Nora McGunnigle

As we close out the week on this fine Friday, I would like to present the premiere of my new Gambit blog column, " Brewsday Tuesday ." It debuted this past Tuesday and featured a writeup of ACBW, which took place the previous week. Keep an eye on it and let me know if you have any feedback or ideas for future columns! I also visited the Wayfare this past week and posted about it on my other blog, Nora in NOLA . Since I didn't drink any beer there, I didn't write it up here, but they do have a great beer selection (especially in bottle/can) so I wanted to call attention to it on this platform as well. The upcoming weekend and week will be focusing more on fine dining and wine, so that will be an interesting  change.

I just found out about a whole host of food-craft beer pairings that are happening this week at the Irish House . Chopped winner chef Matt Murphy has created a small plate to pair with a specific American craft beer for every night this week, starting tonight. All pairings are $11. Monday, May 13: Stone Ruination IPA served with an Irish cheese plate Tuesday, May 14: Ommegang Abbey Ale with fish & chips Wednesday, May 15: Harpoon IPA with truffled chicken Thursday, May 16: Green Flash West Coast IPA with baked redfish Friday, May 17: Rogue Dead Guy Ale with corned beef & cabbage Saturday, May 18: Anchor Steam with bacon & cheese croquettes Sunday, May 19: Covington Strawberry Ale with BBQ oysters Also on Thursday, May 16, the Irish House will be hosting a three course beer dinner with NOLA Brewing. It's $45 and starts at 7pm. Limited seating, call 504-595-6755 for reservations. Here's the menu:

This past week has been much less beer-centric than usual. I had many awesome food experiences which I'll be writing about on my other blog, norainnola.com this week. However, in the course of having lunch at Byblos on Magazine Street this week (I was checking out their overhauled menu) I caught a glimpse of their new tap list, which is much improved from their previous incarnation down the street. Got local beer represented, like Canebrake and Abita, regional with the Saint Arnold's Santo, larger national microbrews like Magic Hat #9 and Brookyn's Sorachi Ace, and yes, the Redd's is a Miller-Coors apple ale that sounds terrible (though to be fair, I have not tried it) it's more interesting than sticking a tap of Miller Lite or Blue Moon up there. I like seeing these random tap lists at places you wouldn't think would have stuff like this. I think it speaks to a shift to more local restaurants taking chances on craft beer that would previously not had t...

Reveillon Dinner at Restaurant August is a Christmas tradition of ours. In 2009, we were there for Christmas Night dinner, even before we moved here. It was so wonderful that it became a tradition for us right around the holiday- since they are no longer open on December 25, we shoot for Christmas Eve instead. Last year, we noticed that the beer list was pretty extensive but focused mostly on bottles from local breweries like Abita and Bayou Teche. Nothing too exciting, but, you know, August is more a wine-oriented fine food place so it wasn't a surprise to us. This year, though, we decided to take advantage of August's generous no-corkage-fee policy and bring some special beers we'd been saving. The Reveillon menu was online, so I was able to get an idea of the flavor profiles and chose accordingly. I brought a Lost Abbey Avant Garde bier de garde for the amuse and the first 2 courses, and Boulevard and Pretty Things' "Collaboration No. 3," a Yorkshire Stin...

I am currently watching snow fall in the frozen North, so I have not been drinking beer in New Orleans, thus, not much to say till I return on Monday. Trying to decide if I should try to get out for the Crescent Pie and Sausage New Year's Eve beer dinner (featuring NOLA Brewing beers) on Monday night. Check out the menu: Happy Hour (Starting @ 6pm) w/ Hors d'oeuvres: Grilled Sausage with Ice Cold NOLA Brown Ale in the Can Amuse: Foie kisses with raspberry coulis Irish Channel Stout 1st Course:  Deviled Chappapella farms duck egg, lardon & arugula 7th Street Wheat 2nd Course:  Local cauliflower bisque with citrus marinated fried oyster Guajillo pepper infused Blonde Ale 3rd Course:  Choice of grilled gulf fish-spicy cioppino and corn porridge Hopitoulas or Seared beef tenderloin served with two sauces tableside Smoky Mary Dessert:  Homemade Cake & Ice Cream (made by French pastry chef Jasiah St. Pierre) St. Bernardus Abt 12...

