Feature Beer Friday: Eel River's Triple Exultation Barleywine

By Eric Ducote

Good morning again readers!  I hope everyone has been having a fantastic summer now that the "vacation" aspect is coming to a close.  The weather aspect... we'll still have a few months I'm sure.  I hinted at this week's Feature Beer already, and sure enough, here's the Triple Exultation Barleywine Style Ale from Eel River Brewing. This beer is the 2018 edition that I also found for a cheap $5.99 for a bomber at Rouse's, and it comes in at 9.7% and 80 IBU.  I talked a bit about Eel River in last week's post, so I'll jump straight into the review.

Eel River's Triple Exultation Barleywine style Ale

My first thought was that this is a bit on the dark side for a barleywine, I'm more used to seeing a copper to deep red color and this beer is more on the brown end of the spectrum. Upon first sip, there's not much flavor, and this comes across more like a big amber ale than a barleywine to me, but as it warmed up the beer opened up a great deal.  The barleywine characteristics started to come out like toffee and caramel notes from the strong malt backbone.  The hop presence was strong and bitter but not overpowering.  

After pulling this beer up on Eel River's page I see that it has previously been marketed as an Old Ale, so that makes more sense why I would initially feel it was on the bland side for a barleywine.  By the time I was done with the bomber I was really enjoying the Triple Exultation, especially for the price, so I'd recommend finding one, but be sure to let it warm up a few degrees before diving in. 

Cheers everyone!       

Feature Beer Friday: Eel River's Raven's Eye Imperial Stout

By Eric Ducote

Good morning everyone on another beautiful Friday!  Today's feature beer is coming from Eel River Brewing out of Humboldt County, California.  Eel River operates two facilities out there, a brewing and packaging facility as well as a brewpub and tasting room.  Eel River Brewing has been around for a good while, over 20 years, and has been distributed locally in limited quantities for many years as well.  I've never seen any of their flagships pop up, but I do often see the Raven's Eye Imperial Stout on shelves and used to drink plenty of it, always finding it to be one of the best offerings of the style regularly available.  I saw bombers of the 2018 Raven's Eye and the 2018 Triple Exultation Barleywine at Rouse's for $5.99 each, I didn't hesitate to grab one of each.  You can probably guess now what next week's feature beer is going to be... 

The Raven's Eye Imperial Stout is listed at 9.5% abv and 28.5 IBU, described by Eel River as, "Bold and creamy, with hints of dark chocolate and espresso, this roasty brew is balanced by aromas reminiscent of molasses and plums. Warm, festive and strong, Raven's Eye is also quite smooth."

Eel River's Raven's Eye Imperial Stout

The pour is exactly what an Imperial Stout should look like, a viscous dark brown with a frothy off-white head.  The aroma is boozy with chocolate flavors and hints of plum.  The taste is similar, roasty with more chocolate notes and definitely dark fruit flavors.  (I actually wrote those tasting notes in my phone before I looked at Eel River's own description!)  This is a full-bodied full-flavored fantastic Imperial stout at a great price.

If you see this one around town, don't hesitate, and if you see it at as good of a price as I found, you might want to buy one or two to age as well, as I could see this getting even better over time.  Cheers! 

Beers with Chuck: Share This O.C. from The Bruery

by Chuck P

I’ve been a big fan of The Bruery from Orange County, California ever since they began distributing here back in 2013. Their bourbon barrel aged beers are some of my absolute favorites. And now I’ll be adding the Share This: O.C. Imperial Stout made with orange zest, cacao nibs and vanilla to that list as well.

This addition to the Share This series is in partnership with Food Forward, a program that donates fresh produce to hunger relief agencies throughout southern California. These fruits and vegetables from backyard fruit trees, farmers markets and orchards where most would normally go to waste. For every bottle sold The Bruery donates $1 to this great cause.

The aroma hits the senses with with bits of orange, chocolate, vanilla and a light roastiness. A great balance of the cocoa and citrus comes through as well with a bit of the booziness lingering. The taste is fantastic with the orange zest coming first giving way to hints of chocolate and vanilla creeping in along with some light coffee notes. The orange fades to give way to some tartness and the alcohol of the imperial stout that finishes smoothly with minimal burn considering it comes in at a pretty big 11%.

The O.C. is a great imperial stout with a nice balance of citrus and chocolate notes that brings together the tart and sweet ingredients perfectly. Make sure to grab a bottle and enjoy while also donating to a great organization in Food Forward.

