Roasted My Ass

It's been a while since I've been truly disappointed by a restaurant meal. I've had some fairly meh experiences, but most have been good or even very good. And then we had dinner at Nepenthe Brewing Co. 

Now before you scold me for expecting anything fancy or chef-fy, I knew from the start that Nepenthe is a local brewery and their tasting room serves grub like burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, and macaroni and cheese. We hadn't been yet, and since we happened to be in the neighborhood, we decided to check it out. Our first matter of business was to order drinks from their IPA-heavy list of interestingly named house brews. I had the Boreal Crypt, a cloudy yellow IPA with the "cold indifference of winter’s cruel grasp." Mr Minx had the clearer and darker Prototype 36--a collab with the Wine Source--listed as a "West Coast IPA" and made with 6 kinds of hops. I'm not a beer connoisseur by any means, but I think both of these brews could be enjoyed even by those who say they don't like IPAs (like hubby, who drank two). Neither of our choices were particularly fruity, nor were they bitter. They were beers. 

Then we went onto to the food.

I hadn't had battered mushrooms since the 80s, when we frequented the fried veggie joint at Harborplace. Squirting fungus napalm singed our palates every time, but we never learned. At Nepenthe, we nibbled our initial 'shroom with trepidation and were thankful not to get burned. The mushrooms themselves were pretty good, but the "bulgogi sauce" made them soggy and super salty, and I saw no use whatsoever for the sprinkle of nutritional yeast on top (a dip of gochujang mayo on the side would have been so much better). For the $12 pricetag on these ten or so small-to-medium button mushrooms, edible gold would have been more apt.

Mr Minx chose for his entree one of the day's specials, a grilled cheese sandwich with pulled pork and pickles. He rather enjoyed it. I declined to try a bite because I was already suffering from dairy overload thanks to our recent Thanksgiving cheese-fest, but I did partake of his fries and their super garlicky aioli dip.

I'm sure you're wondering where the great disappointment comes in. I'm getting to it. It was my entree.

When I perused the menu earlier in the day, I was attracted to the "roasted butternut, acorn, & kabocha squash, toasted couscous, gala apples, & toasted pumpkin seeds on fresh spinach with a creamy poppy seed vinaigrette." Not only was the Oxford comma correctly employed multiple times in that description (be still my heart), but also I love roasted squash. Mr Minx does not, so it's rare when I prepare it at home. I was pretty hungry, so chose to add on a grilled chicken breast (bacon was another option). I couldn't wait to dig into to what I thought would be a masterpiece of seasonal simplicity. What arrived at the table was quite large and indeed attractive. After forcing the dish to pose for the requisite photos, I tried a bite of apple. It was mushy and flavorless, at first reminding me of d'anjou pear (not my fave). Then I took a bite of squash. It didn't look roasted, and it wasn't. Perhaps the squash had been introduced to the oven, decided it was a place it really didn't want to linger, and skipped on over to the microwave for a few short minutes from which it emerged relatively unscathed: crunchy, with none of the expected sweet caramelization. The spinach was fine, as were the couscous and the pepitas. But where was the promised creamy poppy seed vinaigrette? As I look closely at the photo, I can see dark specks on the salad which might be poppy seeds, and some of the greens appear to be moist, but as far as my tastebuds were concerned, there was nary a hint of vinaigrette flavor. Indeed, no seasoning whatsoever. The chicken, on the other hand, was quite salty. Additionally it was overcooked and dry. 

I ate the chicken--dipped into Mr Minx's aioli--and some of the salad, but took most of it home. We consumed it the next morning under a couple of over-medium fried eggs, the yolks of which acted as a dressing of sorts (I also topped mine with a couple spoonsful of chili crisp), but it didn't make the squash or apples any less sad.

Thank goodness for beer.

Nepenthe Brewing Co.

3626 Falls Rd

Baltimore, MD 21211

https://www.nepenthebrewingco.com/

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

World of Beer Towson

The newest addition to the Towson Square complex on Joppa Road at Virginia Ave in Towson (duh) is World of Beer. It is also the noisiest addition, at least it was on the night we were there. It was the beer emporium's first day open and when we arrived at 6pm, it was half-full of loud rowdies. They may well have been perfectly normal people, but the acoustics of the place turned them into shouting idiots. (Or, they could have been shouting idiots to begin with.)

By the time we left, it was 3/4 full, and I was so glad to have had a pair of earplugs in my purse. Sadly, the din, with or without the plugs, prevented any conversation with my spouse, apart from pointing to the various foodstuffs on the table and mouthing, "good?" So you are forewarned that World of Beer is not the place to go for a romantic date, nor if you want to have any conversation at all that doesn't require shouting. For some odd reason, there was a couple there that felt a restaurant with the word BEER in the name was the ideal place to bring their three small children. Fine parenting. If the kids hadn't been getting up and running around, as the children of fine, fine parents are wont to do, it wouldn't have bothered me. It was so damn loud in the place, I couldn't hear their typical childish whining/squeals.

That said, the food was pretty good, and one cannot fault the beer selection.

