I just returned from the Fireside Bar and Grill in Sellersburg. I actually have more work to churn out tonight but I wanted to acknowledge the evening while it was still fresh in my mind. Oh and I'm drinking a generous pour of Evan Williams Single Barrel that I picked up yesterday from ToddA at the Keg.
I've sung the praises of the Fireside for some time now. It is not perfect by any stretch, nowhere is. I'm in the place two or three times a week most weeks so I've seen them at their best and worst. Mostly, the Fireside is a place you can count on being very good on any given night and extraordinary more often than you'd think.
Tonight the Fireside was EXTRAORDINARY!
Tonight the Fireside partnered with NABC to do an evening of suggested pairings. This was not a set meal with a set price but rather the regular menu plus a special appetizer, salad, three entrees, and a dessert with suggested NABC beer pairings. The place was packed.
I drink NABC beers nearly every week. There is no reason I can think of not to. They are always fresh and they are available in two locations that offer excellent food and atmosphere to boot. The beers on offer tonight were not the beers I normally drink. I was not exactly excited by the lineup when Lauren posted it on Facebook. I had faith however, that both Lauren Smith and Richard Atnip knew what they were doing. I was right to have faith.
Appetizer - Blue Cheese Gougeres & Sausage Empanada $6
We had no clue how to pronounce gougeres or even what they were. Empanandas, blue cheese and sausage we did know. The gougeres were small puff pastries about the size of a hush puppy and while they tasted of cheese there was next to none left inside them. The girls loved them. The empanadas were drizzled with a brown mustard and the combination provided just the right blend of spicy meat, fried bread, with a sharp finish. The beer was Elector and it's boldness was a nice contrast to the subtle pastry and stood up well to the bold pastry.
Salad - Fresh Arugula, Pan Seared Goat Cheese, Balsamic Beets tossed in a Lemon Vinaigrette. $5
Very refreshing greens, fried cheese was rock star easily eaten by itself, beets tasted like dirt. Patty said earthy Shane! My wife who loves pickled beets said they were not sweet enough. By the end I was digging the combination. The Black & Bluegrass washed it all down without calling too much attention to itself.
Entree – Smoked Leg of Lamb $14 Two of us selected this and holy effing shit this was amazing! It had some kind of pasty mint sauce (not jelly) on top and the taste was smokey yet delicate, the sensation of tender meat so sensually gratifying, that I wanted to pick it up dripping from my fingers and rip it apart. The recommended beer here was the Tunnel Vision but I opted for Bonfire of the Valkyries. One of our party had the Tunnel Vision and said it was fine but on the sweet side for this savory dish. I thought the Bonfire, which had a subdued smokey flavor was exactly what I wanted for this dish. I wanted to order another.
Dessert – Thunderfoot Cherry Granita $5
I dreaded getting to this course with any reserve capacity yet here I was. Don't get me wrong, I was not worried I wouldn't like it. I knew I would want to eat and drink this until I fell over into a coma of excess. In truth, the granita which was sort of a course sorbet with plenty of cherries was nice. The real dessert was Thunderfoot which if there is a more truly delicious beer then I've yet to discover it! In a lifetime of drinking beer and an admitted proclivity towards bitter, I can with no shame admit that if I were to whore myself to drink a beer it would only be for Thunderfoot. Enough said!
So, I wondered if the man himself (RogerB) might make an appearance at the Fireside tonight. Not while I was there but NABC was well-represented. First, the amazingly talented Tony Beard who does the original art work for NABC walked in and sat at the bar. Then Aaron, the representative for Cavalier Distributing came in and sat next to him. A bit later, the best beer rep in the business, Richard Atnip came in. I chatted them all up which added to the fantastic evening.
Of course the beautiful Lauren Smith was there. A night without Lauren is like a night without the moon. She was there to pronounce gougeres for us, provide the perfect music, deliver our beers to table, and honestly facilitate the evening to perfection. Patty Smith was there to tell me that the beets did not taste like dirt, they were earthy, she said it was perfectly fine for us to pronounce the sweet potato gnocchi (which was stupid good) nookie if we wanted, and she smelled fantastic. Neal Smith stopped by to say hi. When we exclaimed how good the smoked lamb was he was relieved and said he was up at 4:30 am to soak the wood chips and marinate the meat before it went under the smoke. What dedication to clientele!
This was a thursday at the Fireside. The Fireside is our place.