West Coast Vibin’ at The Crack Shack: Where Gov’t Taco Research meets Fried Chicken

by Aimee Tortorich

In January I had the pleasure of heading back to San Diego after over 4 years being away.  The reason? Taco research. With the upcoming opening of Gov’t Taco, I wanted to check out what the West Coast was up to in the food scene. Let me tell you, they still got it going on!

We tried everything from traditional Mexican to modern American tacos, but eating tacos for 16 straight meals gets a little monotonous, so we headed to a few different restaurants for inspiration.

One of the coolest places we went was The Crack Shack, Richard Blais’s new restaurant known for their chicken and eggs. Free-range and local fried chicken and eggs are served in a fast casual restaurant with a true Southern California laid-back vibe. Surrounded by bocce and frequented by any and all, including happy dogs, it was a nice start to a great research trip.

We arrived the morning around 9 am on a weekday, so we never had to wait in line. (Word of caution, if going on the weekend, be prepared to wait for this crack.)
After discussing the menu options, which are located on the wall next to the ordering counter, we decided to try an assortment of delectable offerings.

Chicken Lollipops

Togarashi and Lemon

Perfectly fried and whimsical to the eye, these beauties were laced with a little Japanese spice mixture known as tōgarashi, which added a nice heat and citrus flavor.  Definitely a winner on my list, I would go back for more all day, everyday.

Border Slaw

Papaya, Mango, Jicama, Coconut, Chili, Pineapple

The border slaw was a nice variation of traditional southern slaw. The freshness of the fruit mixed with the textual crunch of the elements didn’t disappoint. Good as a palate cleanser or an option for the health-conscious, this slaw would definitely go great on any seafood taco.

Mini Biscuits

Miso-Maple Butter

These little beauties were top of the line in the biscuit world. Delicate, buttery and served with miso maple butter, I had my fair share and “maybe” overindulged. Chicken and biscuit taco anyone????

Chicken Oysters

Pickle Brine, Meyer Lemon, Mustard Seed Tartar

Any chef will tell you that the best part of a chicken is the chicken oyster. These tiny dark meat jewels come right off the backbone at the thigh and are super tender and juicy.  It’s no surprise that Richard Blais would put these prized bits on the menu. Pickle brined, fried and served with fried kale and mustard seed tartar, these were a great appetizer and made for a great chicken biscuit!


The Condiments

From bottom left to right: Baja Hot Sauce, Cracksup, Kimchi BBQ, Vadouvan Mustard, Chimichurri and Ranch

These house-made sauces were definitely a huge inspiration for Gov’t Taco. Offering 6 different options, these sauces hit all the notes from sweet to spicy to tangy. My favorite was the mustard, which was sweet and had notes of curry. It was a great dipping sauce and would be an interesting component for tacos.

The Best Things I Ate on My SoCal Sojourn

by Sydney "Brown Nose" Blanchard

Long before I began working for Jay, I had an appreciation for good food.

Fun fact: The cover letter I wrote when applying to intern at Bite and Booze was about my love for specialty meats. 

I attribute this love to two things: my Cajun heritage and growing up in Baton Rouge where eating out is considered weekend entertainment. 

Among my friends, I'm the token "food snob." I don't care how great the drink specials are at Chili's, I'm not paying good money for something that came from the freezer and was heated in a microwave.

Needless to say, when I planned my post-graduation California vacation, my biggest concern was food.

My girlfriend Ryan and I would be flying to A-Camp two days early to explore Southern California a bit before our week-long stay in the mountains of Angelus Oaks.

Check me out on the bottom left with some of my fellow campers on a hike

If movies/media have taught me anything about California, it's that everyone is vegan and that smoothies and fruit-infused water are a primary source of nutrition. 

And that terrified me. 

I'm happy to report we were pleasantly surprised by the food we ate in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Long Beach.

It's a good thing we got our gourmand on before camp, because the camp kitchen was kosher, and they tried to pass off nachos for lunch one day. We literally starved the whole week.

Without further adieu, here's a list of some of the best things I ate in my two days in SoCal:

Santa Monica | Tacos Por Favor

The Tacos Por Favor spread

Like all great Mexican restaurants, Tacos Por Favor looks sketchy as hell from the outside. Big red block letters spell out the restaurant's name on its teal blue storefront, and mismatched chairs and tables make up the interior decor.

Chorizo and cheese soft taco at Tacos Por Favor

But $30 fed me, Ryan, and our friend/tour guide Michael at Tacos Por Favor. Don't assume their Taco Bell prices mean Taco Bell quality. The tacos were amazing.

