Euro Beer #13 - Le Cap

In the fall of 2007 my wife and I traveled through Europe for 10 weeks. We ate a lot of food and drank of a lot of beer (and wine). Not enough food, not enough beer. In Brussels:



Euro Beer #13 - Le Cap

After dinner and a few hours of wandering around, we hit up Le Cap for a night cap (ah, ah). Le Cap was a nice, clean, modern bar/restaurant. Not exactly my style, but a decent place to grab a beer before nodding off. Sofia had a Brugs Wit and I had a Grimbergen Blanche. Sofia's was better.

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

Le Cap
Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blès, 28
Brussels




The next morning our host was kind enough to buy us croissants and brew us some coffee. It was not enough coffee and had to get more at Bar Espagnol Meres, a very odd, cool Spanish café. Pictures of bullfights and sidra drinking covered the old nicotine soaked walls. It was good to be on the mainland drinking real coffee again.

Euro Beer #12 - Maison des Crêpes

In the fall of 2007 my wife and I traveled through Europe for 10 weeks. We ate a lot of food and drank of a lot of beer (and wine). Not enough food, not enough beer. In Brussels:



Euro Beer #12 - Maison des Crêpes

Directly after leaving that crusty bar we headed towards Grand Place to look around. But we were hungry. We were always hungry. We set out to find a spot to eat. Most places around Grand Place seemed extremely touristic, so we kept walking. We stumbled upon Maison des Crêpes and it seemed adequate. It was more than adequate. Our crepes were fantastic, as was the beer. I had another Duvel and Sofia drank a Palm.



My crepe. It tasted much better than it looks. Judge my photo, not the crepe.

For more euro foodage and drinkage, go here.

Maison des Crêpes
Zuidstraat 13
Brussels



Wet Brussels street, the view from our table.

NXNW Brewer's Dinner - Feb. 23

Best Mexican Restaurants in Texas

Texas Monthly has chosen the Best Mexican Restaurants in Texas. This has nothing to do with beer. Well, kind of, cuz Mexican food just begs for beer swilling (Austin and Brownsville are in bold because that is where I spend the majority of my TX time):

TEXAS MONTHLY NAMES

50 BEST MEXICAN RESTAURANTS IN TEXAS

Editors Declare This the Era of “Mex-Tex”

AUSTIN, TEXAS—November 15, 2010—In its December issue, available on newsstands this week, Texas Monthly names the 50 best Mexican restaurants in Texas. Headlining the list is the magazine’s selection of the top five, in alphabetical order by city. They are:

Fonda San Miguel, Austin

Cuquita’s, Dallas

Salsa Fuego, Fort Worth

Hugo’s, Houston

SoLuna, San Antonio

The other 45 “best” are listed below.

...

TOP 5 (alphabetical by city)

Fonda San Miguel, Austin

Cuquita’s, Dallas

Salsa Fuego, Fort Worth

Hugo’s, Houston

SoLuna, San Antonio

Rest of the “Best”

AUSTIN
Curra’s Grill
El Mesón
El Naranjo
Garrido’s
La Condesa
Manuel’s
Takoba

BROWNSVILLE
Taqueria Rico’s

DALLAS
Avila’s
Café San Miguel
Gloria’s
Javier’s Gourmet Mexicano
Nuevo León MEX-MEX
Tipico’s
Urban Taco
Veracruz Cafe

EL PASO
Forti’s Mexican Elder
H&H Car Wash and Coffee Shop
Tacos Santa Cecilia

FORT WORTH
Benito’s
Esperanza’s
Lanny’s Alta Cocina Mexicana
Paco & John

HOUSTON
Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen
Gorditas Aguas-Calientes
Irma’s
Jarro Café
Original Ninfa’s on Navigation
Pico’s Mex-Mex
Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen
Teotihuacán Mexican Cafe

LAREDO
El Meson de San Agustin
Fonda Don Martin
Palenque Grill
Zaragoza Grill, La Posada Hotel

McALLEN
Costa Messa
El Pastor
Palenque Grill

SAN ANTONIO
Cascabel Mexican Patio
Cielito Lindo
El Siete Mares
Guajillo’s
La Fonda on Main
La Gloria Icehouse
Mary Lou’s Café y Cocina Mexicana
Rosario’s

Ok, let me give this a beer tie in....hmmmm. Alright, what Texas beer would I like to drink with a plate full of tacos. I'll give you my top five and then you can chime in:

5. Southern Star Bombshell Blonde
4. Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale from the can
3. Lonestar
2. Real Ale Hans Pils
1. (512) Wit

This list would be different tomorrow. Hell, it would be different if you asked me in five minutes. But right now, that sounds right.

Real Ale Tasting @ Lake Creek Alamo Drafthouse

Lake Creek Drafthouse is stepping up with another beer dinner. This time Real Ale will be showcasing their beer alongside Drafthouse's victuals. To be honest, I am kind of burnt out on beer dinners. And don't get me started on pairing beer with dessert (just give me a coffee, I'll have the beer later). I've been sitting out on the last few beer dinners around town. I am sure by January I'll be back in the game. I'm sorry, I know you LOVE my dinner wrap ups.

But you should go, because the menu looks delicious and at 55 bucks....forget about it:

I
Fireman’s 4
Bacon Wrapped Diver Scallop
Roasted Root Vegetable Streudel
Brown Butter Vinaigrette

II
Rio Blanco Pale Ale
Beer Braised Smoked Chicken Breast
White Cheddar Grits
Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts

III
Oktoberfest
London Broil
Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
Field Greens

IV
ESB
Proscuitto Wrapped Quail Stuffed With Seared Collar Greens and Brie
Quail Glace ESB Reduction
Risotto and Rapini

V
Brewhouse Brown
Seared Medallions of Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Apple Camembert Porridge
Braised Fennel
Brown Ale Pork Jus

VI
Coffee Porter
Coffee Porter Ice Cream Sandwich
With Candied Bacon Strips

Redneck Brewer's Picnic - Menu

Still happening September 12. And this is what they are serving:

Hand passed App: Beer Battered lil' smokie corn dogs with "Big Red" Mustard. Beer pairing: Bottle Rocket Lager

Platted App: Braised Shortrib turnovers with Chicken Fried Bacon. Beer pairing: Triumph ESB

Salad: Frog-leg Chopped Salad with Peppercorn Ranch. Beer pairing: Bride of Zombie

Entree: Country Fried Steak, "beanie weenie" and garlic mash taters. Beer pairing: Woodeye Rye IPA

Dessert: Chocolate Peanut Butter pie with vanilla ice cream. Beer pairing: Insomniac Coffee Stout