The Boulder Passport: Rueben’s Burger Bistro

Our first stop for our Boulder Passport was Rueben’s Burger Bistro. I hadn’t been there in a while and am really glad I went back. We enjoyed their Passport special of two for one Brother Rueben’s Tripel, and were reminded of their very extensive beer selection. What impressed me most about sitting at the bar was not just the 42 beer taps, but the twelve wines on tap as well. In my opinion, wine on tap = very cool.

Sean and I decided to try one of their burgers because they have a house made veggie patty. We ordered the Hampsten which comes topped with arugula, sprouts, avocado, cucumber, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Our bartender asked if we were splitting it, and it was served cut in half on two plates. Nice touch.

Stop one on the Boulder Passport was a success.

Portland Cocktail Week, Night 1

I’m in Portland, OR for Portland Cocktail Week. All I have is my iPad, so posting is possible, but not ideal, and I can’t link to things, so I will go back and edit later. I will be sure to write a recap when this work-vacation is over. But, my first night was a blast! Of course it was… I was with Sammy Dunn, my friend going on 10 years now. A man who knows about the Portland food scene and likes to have fun. What else could I ask for in life?

Sam picked me up at the airport and we went straight to Biwa for a fantastic dinner. Kimchi, pickled mackerel, a fried sardine, burdock and carrot salad, fermented soy beans that have a raw quail egg to make them gooey, fried rice balls, some other pickled stuff, and a couple ginger gimlets. Now, here’s what my receipt says we ate:

Yoyogi, Saba Nanbanzuke, Yakionigiri, Kimchi, Natto, Kinpira, Sardine, and Ginger Gimlet.

Yeah. I have a lot to learn about this fusion cuisine and if we had a place like Biwa in Boulder, I could study more.

From Biwa we walked to Cascade Brewing and tasted some sour ales- Barrel #1 Platinum Blond, Apricot, Sang Royal, and Kriek. Oh, for the love of sour style beers.

Then we finished the night the way old friends should- with a bottle of what appeared to be an 04 vintage of Pinot Noir from The Adea Wine Company of Willamette Valley. I say “appears” because the label is missing and there’s some hand written words on the bottle that indicate 04 Pinot Noir. Some secret stash? Quite possibly.

Off to explore food, coffee, and cocktails today. Definitely can’t complain.

Beer Cocktails

Well, I did predict it was going to be the summer of beer cocktails… (insert big smile here).

SALT has a new summer menu out for the Cocktail Element and a new cocktail style is the boilermaker- a beer based cocktail. Go check it out.

Honey Pepper Rascal, a Beer Cocktale

Now, before anyone accuses me of only writing about cocktails anymore, let me just say that a lot of thought goes into these cocktails that I enjoy. Flavor profiles are considered, of course. What’s a flavor profile? Let’s save that for another day.

First, I have a story. Last spring I caught an Alton Brown show on making a black pepper infused vodka. I am a big fan of the Bloody Mary, so I was super excited to make black pepper vodka for my summer libations. I followed his instructions, but not exactly. I added too many peppercorns and let them infuse way too long. The result was more like a black pepper extract than a black pepper vodka. It was disgusting.

But, lucky me… I happen to have the esteemed Evan Faber, formerly of SALT the Bistro, as a spirits and cocktails advisor. He took on that role some time this past winter (unbeknownst to him:), so after months of letting my unpalatable pepper vodka sit in the freezer, I reached out for help. Turns out there is a traditional Russian drink of vodka flavored with honey and pepper. To make a long story short, I cut my vodka with more vodka and added some dehydrated honey powder I picked up at Savory Spice Shop. After a little more waiting I wound up with a really delicious honey pepper vodka.

And now it’s time to play! So, taking some inspiration from Dan Mirsky, the man formerly in charge of beverages at The Pinyon, I made a beer cocktail. Dan suggested a ratio of 1 oz liquor to 6 oz beer, and that’s what I made here.

• 1 oz honey pepper vodka
• 6 oz Avery White Rascal Belgian-Style White Ale
• juice of 1/2 lemon

I used a Avery’s White Rascal for two reasons: 1) Avery is the best local brewery in Boulder and 2) white ales have a lighter flavor profile that goes well with citrus (the lemon) and would compliment the spice from black pepper and the sweet from honey. White beer allows these added flavors to come through and create a cocktail rather than be hidden in a darker beer.

So, let’s start talking about beer cocktales. (Get it? cockt-ALES. Did I need to point that out?) They’re the new frontier of cocktails for me. I think 2011 is going to be the summer of beer cocktales!