We ordered a variety of tacos a la carte: potato, chorizo, and al pastor, all topped with salsa, onions and cilantro. The chorizo and cheese taco was my favorite – seasoned, crispy, and topped with a dollop of guacamole, it made the perfect meal after a 4-hour flight following three hours of sleep.

I highly recommend this tiny, hole-in-the-wall joint for a cheap and satisfying meal.

Los Angeles | In-N-Out

If you've ever scrolled through Tumblr, you've seen the stylized, filtered images of In-N-Out burgers and fries that are ubiquitous among the cool California teens of the blogosphere. 

The chain burger restaurant has made a name for itself by serving nothing but high-quality (for fast food) burgers and by paying their employees a livable wage. 

Fast food burgers don't usually excite me, but when in California, do as the Californians do. 

Burgers and fries from In-N-Out at Signal Hill in Los Angeles

We got a couple Double Doubles and one Animal Style burger (items on their not-so-secret "secret" menu), along with regular fries and a couple milkshakes. I wasn't blown away by the burgers, and the fries were over-cooked and under salted in my opinion, but the customer service and speed at which our food got to us was notable.

Also, they hooked us up with some rad paper In-N-Out hats. Points all around. 

Long Beach | Tee's Donuts 

Fruit Loop topped donut at Tee's Donuts

In Louisiana, it's rare I enter an establishment where I am in the minority.

At Tee's Donuts in Long Beach, we were the only white people in the store. And it was everything we ever dreamed of.

The shop was inexplicably an Asian-Mexican hybrid. They served traditional (and sort of wild) donuts, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and boba teas and shakes in a huge array of flavors.

I got a decent breakfast sandwich, a donut topped with Fruit Loops, and a Thai iced tea with boba. I'm a sucker for boba tea, and I wish I'd have been able to try the green tea with boba or the avocado shake with boba.

(For the uninitiated, boba, or bubble, tea is a cold tea with sweetened tapioca pearls added.)

Long Beach | Open Sesame

Refreshing glass of Jalab at Open Sesame

After a long day of riding up and down Long Beach on rented cruiser bikes, we'd worked up quite an appetite, although, not a sweat (bless California weather)!

We were desperate for a good meal, and our Uber driver recommended Open Sesame, a trendy Lebanese joint that wasn't too far.

Once we were seated, we understood the hype. The food was the usual Lebanese fare, and we opted for an appetizer of kibbi, and grabbed some chicken shwarma and gyros.

What impressed me most were the beverage options.

I ordered jalab, a rose water and grape syrup mixture infused with incense and topped with pine nuts and almonds. The flavor is nearly impossible to describe, but the words "refreshing," "syrupy," and "nutty" come to mind.

They also offered something called tamarind, an Indian date syrup infused with rose water, and laban, chilled yogurt with dry mint. 

The atmosphere definitely made this spot worth checking out, and the locals are obsessed with it. 

The one thing that surprised me the most about my SoCal sojourn was that the mid-level restaurants in the area were no better or worse than the mid-level restaurants back home. Maybe Baton Rouge lacks those super fine dining experiences, but I'd pit Louisiana food against California cuisine any day. 

Bite and Booze Radio Show: Stories with Jay and Erin

Joe and Jack Walker from Slap Ya Mama with Snoop Dogg

This week my intern Erin joined me on the Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket.  We had a chat with Mike Willis from Rudolph Foods about cracklin and pork rinds, and then I proceeded to tell stories about the our front stoop "UN Convention" in NYC and me desecrating a National Monument on the West Coast!  Meanwhile, my sponsor Slap Ya Mama recently get a nice celebrity picture with Snoop Dogg!  Looking good, fellas!

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The Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket airs on Saturdays at 5 PM on Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge.  It is also available on iTunes.  The show's sponsors include Calandro's Supermarket, Visit Baton Rouge, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Louisiana Cookin' Magazine, Juban's Restaurant, the Tin Roof Brewing Company, and the Louisiana Culinary Institute.

The Great American Beer Boom: Jay's Beer Journey

Back in October, many of you will remember that I set out on a craft beer adventure to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver and then on to check out some breweries in San Diego.  What might have slipped through the cracks is that I made a stop in Louisiana as well, and that my buddy Tommy Talley of tommysTV came along with me on the journey... with a camera.  Here's a story that tells what I found out about the relationship between craft brewers and their wholesalers:

Greg Koch of the Stone Brewing Co. poses with a beer and Jay Ducote