Gotta give Varanese Restaurant (2106 Frankfort Ave.) some props for being one of just a few restaurants in town hosting regular beer dinners. Too often the “blue collar beverage” stays confined to the fridge during paired dinners since, traditionally, wine is king when chefs trot out the big plates.
On July 11 at 6:30 p.m., Varanese will host a four-course Sierra Nevada Beer dinner that will include six brews from one of the nation’s best regarded breweries. If you’re a beer drinker and more interested in the brews than the food, note that the lineup includes Sierra Nevada’s Classic, Seasonal, High Altitude and Specialty collections.
The evening’s guest speaker is Lee Hill of River City Distributing, so get your questions ready.
Ever the town’s best bargain for paired dinners, the cost of this latest Varanese chow-down is $49 per person (plus tax and gratuity).
Reservations are required and can be made by calling (502) 899-9904 or emailing letsdine@varanese.com.
Here’s the menu:
- Opening reception (6:30 p.m.): Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
- First course (served at 7 p.m.): tempura-battered cod, served with shoestring potatoes, pickled radish and banana ketchup paired with Sierra Nevada Keller Weiss Hefeweizen
- Second course: pretzel pizza with goat cheese, candied lemon peel, country ham
- and wilted micro dandelion greens paired with Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
- Third course: Asian BBQ duck breast and duck confit eggroll served with a sesame glass noodle salad and baby bok choy paired with Sierra Nevada Ovila Quad/Sierra Nevada Hoptimum
- Fourth course: foie gras French toast with caramelized bananas, maple syrup and powdered peanut butter, served with bacon-chocolate chip ice cream and Chantilly cream and paired with Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
- Closing: Sierra Nevada Summerfest
