B. Nektar Mead Dinner at Cuisine (3D Tours)

Thursday, August 19, 6:00-9:00PM at Cuisine
670 Lothrop, Detroit 48202

What is mead, you ask? Not only is it what knights drink, it's also a fast-growing trend in these parts thanks to Ferndale's B. Nektar Meadery. Join Discover Detroit Dining as we partner with B. Nektar Meadery and one of Detroit’s finest restaurants to bring you a mead dinner in which you’ll sample and learn about a variety of different meads. Enjoy a 4-course menu prepared expressly for proper mead pairing by Chef Paul Grosz at Cuisine and learn all there is to know about mead (I'll start you off: it's made with honey).

Menu:
~Diver scallop ceviche with smoked salmon / Wildflower Mead
~Roasted Halibut with oven dried tomatoes and citrus glaze / Orange Blossom Mead
~Beef Shortrib braised in honey and Shiraz with gold mashed potatoes / Wildberry Pyment
~Blueberry tart with vanilla crème brulee ice cream / Vanilla Cinnamon

Tickets to this dinner are on sale now at www.discoverdetroitdining.com/upcomingtours and are $65.00 including all tax and gratuity.


About B. Nektar Meadery:
B. Nektar Meadery began as a home-based beer and mead operation between good friends Brad Dahlhofer and Paul Zimmerman. Theirs is a story of true entrepreneurship in the face of defeat: Brad and his wife Kerri had both been laid off from their jobs, inspiring them to open their own business selling the meads that had been winning awards at home-brewing competitions and wowing their friends. The Meadery officially opened its Ferndale location on August 2, 2008 and has since been highlighted in a number of different noteworthy publications and is carried in wine shops and restaurants all over the Midwest. But the question on everyone’s lips is, “What IS mead?” This is your chance to find out!

About Cuisine:
Chef Paul Grosz trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris under some of the top French chefs in the world. He served as the Executive Chef at the Whitney for 10 years before opening Cuisine in 2001. Through his use of fresh, clean flavors focusing on simplicity, he creates dishes that are bold and daring – true culinary art.

About Discover Detroit Dining:
3D Tours exposes metro Detroiters to different restaurants and establishments that might interest the curious epicurean. We offer themed packages that explore a variety of destinations as well as unique tastings, theme dinners, and signature events.

Discover Detroit Dining: Brew-Ha-Ha

I can haz a corporation! :D :D :D

It's finally here: Discover Detroit Dining. That's me, weeeeee!!!

3D Tours is a culinary tour program offering themed dining packages which will introduce guests to various different restaurants, food shops, wine and martini bars, breweries, cooking classes, and whatever else strikes my your gastronomical fancy in the metro Detroit area. Part food-lovers' fantasy/part alternative social scene, 3D Tours will offer fun evenings with like-minded foodies at venues that have all received my official seal of approval.

And that should say a lot, should it not?

The website is now live and tickets are now on sale for the first event: a Brew-Ha-Ha! Sunday, February 21, 4-8PM, 3 different breweries, food and beer, tax/tip/transportation--$50. Only 28 seats are available so act quickly! Though I do always love to hear a person beg...

I will be writing more on Bastone and Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. later this week; in the meantime, check out what I had to say about Sherwood Brewing Co. here.

And here's the deets!

Press Release:

For the launch Discover Detroit Dining/3D Tours outing, it’s a “Brew-Ha-Ha!” Michigan is home to some of the most top-rated craft breweries in the world, raking in medals from top competitions such as the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival. There are currently over 70 craft breweries in the state of Michigan, with many producing some truly astounding brews.

For 3D’s first-ever culinary tour event, we will be heading to three of our favorite local breweries to sample selections of their current brews, as well as tasting some of their signature foods.

On Sunday, February 21, 2010 beginning at 4:00PM, our first stop will be Bastone Brewery & Restaurant in Royal Oak, where guests will receive a flight of four current brews of their choice. Bastone was awarded a Bronze in the Great American Beer Festival for their Saison du Bastone in 2009 and a Silver for their Bastone Müncher Dunkel in 2008. In between chatting with head brewer Rockne about his award-winning creations, we’ll also sample some of their warm soft pretzels with cheese fondue dip. Nothing goes better with beer than cheese and pretzels!

Really, though—it’s true! Next on our journey to discover Detroit’s breweries, we’ll head over to Kuhnhenn Brewing Co. in Warren, where the brothers Kuhnhenn will be setting out eight different samples of their highly-regarded brews, including their Fourth Dementia Old Ale which took home a Bronze in this year’s Great American Beer Festival. Notes of toffee and caramel mask the 9.5% ABV content. Consider yourself warned! They’ll also be serving a selection of seven different artisanal cheeses, including Danish Bleu Cheese and Tillamook White Cheddar. Beer + cheese= win.

Last on our brew tour is the happiest place on earth: Sherwood Brewing Co. In addition to brewing great beers (like the ultra-hoppy Green River Wheat IPA), owners Ray and Lisa Sherwood are incredibly welcoming and make every guest feel like a family member. They’ve also made the commitment to the Slow Food ethos, incorporating fresh, seasonal, and locally-sourced products in their kitchen, and even hosting regular dinners for Slow Food Detroit. All of their menu items are made from scratch in-house, including their sauces and dressings which they make with their own beer and wine. As both a brewery and a restaurant, Sherwood is top-notch—which is probably why they’ve been voted WDIV’s “Best Brewpub in metro Detroit” for three years in a row. They take great pride in their kitchen, and are eager to share with us some of their specialties, listed below:

~Fresh Fried Chips with housemade hummus and feta spinach dips
~BBQ Chicken Pizza with bold and spicy beer sauce
~Hand-Battered Mozzarella Triangles with garlic wine sauce
~Homemade Beer Ice Cream

The tour starts promptly at 4:00PM. We will meet inside Bastone, located at 419 S. Main St. From there the Night Move shuttle will take us to Kuhnhenn then Sherwood, and will drop us back off in Royal Oak at the parking garage located on the northwest corner of 6th & Lafayette, which is where we suggest all guests park for the event. Parking in Royal Oak is free on Sundays. The tour will last approximately four (4) hours.

All-inclusive tickets for this event are $50.00 which includes beer flights, food, tax, gratuity, and transportation during the tour. Tickets are available on the Discover Detroit Dining website at www.DiscoverDetroitDining.com and are subject to availability. Tickets must be paid for in advance in order to participate. Seating is VERY limited—once we have reached capacity no exceptions can be made. This event is open to guests 21 & older only. For more information about this or other events, please contact Nicole Rupersburg at Nicole@DiscoverDetroitDining.com.