Goose Island Brewery Tour

I really enjoy brewery tours.  I enjoy learning about the brewing process, seeing the facilities, hearing the history, and of course, most importantly, tasting the different styles of beer.  I've toured Miller Brewery (a few times) (Milwaukee, WI), New Glarus Brewery (New Glarus, WI), Metropolitan Brewery (Chicago, IL), New Holland Brewery (New Holland, MI), and just recently, Goose Island Brewery (Chicago, IL).

This past Sunday, the Chapman Bros., Scott Tydell, and myself did the tour.  Coincidentally, also ran into Ian Dickman and family (another groomsman in Scott's wedding) who toured with us.  The tour was at the Goose Island in Lincoln Park.  They have a brewpub in Wrigleyville and a production facility, which I found out about on the tour, by Fulton Market. 

The tour itself was just ok.  Cost was $10, which wasn't a big deal.  A guy takes you into the brewery facilities and tells you about the history, the different beers they brew, and the processes.  Although informative, it was a little cramped and quite warm in the facility.  Tours tend to be somewhat similar in that all tour guides talk a little about the process of brewing and the ingredients.  This one was the same. 

The second part of the tour was much better.  They took us into a party room where 6 tasting were set out, light to dark.  We sampled all six and he told us which ones they were.  They were a Wit, a Hefeweizen, a Saison, an Ale, Brown Ale, and a Stout.  All were tasty minus the Hefe.  I generally like them, but this one was a little too gumball/banana sweet for my liking.  We did get a Goose Island Summertime glass to keep which was nice. 

One thing I like about the breweries here which I never noticed in Milwaukee are that you can bring home Growlers, basically jugs of beer.  I know that Goose Island, Piece, and Half Acre do it.  I'm sure others do as well.  Absolutely LOVE that!

Sidenote:  Although I didn't investigate (I'm taking the word of a server at GI Lincoln Park), the menu there is more sophisticated than the Wrigleyville one.  Seems kind of strange that with only 2 brewpubs that they would differ the menus. 

I Love Brunch!

Brunch is by far my favorite meal.  I like it because you can have breakfast foods or lunch food.  Its casual, low key, and there's no rush usually.  I love the big famous brunch places where there's a big buffet, an omelet station, and another mini menu of specialty items.  My family used to go to 2 places that I absolutely loved and unfortunately are no longer there.  Pieces of Eight and Pandl's in Bayside.  Both had my previous requirements for amazing brunch places.

This past weekend, while attending the Walker/Chapman wedding, I had the pleasure of getting brunch both saturday and sunday in Evanston.  On Saturday, 6 of us, including the Mike, had brunch at Dixie Kitchen, a cajun style place.  The decor was made to look like Louisiana which was a nice touch.  I was, however, thwarted by the liquor gods in that they don't serve alcohol in Evanston until 11 am.  We all started with beignets...not sure if I've ever had one before, but I'm glad that I did.  Basically fried sweet dough and powdered sugar.  I continued my sweet brunch with a bananas foster french toast.  Very good, very sweet.  Too much sweet for me in the end, but I'm glad that I tried it.

Sunday, we went to Le Peep with a much larger group.  Of course we didn't have reservations and had to wait a little bit.  We ended up splitting 15 into 6,6, and 3.  This time decided to go savory with a Crab Cake Benedict.  It was excellent. 

Who's in for brunch?  Bloody Mary, Coffee, Mimosa, or all 3?

BACON Vodka - yes and yes

I've done it.  I've been wanting to do it for awhile and had done my research prior.  And voila, success.  I tasted it in a bloody mary yesterday and it was delicioso!

Basically the way it works like this...

1) Start by cutting up a package of bacon into smaller stripes, against the grain.
2) Cook it all thoroughly in a pan.
3) Put it all (cooked bacon and all the grease) in a glass bowl/pitcher and pour in vodka.
4) put it in the freezer for 30-60 min.
5) Spoon/ladle/spatula the fat out (it will have floated to the top to make this relatively easy.

6) Have another container handy and pour through a strainer (to capture more grease and bacon)
7) Strain again if necessary.
8) At this point this could be ready.  I decided to go through one more step of straining through a coffee filter.
9) I ladled it all back into the vodka bottle.


Can someone say bloody mary bar???

Kopps - hometown fav's

Every city/town has these places.  They're the places that everybody loves and treasures.  If you move away, they are the "must go's" anytime your in town.  If people visit, you bring them there and rant and rave about it.

In Iowa City, there are many places, but the ones that really pop to the forefront are the Hamburg Inn and Panchero's.  In Chicago, a couple examples might be the Wiener Circle or Portillo's.  The distinction is always good food, but also exclusivity.  These places certainly aren't nationwide brands/chains.

In my hometown of Milwaukee, one such place is Kopp's.  Its only 15 minutes away and is a frozen custard stand.  Not only does it served rich, delicious custard year round, but it serves amazing greasy food as well.  The burgers, onion rings, and seasoned fries are all amazing.  The custard can be turned into shakes as well. 
The custard is served in a cone, dish w/a wafer, or by the pint.   I believe they even ship it in dry ice if you purchase enough.  Every day the standard flavors are chocolate and vanille and one special of the day.  On their sign, and on the sign inside, they give you the 3 day 'forecast' of the upcoming flavors.  Also inside, there's a sheet w/all the flavors for the month.  You can of course go online to see what they have as well.  http://www.kopps.com/ .

Last month I got a pint of vanilla and mint chocolate chip.  It was to die for!  Oh how I miss it!

Pulled/Shredded Pork - slow cooker

I love using the slow cooker.  I've used it to make chili and pot roast primarily, but have now added shredded pork to my repertoire.  Prep time is easy and short and then you sit back and wait.  The low, slow heat ends up doing all the heat for you and if you stay in your place all day, its a nice long slow tease of yummy aromas.  Makes it that much more satisfying when you do finally get to eat it. 

This slow cooker recipe was just as easy as all my previous ones.  I looked up a few recipes and then just made a combo one of my own. 

Large 2-3 LB piece of pork shoulder/roast
Couple cloves of garlic
Rough cut onion
Seasoning salt
Water/Beef Broth

First rough cut an onion and garlic and throw it in.  Season the pork.  Shoulder/Roast are fairly cheap.  My piece was a little over 2 LB's and was less than $6.  The beauty with slow cookers is that they're perfect for cheaper pieces of meat.  The long, slow heat slowly tenderizes it.  Then add a few cups of water/beef broth, no need to cover.  That's it.  Set your timer and let it do all the work.

When finished, put the pork on a large bowl.  Discard everything else.  Grab two forks and start pulling apart.  Its very easy, the meat just shreds.

Once down, do what you wants with it.  I made pulled pork sandwiches.  I added barbecue sauce and mixed it in.  Put that on a bun, added a few pickles and served with slaw on the side.  You could also have some pulled pork tacos too.  Enjoy!