It's a Unibroue World, Part 2

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 22, 2008 7:36PM

Someone apparently reads the site: former Chicagoist staffer Lisa Shames attended Sunday's beer and charcuterie seminar at Custom House and e-mailed us to say that there were at least four people in attendance beside her who found out about the seminar via Chicagoist. We ran into at least that many people last night who said the same.

But this isn't about us. It's about the beer and the cured meats. And we can say with certainty that the seminar was a success, if all the beer and food pairings were not. That isn't to say that the quality was subpar; far from it. It's just that, for the first three courses, the beer served made a better pairing with one of the dishes than both. Case in point, the opening course, which paired Blanche de Chambly with both house cured sturgeon and a juniper-scented crème fraîche and mussels with orange zest and olive oil. The citrus notes of the beer worked wonders with the latter dish while falling flat with the sturgeon. Similarly, a Rockefeller oyster didn't match well with Maudite at all, but worked miracles with an amazing chicken liver mousse and sourdough toast.

The dinner kicked into high gear with a marvelous pairing of Unibroue's latest brand, Seigneuriale, with rabbit stew, cavatelli and winter vegetables, and sweetbreads with caramel and chestnuts. Each sip of the Seigneuriale acted as a palate cleanser, erasing any traces of the food. It also paired marvelously with each dish.

The main purpose of the seminar was to raise awareness of Unibroue's product. With "culinary attaché" Jim Javenkoski working the room alongside Custom House chef Richard Camarota and Spring Restaurant Group beverage director Tim Lacey, converts were made by the end of the night. A gentleman who sat at our table remarked at the consistent quality of the beers poured, particularly praising the warmed Quelque Chose that ended our meal (with pairings of venison loin cured with dried cherries and cloves, and chocolate fritters with brandied cherries). It only reaffirmed our belief that Unibroue makes the best Belgian-style beers outside of Belgium and is, in our opinion, the best brewery in North America.