Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Philly Beer Week: Something for Everyone

It's been fun to watch the event list grow for Philly Beer Week 2008. At first, I'll admit, I was a bit concerned with the schedule that seemed to include mostly high-brow, expensive, and seemingly "insider" type of events. But, maybe that's because they're the most difficult to plan. I've been quite pleased as the schedule as continued to round out more and more with less expensive, lower-brow, come as you are type of events that appear to be more open and appealing to a wider demographic. (Trust me, I mean lower-brow in the most affectionate way.) Take for example a restaurant like XIX in the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue, who decided to incorporate beer into their daily operations for the duration of PBW. This way, anyone passing through the hotel (leisure and business travelers alike from across the country) will get the opportunity to sample desserts made with beer without even knowing that this thing called Philly Beer Week is going on. Or, beer folk can stop in at this "beer event" for a mere $9 on their way home after attending a beer event elsewhere. Kudos to XIX! From their press release: Executive Pastry Chef Dan Pino at Nineteen (XIX) cafĂ©, bar and restaurant located on the 19th floor of The Park Hyatt at The Bellevue at Broad and Walnut Streets, will offer a special menu that incorporates his favorite brews into sweet creations for Philly Beer Week, March 7 to 16. Chef Pino’s beer desserts will include: Sticky Toffee Pudding with Malted Weyerbacher “Old Heathen” Stout Ice Cream, Coffee Mascarpone Cream and Brooklyn Brown Braised Pineapple; Milk Chocolate Mousse with Red Hook Ale Sorbet, Spiced Mango Cream and Apricot Marmalade; Macerated Raspberries with Sly Fox “O’Reilly Stout” foam, Sesame Powder and Shaved Dark Chocolate; and a selection of beer ice creams and sorbets. The desserts will be $9 each.

No comments: