2012 Food and Dining Predictions #6 {Beer is King, not the King of Beer}

Welcome to CB.com's 2012 food and dining predictions. I've always loved postulating about where food and food culture is headed. Sometimes I'm spot on, and other times I've failed miserably. We feel that we have a pretty good pulse on this industry and want to look into that crystal ball and lay out some educated guesses on what the food retail industry may look like like in 2012 without any of the Nicholas Cage Mayan calendar nonsense.

Let's continue with our educated guessing!

Coming in at number six on our countdown is beer. Good beer has been that hyperactive cousin to wine for many when it comes to formal dinner pairings and understanding the nuances of what good craft beer represents.Wine has been the "Go To" receiver in crunch time and it's had a great run. Well done Vino.

America has been duped by commodity beer flavored water for too long. Beverage conglomerates such as Coors, Anheuser Busch (InBev) and Miller Brewing Company have led the charge with tasteless malt punch for the past 35 years. Fortunately we're in the midst of a craft beer renaissance.

All you have to do is look at this graph to understand. I love logistics.

The big boys are scared, and they have good reason. Beer has unfolded in a way where many could not have predicted. Chefs turned brewers have infused eclectic flavors and production methods to churn out a new style of craft beers. Restaurants like The Publican in Chicago have proved that pairing great beer with food can be a recipe for success. Beer is as versatile as it is diverse, providing both complementary and contrasting experiences when paired with food. Also, the piece of mind of drinking a crafted pint versus a bottle of Bud has given place to a social culture hierarchy. (Don't tell Nascar that)

Beer: It's just not for pretzels anymore

The range of pairings, many food experts agree, is as diverse as it's wine counterpart. Examples I like are a great Cornish Lobster Salad -  Paired with Lagunitas Brewing Company Pils and Deschutes Brewery Mirror Pond Pale Ale. Or take your favorite selection of British cheeses and pair with Victory Brewing Company Storm King Stout and Green Flash Brewing Co.'s IPA. You can be over simplistic or as complex as your taste buds will allow you.

We believe Craft beer will push the context of beverages the same way the wine boom did in the late 70's and early 80's. More and more people are realizing good beer is nothing to sniff at, and as more Americans realize they don’t have to drink watered down lagers, we expect huge growth in the wildly diverse craft sector to just keep growing – unless, politicians like Scott Walker have their way.

2012 Food and Dining Predictions:

#10 - The inconvenience of Food 

#9 - Personal Investment and Ownership

#8 - Minimal is the new black

#7 - The fusion of family style meals and belittlement

Chopbiscuit on the road dining review: The Publican - Chicago, IL

You've never had pork rinds like this..

 Welcome to another delightful Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls, dive bars, food trucks and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.

I like eating. It fascinates me. I sit and look at the food for hours. I often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is my tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. I eat because I'm hungry. I eat because it's my job. I go out to these establishments to consume their lineups.

I then judge it.

The Publican
837 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-9555

I can officially chop this off my restaurant bucket list.  The Publican is a beer-focused restaurant in Chicago that has had both food and draught lovers drooling since it's opening. Executive Chef Paul Kahan and Chef de Cuisine Brian Huston crafted an eclectic menu inspired by simple farmhouse fare in a  European beer hall style dining room. The space was designed by James Beard Award-Winner Thomas Schlesser. The Publican features eclectic, crafted pictures of swine on the wall with a communal sense of hall dining. A partnership between Executive Chef Paul Kahan, Donnie Madia, Terry Alexander and Eduard Seitan, The Publican anchors the hip-chic Fulton Market District.

 The menu features pork and fish/seafood preparations and according to the restaurants website, the menu is best described as  “pristine product, simply prepared,” an approach to food Kahan has brought to all of his kitchens. The Publican heightens the awareness of simple dishes, each dish stripped of the pompous elements most high end dining theatre brings and keeps it simple with only essential ingredients. The menu is presented in easy navigating sections: Fish, Meat and Vegetables, each laid out from lightest to heaviest fare.

What I ingested:

Well, I obviously started out with a nice draught. I ordered the a Alpha King Pale Ale from Three Floyd's brewing company in Indiana. I figured I was going to go hearty that evening with food, so why not match up the beer. It was a decent, hoppy start to the evening. For starters, we dove into the renown pork rinds and a medley of fish, ham and vegetable plates that were simple with big, bold flavors. I was especially impressed with tuscan kale with preserved lemon and rice and beans. For my entree I ordered the steak tatare with grilled flatbread and poached eggs. It had a tender, smooth flavor that went great with the charred flatbread.

For dessert we split three amazing dishes. Lavender ice cream with dark chocolate and candied walnuts, blueberry elafoutis with Chantilly and lemon and a waffle with honey butter and rhubarb confit.

It was a great way to start the National Restaurant Association weekend in Chicago and an amazing experience for any beer or food lover. Definitely some of the most simple and creative food I've had in quite some time.