Nora McGunnigle

And... we're off! (officially) Although the official span of ACBW is May 13-19, the weekend preceding had several fun events . But Monday is when things get real.

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...

I may have expressed my excitement previously about my favorite neighborhood bistro, Coquette, having a special dinner with all you can eat fried chicken, greens, watermelon, mashed potatoes, creole tomatoes, cornbread, coleslaw, accompanied by delicious beers. It was pretty much the best night ever. Talked to really nice and cool folks, ate great food (in addition to the above, there were passed apps that included shrimp, deviled eggs, and this amaaaaaaazing boudin wrapped in collard greens and cut up to sort of approximate sushi rolls) and drank some very nice beer that was well suited to the hot summer evening. We were greeted with a Lil' Slammer, which was a cute way to start, and having just walked in from the heat, it went down nice and easy.  Then as we wandered, we found the beer table pouring Stoudt's Karnival Kolsch and Anchor's Brekles Brown. Everyone was super nice, and after talking with a fellow ChowHound (Sanglier) and his guests for a bit, we found...

OK, so you missed the first Coquette beer dinner .  It's all right, you didn't know any better.  Now you do!  So call the restaurant for reservations ASAP (504-265-0241) for the upcoming Fried Chicken And Beer Dinner on Tuesday, June 26 at 7:00pm . Behold! the menu: Passed Hors D'oeuvres & Ponies Collard Green and Boudin "Grapeleaves" Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs Pickled Gulf Shrimp Accompanying beers: Anchor Brekle's Brown, Stoudt's Kolsch, and Wasatch Little Slammer Family Style Fried Chicken Dinner Three Varieties of Fried Chicken Collard Greens Potato Salad Cole Slaw Heirloom Tomatoes Watermelon Salad Mashed Potatoes Accompanying beers:  Brooklyn Sorachi Ace and Rogue Dead Guy Dessert Peach Crisp Chocolate Pecan Tart Summer Berry Shortcake Accompanying beer:  Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout OK SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, THIS WILL BE EPIC.  (possibly I love fried chicken a little too much, hence, e...

I've been to my share of high end beer dinners over the years. It was Will Meyers and the chefs at Cambridge Brewing Company that showed me how perfectly and skillfully beers could be paired with food. When we visited Northern California and had lunch at the esteemed French Laundry, our sommelier picked a great pairing of beers to complement Thomas Keller's food. When we moved to New Orleans, we enjoyed beer dinners at Donald Link's Calcasieu and Nathanial Zimet's Boucherie. They've all been great, and I've learned something important about beer and food at each one. I have never been to a beer dinner like the one I attended this past Thursday night at Coquette. When Jeff Schwartz, bar manager of Coquette, told me that when he and Chef Michael Stoltzfus sat down to plan the menu for the beer dinner, he realized that although beer can do almost anything wine can do and bette r , forcing a beer dinner into the wine dinner format does a disservice to how fu...

So, when we were over at Coquette a couple of weeks ago , we got to talking with the bar manager/beer guy Jeff Schwartz about beer and food and pairings, and he let slip that Coquette was planning on doing a beer dinner in May. They've been working with the Global Beer Portfolio through Crescent Crown to develop their beer list and to put something together that really showcases the great beer they have and the great talent in Coquette's kitchen.  After the craziness of Jazz Fest, Jeff emailed me to let me know a little more about what they are planning. I really liked his thought process on it, so I'm just going to quote him: When we sat down to drink beers and talk about this dinner, things were flowing well when I hit upon a concern I have about pairing dinners. Beer and cocktail dinners tend to have this mindset where it has to be just like wine. For legitimacy reasons, I suppose. And don't get me wrong, I'm pretty much convinced beers can do almost any...

A fun trip is a wander down Magazine Street. Once you get past the I-10 underpass, you’ll pass by many bars, restaurants, and shops. On a nice day, (i.e., not raining or summertime) you could probably have a nice walk starting from downtown at Magazine and Canal. Now, I’m not gonna lie to you. There’s a lot of Magazine Street to cover, and if you walk it, it will take up a big chunk of your day. Happily there is also a bus that runs up and down Magazine Street: the #11 bus. Just hop on and off when needed. If you begin your stroll downtown, you can stop at Capdeville which is right past the courthouse area; you’ll see the teeny street (called Capdeville Street, that’s your first clue) and if you duck up it, you can grab a NOLA Blonde or Hopitoulas, or a Pimms Cup or Champagne Julep if you’re in the mood for that kind of thing instead. Carrying on, you’ll pass the World War II Museum and John Besh’s American Sector restaurant within it. I highly recommend checking out t...