Although there were so many beers, we had difficulty deciding from the lengthy list. Mr Minx eventually decided on the "Batmobile" from the mixed draught section. A combo of Guinness and hefeweizen, it was like a sorta-banana-flavored black and tan. I had a Full Tilt Patterson Pumpkin, mostly because of the name, and also pumpkin. Later, hoping that the more we drank the less we'd be able to hear, we also had a Brooklyn Oktoberfest and an RAR Nanticoke Nectar.

Now, we only went to World of Beer on the opening day because we thought that, as media, we'd get a tour, and perhaps some free food. Otherwise, it's always better to wait a few weeks before trying a place so the kinks have been worked out, both food- and service-wise. An owner and a manager came over separately to shake our hands (one of whom had a nasty, limp, wet fish handshake...shudder), but neither offered anything in the way of telling us about the establishment, about its infusion tower, its partnership with Jail Break Brewing Company and special Monkey Hefeweizen + banana infusion, or the Heavy Seas firkin tapping that occurred earlier in the day. I only know these things because we received a press release a week before the event. Hey, but if an owner didn't care, or think we were important enough to bother to share this information, we shouldn't care either, right?

The service, as is usual on a first day of operation, was a bit off. We were approached at various times after entering by employees who welcomed us and told us to sit anywhere. After we picked what we hoped would be a relatively quiet location (near the open front), a few more people came by to say hi (and ask if we had ever been there before, and when we said no, still didn't bother to tell us about the infusion/firkin/etc.) before the person who would be our actual server showed up. She seemed nervous yet eager to please, but spoke too quietly to be heard over the screaming in the background. I originally wanted to order a flight of IPAs, but after realizing there were too many choices coupled with my inability to hear her recommendations, I gave up.

Though I would rather have left, we ordered food. Fortunately, it was generally pretty good. I had two ahi tuna tacos, which were generously-sized and fresh-tasting. Mr Minx ordered a pesto grilled chicken sandwich. It also was huge, filled with nicely moist and juicy chicken breast, and good amounts of pesto and cheese. The steak fries on the side were cooked properly and both dishes were overall pretty well done.

Except we had ordered appetizers, which hadn't arrived yet. After reminding our server, she ran off to set things right. She had recommended their mac and cheese, which is made with spiced pepperjack cheese and topped with crisp bacon and herbed breadcrumbs. The textures were nice --super gooey cheese, crispy crumbs--but apart from being properly salted, the dish was bland. The bacon wasn't even particularly bacon-y.

We also tried the fried pickles. Another huge portion, the pickles featured a melange of shapes and some Peppadew peppers, all lightly battered and fried to a nice crispness. They were well-seasoned and didn't necessarily need a dip in the accompanying sweet-ish dipping sauce (which was maybe a tad too thick).

Limp-fish-hand presented us with our bill, saying he had comped the mac and cheese because it had come to the table so late. But we apparently had to pay for the pickles, which were even later. And everything else, too. But the prices are very reasonable for the portion sizes and the bill wasn't that bad. If we hadn't ordered beers (I know, at a place called World of Beer), it would have been downright cheap.

We sucked down our second beers and beat a hasty retreat. I couldn't help but notice that al fresco diners at the restaurant next door had to put up with the noise emanating from World of Beer, which by that point in the evening also included live music. I wonder how it will end up affecting the adjoining businesses.

World of Beer
125 Joppa Road
Towson, MD 21204



Posted on Minxeats.com.

The Just Beer Project

After generations of drinking crappy beer that tasted more like the byproduct of large horses with extremely hairy legs than hops and barley, Americans have started to demand better libations. Craft beers are being produced everywhere, and even Baltimore has been named one of America's best beer cities. Now one can buy beers of every color and strength, flavored with fruits, coffee, and even peanut butter. But sometimes folks just want beer that tastes like beer. And that's where the Just Beer Project comes in. Alan Newman, founder of Magic Hat Brewing Company, and no stranger to craft brewing, realizes that there are some people out there who just want a tasty, uncomplicated brew that they can drink all night long. Just Beer's first product is Just IPA, which comes in at 5.2% ABV (alcohol by volume).

Just IPA is lightly bitter and lightly floral, just enough of both to keep the drinker from getting bored, but not so much that the beer is more interesting than the food that it accompanies. Or doesn't accompany. We're not huge IPA drinkers in this house (but, I must confess, I do rather like the super floral/fruity ones) but both of us were pleased with our sampling of Just IPA. We're hoping there's a Just Lager coming out in the future because we just happen to enjoy lagers with Baltimore's favorite summertime meal, steamed crabs.

Just IPA is available in a limited area for now, and only on draft at the following Baltimore-area locations.

JD’s Smokehouse Bar & Grill
3000 O’Donnell St.
Baltimore, MD

Plug Ugly’s Publick House
2908 O’Donnell St.
Baltimore, MD

Freddie’s Ale House
7209 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD

Mother’s Federal Hill Grille
1113 S. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD

Social Pub and Pie
25 E. Cross St.
Baltimore, MD

Max's Taphouse
737 S Broadway
Baltimore, MD

Kloby's Smokehouse
7500 Montpelier Rd
Laurel, MD

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

Posted on Minxeats.com.