NYE at the Monk's Kettle

AB and I hadn't really made plans for New Year's Eve, so when friends suggested going to the Monk's Kettle with them, we jumped at the chance. We were lucky enough to score the last two seats for dinner, and even luckier that we got to sit with our friends at the bar, instead of at two separate tables.

The four-course dinner featured Malheur beers -- each course included a Malheur beer as an ingredient, and the dish was paired with a glass of the same beer. The menu can be found here.

First Course - Portobello Mushroom Soup
For me, this was an amazing start to the night. The presentation was lovely, with a gruyere-covered crostini floating in the middle of the bowl, the way you get a crouton on top of your french onion soup. The mushroom soup was creamy and rich with truffle oil, and the crostini was delicious (although a little awkward to eat, since it was larger than bite-size, and difficult to cut while it was floating in the soup). Unfortunately, it was so good, that the second course was a little bit of a letdown.




Second Course - Parmesan Risotto Crusted Loch Duart Salmon
Although it was good, this course didn't really stand out for me -- it wasn't especially flavorful or unique, and it reminded me of something that I might make at home for dinner. The salmon was cooked well, and the lemon flavors were nice, but predictable. Although I've never had a crispy scoop of risotto on top of my fish, that part wasn't especially exciting either. The salmon was also served with some sauteed broccolini, which again, I felt like I could have made at home.













Third Course - Pork Tenderloin
The chef definitely got back on track with the pork tenderloin, which was tender and delicious. The cheddar potato cake on the side was also amazing, with a breadcrumb crust and warm cheesy goodness inside. When I first saw the menu a few days ago, I was really looking forward to the caramelized parsnips and brussels sprouts, and they lived up to my expectations -- perfectly browned and buttery.






Fourth Course - Chocolate Fondant Cake
Dessert was also wonderful, although at this point I was far too full of beer and food to finish. :-) The cake was moist, with a melted chocolate filling, and the vanilla sauce surrounding the cake was garnished with just a little bit of raspberry sauce. Yum....

Overall, it was a wonderful dinner. They were also extremely generous with the beer all night long -- although I was expecting small tastes of each beer, they kept refilling our glasses the whole evening. The beers were interesting and delicious, and we toasted at midnight with the Malheur Brut, which was as close to champagne as any beer I've ever tasted -- they carbonate the beer in a similar style, and the flavor was light and fresh.