chimay

my husband, brian (in blue), and i had the very distinct pleasure of attending a preview event at morton's this week (beth is out of town). Beth should go out of town more often, if it allows me to comsume free beer and food from Morton's. on october 24 at 6:30, morton's is hosting a chimay tasting. part of the proceeds benefit the make-a-wish foundation. i recommend you go. and not just because morton's bribed me with free food and beer, but because the food and beer are really good, and it's for a good cause. Look at it this way, not only to you get to sample some pretty tasty beer and great food, but you also get to help some kids realize their dreams.

i would like to start by saying, this is the first time i have been invited to an event such as this, and i wanted to make a good impression. be on my best behavior. I had to be on my best behavior also, which is hard for me when free alcohol is offered, but I did say please everytime they asked for more and thank you when they obliged. of course, that was immediately thrown neatly out the window by the fact brian and i arrived 20 minutes late. That was my bad, but some of us work 20 miles north of the city and we all know how hard it is to get out of the Mason area. Would it hurt to add a couple more lights and lanes out of uber-Suburbia? but it was for a good reason. brian got promoted that day(!), and was stuck late at work finalizing paperwork-type stuff. i couldn't drive myself because my car had overheated that morning and stopped in the middle of MLK at 7:40am, an experience i was not willing to repeat by tempting fate and driving downtown. Which was fortunuate for me because it is not cool to deal with a pissed off wife twice in one day.

needless to say, i was slightly flustered upon our arrive and i really don't remember much about the first beer, which was the chimay white. it was good, but i was kind of gulping and not really savoring, as chimay should be. it's made by trappist monks, which alone indicates it should encourage reflection and meditation. Fortunately, I have a stout memory when it comes to beers and this one did not disappoint. It was the lightest of the three, and pretty good. Those monks are on to something. Can I get an Amen!

we enjoyed salmon, capers and horseradish as well as tuna tartare canapes. julie described them as reminiscent of a california roll, and that is a perfect description.

the second beer to the table was the chimay blue, or grand reserve. this was by far my favorite of the evening. it's very smooth, with a caramel undertone. This was also a solid brew, it is smooth and really went well with the steak sandwiches. I am not a huge fan of the thicker beers. However, the blue was a nice mix of flavor and smoothness which made me want to have more. it started out as the abbey's christmas brew, which i can definitely see. it has a kind of warming fireside feel to it. interestingly, it can be stored up to 17 years and becomes more like a port over time. i have found old miller lites in the back of the fridge, and i can tell you, shelf life is unusual for a beer.

the blue was paired with petite filet mignon sandwiches. the meat was rarer than i usually fancy, but i didn't mind a bit. i think i would have preferred a thinner, less yeasty bread, but the sandwiches were still satisfying, especially since i was beginning to experience that warm tipsy fuzziness.

dessert was paired with the chimay red, or premiere. this is the original brew of the abbey, created in 1862. the pairing with the hot chocolate cake was inspired, because it rounded out the taste of the beer with a whole other, complex flavor. who ever thought i would drink beer with dessert??!! the red by itself was ok, but really complemented by the cake. The red did not disappoint either, it tasted outstanding with the hot chocolate cake. I would have to say that the experience of the food and beer was one of the best that I had ever had. Granted, I'm not as good at this as the wife, but you don't have to be a part-time blogger to know what it good and what it not and I assure you that the staff at Morton's knows how to deliver service and quality.annemarie from morton's kindly brought me chocolate mousse (she sensed my sweet tooth) to try with the beer, and that pairing was good, but the cake was a better choice. the mousse by itself, however, i loved. it was a bit denser than the typical mousse i've had, like pudding for grown-ups. lauren helped me nibble on it. i wish i could have finished it all, but i was stuffed.

the coolest thing i learned all night? in the bowl of each specially made chimay glass (goblet really), there is a shield etched in the bottom. this allows the beer to effervesce. who thinks of these things?? For everyone out there who doesn't spend a great deal of time looking at the bottom of their glasses unless it is empty and you are expecting it to magically fill back up; mine didn't magically fill up, but did with the help of Jason and Annemarie. God love em' and the drunk monks who have blessed the world with their sweet nectar.

i have been told morton's has a fantastic happy hour (sliders!), and also late hour to catch the after theater crowd. they also are sponsoring a hamburger special on sundays to benefit make-a-wish. i definitely plan on returning. a million thanks to annemarie and jason from morton's and lauren from wordsworth for the opportunity. i was also pleased to see wine me, dine me and 5chw4r7z and meet buy cincy. We will be going for happy hour some time soon, at least that is the plan and for those of you who haven't been to Morton's, you should go. As JJ from Good Times would say, the place is DY-NO-MITE!

p.s. i just want you to know, i am not a total free food whore. i had the chance to go to eddie merlot's last sunday on the drug rep's dime and passed it up to hang out at home with my dogs. i'm just saying.