinner
Last night I attended LOVELIKEBEER’s highly anticipated 4th vegan beer dinner, “Assembly,” featuring Jolly Pumpkin (vegan) Artisan Ales & benefiting Engineers Without Borders. This event was extra special for a number of reasons - it marked the return to Sea Rocket Bistro, the site of their awesome inaugural event back in May, this was the first vegan beer event to be organized in conjunction with San Diego Beer Week, & a very special limited edition poster was designed for the event by San Diego artist Josh Higgins, newly appointed creative director for the 2012 Obama campaign.
Once again Chef Chad White outdid himself with 4-courses of unique, artisan-quality, vegan fare. He isn’t even close to being a “vegan” chef, but is always up for the “challenge” - willing & inspired by taking on the task on creating an all vegan menu, with no tofu in sight. Each dish were incredibly tasty & perfectly paired with a Jolly Pumpkin Ale.
First Course:
“Pear Salad with Belgian Endive Chipotle Cinnamon Walnut, Aged Cashew Cheese, Clove Agave Nectar, & Port Gastrique” paired with “Fuego Del Otono.” The salad was fresh & fragrant, & the cashew cheese was delightful. I really want to experiment with cashew cheese myself, as the flavor is wonderful.
Second Course:
Next came a comforting dish “Pumkpin Gnocchi with Cured Black Olive Puree, Fennel Confit, & Nutmeg-Roasted Peptias” paired with "La Percela.“ Unfortunately the pepitas never made it to my plate, & while I didn’t quite "get” the combination of the gnocchi & the olives together, I enjoyed them separately.
Third Course:
The third course was a “Smoked Seitan Sausage with Spiced Apple Chai Tea, Saurkraut, Crostini & Mustard” paired with “Bam Biere." This was surprisingly one of the highlights of my night. Surprising because I am not a huge fan of seitan, but I loved the preparation here, & having nothing to compare it to in terms of a meat-based sausage (thank you, Mom, for raising me vegetarian & never making me eat "real” sausage). I thought this take on “sausage” was tender, flavorful, & delicious.
Dessert Course:
The dessert course of “Coffee-Malted Chocolate Cake with Ganache, Beer-Macerated Cherries, & Curry Gastric” paired with “Bam Noire” was an obvious win. As with the chocolate cake served at the first event, this cake was perfection. A bit crusty on the outside (in a good way), while warm & moist (but not gooey) on the inside. We wanted more. The portions were not substantial, our only complaint, but after speaking with Kory of LLB, we understood that the beer investment for this event, was higher than in past events & the portions were lighter to balance out the cost, a compromise we were willing to accept in the end.
This was certainly one of LOVELIKEBEER’s best events to date, & I got the inside scoop on events yet to come, but I can’t spill the beans just yet! As always, you won’t want to miss it, so sing up for their newsletter here, or check back with me for details as they become available.