I first heard about the Barley Oak's plans for a brewpub almost a year ago, during the Swedish Beer event at the Avenue Pub. Vanessa Gomes, the high energy, friendly, and beer-loving Director of Marketing at the Barley Oak told me they had broken ground the previous summer (of 2011) and were building a brewpub, called The Old Rail, from the ground up. Fast forward to today - the brewpub is built, the brand new steam powered 10bbl brewing system is installed, the head brewer is hired, and a new chef brought on especially to create and serve a menu of beer enhancing food. However, since they are still waiting on final approval from the federal government (ATF) they have yet to start brewing. They'd hoped for the summer of 2012. Then the fall. Then the winter... now they are hoping the process will allow them to start brewing and serving thirsty and beer-loving patrons on the North Shore in the Spring of 2013. Behold, photographic evidence of the early days of brewpub construc...

After the Times-Picayune article by Todd Price came out profiling me as a beer blogger and Root as a restaurant that valued the pairing of beer with fine food, we (me and the guys at Root) came together to talk about promoting/expanding/improving their beer menu. Root decided to host a beer dinner on August 27th. They invited me to choose the beer pairings based on the menu that Chef Lopez put together! Obviously a huge honor for me as well as an extremely fun project. See below for the menu with the pairings. Many of the courses chosen are Root's most lauded dishes - the stars of their menu. Although I was given free reign to request any beer that is distributed in this market, I wanted to show how their beer menu as it is now complements the regular food menu. The dinner will $75 per person, not inclusive of tax and gratuity. The beer will be served in five ounce portions. Reservations will be available by phone (504-252-9480) only for seatings at 6:15, 6:30, 6:45, 8:30,...

Been more or less laying low since the fried chicken beer dinner- we went on vacation to our neighboring state of Florida and we were able to drink and buy Bell's, Lagunitas, Sweetwater, Terrapin, Victory, Southern Tier, and others to our hearts' content. Ahh. Couple of awesome things on the horizon: Next week is Coquette's Spirited Dinner that will involve beer and beer cocktails! Also pork. Lots and lots of pork.  Needless to say, I'm super excited. Also super exciting: Root will be doing beer pairing dinners on August 13 and 27 .  I'll have more info on the menu and the pairing next week- I'm going to help choose the beers to go with Chef Lopez's amazing food! That should be early next week so I am hoping to have a formal announcement by this time next week with the menu, pairing, pricing, etc. Needless to say, I'm honored that Root reached out to me to assist them in planning these dinners. The managing partners/owners have a real love of be...

OK, I know that "wine" rhymes better with "dine" but that doesn't mean that beer ain't a serious contender for enjoying with good food. I had a sit down with two of the owners of Root to discuss their plans for their beer program. Both Max Ortiz and Nick Shay are very committed to promoting beer as a viable and legitimate complement to the daring and flavorful food that comes out of Root's kitchen. We talked about rearranging the beer menu so it's easier for patrons not as familiar with different beer styles to make more informed choices. Both men wished that they had more space to store more styles of beer, but we had a fun conversation about how to maximize the space they have to accommodate a diverse selection of beer that will actually sell. It was a great time talking about beer and food, which is an intersection that interests me greatly. Their enthusiasm was inspirational! It looks like there are some very cool beer-related things on the hor...

Hey, I got quoted in the Times Picayune on my thoughts about beer in fine dining .  It all started whenTodd Price tweeted looking for suggestions of restaurants with good beer lists, and I think I sent him like 8 tweets worth of info. He contacted me and asked me a bunch of questions, and voila! Quoted as an expert. AWESOME.

I'm cross-posting between my two blogs because EXCITING BBQ at my FAVORITE BEER BAR! (The Avenue Pub) Read all about Rob and NOLA Smokehouse here . I like big butts and I cannot lie... Here's the FB invite for the pop up this weekend. Go drink some beer and eat some BBQ!