Saturday, June 8, 2019

Jake's Billiards Beer Dinner

Jake's Billiards' beer dinners might be the best kept secret in all of Greensboro. They occur every other month and for $40, you get a 5 course meal, each paired with a beer. And if you've been to Jake's, you know not to judge a book by its cover - the food is amazing, particularly the ranch dressing. (If you're a ranch fan, it really doesn't get any better than Jake's!) Earlier this month, a friend and I went to their beer dinner that featured brews from Haw River in Saxapahaw. Each course enhanced the beer, and nothing disappointed. In fact, everything exceeded my expectations.

As an amuse bouche, we were given the Demitasse, a Belgian Blonde Ale with Coffee. It was very drinkable, and I appreciated the fact that the coffee notes weren't too strong. After we made acquaintances with our table mates, the first course arrived: Israeli Couscous, Tomato & Arugula Pesto Salad. This was a perfect starter course, and a delight to eat on a hot summer day. They actually used arugula in the pesto too, and it had a perfect herbaceous note. If you haven't tried Israeli Couscous, it's super satisfying. It's like little noodle pearls, nothing like traditional couscous. I was a huge fan of this dish. The beer pairing was a bit too hoppy for me - the Belgian Oatmeal Pale Ale - but the Pale Ale fans at my table really enjoyed this.

I was stoked to try the second course: Strawberry Gazpacho! This is one of my favorite summer soups. It's packed with flavor, tomato is usually the star ingredient, and it's served cold. The strawberry note was a nice change so it made the soup a touch sweeter than usual. I really loved the Honeysuckle Spring Witbier that came with it. Notes of honeysuckle and Indian coriander really brightened the soup.

Next up, we enjoyed tender, juicy, Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken and Pineapple Skewers with Balsamic Blueberry Salsa. I was really impressed with how well the chicken was cooked, and the prosciutto added a nice, salty bite. I'm not an IPA fan, but the Northeast-Style IPA with Pine was a brilliant pairing for this course (I joked that the Pine in the beer went with the Pineapple in the dish!) If you're keeping track, that's 4 beers and 3 courses down. You'll want a DD for this experience.

The Sriracha BBQ Salmon with Wild Mushrooms was absolutely delicious. The salmon was perfectly cooked (again, how did they manage that for so many people?) and the sriracha barbecue glaze was addictive. The Rustic Saison that came alongside seemed salty and almost off-putting on its own, but paired with the dish, it was quite enjoyable. That's why beer and wine dinners are so fun - the flavors can really change depending on what its served with!

Finally, we arrived at dessert, and to my delight, it was a Lemon Blackberry Cheesecake Cupcake. We each got a little mini cheesecake served in a cupcake wrapper, that had bold notes of lemon and blackberry throughout. In fact, the crust was a Lemon Oreo! Super creative. We enjoyed the Belgian Summer Golden Ale that came with it, and at 10% ABV, I can see why it was served last.

If you haven't been to Jake's, you need to check out their creative and elevated bar food. But the real treat are their beer dinners. If you like beer, good food and good times, I promise you won't be disappointed.