Public House is our only true gastropub, a term that has been stillborn for most of the places that claim it. And so it seemed fitting that it was chosen as the venue for a pop-up dinner pitting a series of craft beers against esoteric cocktails created by Mixologist Jeff Josenhans of the US Grant Hotel in San Diego. Some of the cocktails were cockeyed. But in the end, the drinks prevailed, as better pairings for the five-course dinner.
Beer got off to a bang-up start. The best beer of the evening, a Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere, made the best impression, a complex, refreshing beer with a perfect blend of hops, malt and lingering flavors. Its competition for the pairing with a greasy, but tasty crispy duck roll was something called the Asian Cowboy Sour, which I thought was a misuse of High West White Whiskey, a glorious product. Josenhans is ingredient happy. The whiskey, a sweet one to begin with, didn’t need all the gussying up with Meyer lemon and agave.
The next course, an octopus salad with Israeli couscous and a strong citrus cast, was matched with a beer called Grimbergen Blonde, a rather weak, insipid brew, and a drink called the Venetian Arrangement, a medicinal drink served in a wine glass that made me think of Robutussin. I’d call this a dead heat, and I didn’t much care for the octopus.
But then the food and the booze took a sharp, upward swing. The dish served, a hearty short rib with pea potato puree, the meat glazed with Black Butte Porter, had a slightly bittersweet finish, and was perfectly braised. The Aect Urbock, supposedly a rauchbeer, but without the properly smoky cast, was no match for it.
Happily, the cocktail, called Sprit Grocer Soiree, was quite interesting, based on Templeton Rye, with a number of sweeteners including maple syrup, plus Fee Bitters and Guinness foam, producing one of the best matches I can recall in a dog’s age.
And everybody loved the cheese course, a trio of boutique cheeses, one Blue, one hard, a third soft. With it, the cocktail, called Three Little Jigs, also won the day, despite having an unimaginable ten ingredients, such as “bruised” parsley, wtf that is, Luxardo cherry, fresh pressed pineapple juice and a base of citrus vodka. The beer, Sierra Nevada Barrel Aged Quad, clashed with it, imho. Hugh Fogel, your host on this site, would have eaten everyone’s cheese had he been given the chance.
A dark chocolate tart topped with nuts and whipped cream was then expected to rise to the occasion against a beer called Speakeasy Double Daddy, a caramel and hay flavored IPA from San Francisco. It did not. I thought the cocktail, Smooth Criminal, delicious, in its sugar rimmed glass. I love sugar rims. Does that make me a bad person?
At any rate, I admire what Public House, and Corporate Chef Anthony Meidenbauer, tries to do. Vegas has one gastropub, anyway, whatever that term means.
The pop-up dinner is being served tonight for $65 per person. Call 414-1000 for more information and to make a reservation.
ed note: I loved the Jolly Pumpkin Bam- very light with a definite lemon flavor and scent. It paired extremely well with the duck roll. I loved it so much, in fact, that I tracked it down to Total Wine & Spirits in Boca Park. There are 6 bottles left as of last night.
