Magnolia's Beer Pairing Dinners - this week only.

[larochelle]

Magnolia's 10th Anniversary is this week and in addition to their regular menu, they are having special beer pairing meals.

Anyone planning to go? We're not going until the last night (Sunday) so if you do make it, we'd love hear what you thought.

Oddly, there's no info on their website about the special menu, I found out via an email that had these specifics...

Monday-Thursday the menus are 3 courses and each night references some aspect of our
influences here. Monday is an expanded version of our long-running New Orleans night, Tuesday is a British pub/gastropub menu, Wednesday is a Belgian menu, Thursay is an expanded Southern menu to add to our existing fried chicken night.

Fri-Sun is going to be the same menu all three nights, 5-courses...an amuse, salad, app, entrée, and dessert. It will be a little more forward-thinking, demonstrating what can be done in a gastropub setting and how far we can take the idea, following those several days of paying homage to our roots.

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Magnolia Pub & Brewery
1398 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117

[Absonot]

I thoroughly enjoyed the fried chicken meal last night -- it just gets better and better in my opinon. Ridiculously huge portions, I've never been able to finish it. Good thing I adore cold fried chicken at midnight.

All the food was great except for the panna cotta. The caramel sauce hadn't been cooked long enough - the sugar was still sandy and gritty.

The REAL revelation last night were the merguez corn dogs. Thankfully, these are on the menu so I can (and will) order them the next time I'm there. It wasn't the spicy greasy bomb I feared. They were absolutely delicious and the corn exterior is a great balance of fluffy and crunchy. I wonder if the sausage is house made? My BF ordered the bangers and mash, and the bangers were equally impressive.

[mchan02]

I enjoyed the dinner last nght as well. My sauce on my panna cotta was perfect- no grit.

I was amazed by how big the portions were!! I'd never had their fried chicken before, and it was dee-licious. I'm looking forward to eating the rest of it for lunch today!

Didn't get to try the corn dogs, but I look forward to it.

Thanks hounds for the Barking Pumpkin recommendation. I had one before my DC arrived, and then it came again with dessert! Definitely one of the best pumpkin ales I've ever had. Great on cask, too!

[Dave MP]

A friend forwarded me the email about this too. Do you know what the prices are for these meals?

Here is the menu from the email for the Friday-Sunday meals:

5-COURSE TASTING MENU

Amuse:

bbq pork sandwich

First:

Niman Ranch smoked lengua and Rome Beauty apple ravioli with Page
Street sunchoke ragout

Second:

ginger-glazed Alaskan halibut cheek with frisee salad and a sesame seed tuile

Entrée:

rabbit fricassee with kidney sauce, marble potatoes, baby red carrots,
and Wine Forest chanterelles

Dessert:

cardamom and cinnamon-spiced churros and Mexican chocolate fondue with
Italian meringue

"This menu showcases Magnolia's culinary vision for seasonal and
sustainably sourced, beer-friendly, gastropub cuisine. Each of the
five courses has a carefully selected beer pairing. This menu is
available only in its entirety and everyone at a table must order it
(for timing purposes)."

[Cynsa]

Tonight's New Orleans Dinner
3-courses $23
beer pairings $5

first course: Andouille & Duck Sausage Corn Fritters and Huckleberry Jam $8
beer pairing: Blue Bell Bitter
second course: Chicken and Crawfish Gumbo w/okra and Tasso ham $14
beer pairing: Spud Boy's IPA
or Texas Redfish Meuniere w/fried okra and Polenta $16
beer pairing: Kalifornia Kolsch
3rd course dessert: Chocolate Pecan Pie $6
beer pairing: Stout of Circumstance

Thanks, m'dear Rochelle, your post was just the kick in the pants that we needed. We've liked the beers at Magnolia and it's been a long year between pours. The Barking Pumpkin was tempting... but I did enjoy the Blue Bell Bitter, the Kalifornia Kolsch, and the Stout of Circumstance with the prix fixe. The Gumbo was fork-thick and spicy, quite lovely, in fact. And, that chocolate pecan pie was chock full of nuts and thick with dark chocolate sauce in a shortbread crust! The corn, Andouille and duck sausage fritters were filling and too hearty for my tastes but fitting for a cold, windy night's appetite. Beer pairings were well-matched and I was pleased that I was able to switch to the Kalifornia Kolsch. Our server was a sweetie. We were seated at 5:30 pm and by six o'clock, every table was full. Music was great, too. Guess I'd better sign up for the email!

[Absonot]

That Barking Pumpkin - it's amazing! But not obviously pumpkiny, which is my personal preference. It's not a sickly sweet pumpkin pie in a glass kind of brew.

I'm hoping to try the Belgian menu on Wednesday - I can never turn down braised rabbit. I am definitely going on Thursday for their fried chicken, though. Good to know that we had better get there early!

[larochelle]

Dang, that's an awesome menu. I might cry if Magnolia doesn't serve okra and chocolate pecan pie at Sunday's tasting menu.

On the bright side, I'll be in Texas at the end of the month so at least then I'll be able to get my fill of okra, pecan pie and more.

[Cynsa]

I love okra and I was a very happy gal with this Gumbo.

[Cynsa]

$35 for the 5-course Tasting Menu; $10 more for the 5 (7 oz.) beer pairings; Friday through Sunday or "until we run out".