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Event Tue Aug 19 2008
Two Sneak Previews: Publican & Juliet
Publican, the yet-to-open gastropub from Chef Paul Kahan and partners, has yet to open, but if the meal I had last night was any indication, we're in for quite a treat.
Among the all-star lineup of chefs contributing dishes to Monday night's Goose Island/Green City Market Brewmaster's Dinner were Kahan and Chef Brian Huston. They served a boudin blanc with pickled cherries, frisée, summer truffles and hashbrowns. The dish was out of this world: the boudin had just the right amount of spice that was brought out nicely by sweet-sourness of the pickled cherries, while the bitterness of the frisée and umami of the truffles provided an earthy base flavor. I'll be first in line to order it when Publican finally opens.
The beer the dish was paired with was a sneak preview as well: Juliet is a new Belgian style ale from Goose Island, to debut around the first of the year, according to brewmaster Greg Hall. It's brewed with about 25 percent rye malt and finished with marionberries (a type of blackberry) and brettanomyces yeast, aged for about six months in French oak Robert Craig cabernet barrels, then fermented a third time in the bottle. The result is a fairly sour, slightly fruity ale with a body similar to Goose Island's Matilda. You have one more chance to try it before it debuts next year, if you're able to make it to Vie in Western Springs next Tuesday, Aug. 26, and can afford the $95 a person admission.
