Lazy Magnolia Beer Dinner

First course: shrimp and grits

Thursday evening started out like normal.

After work I stay to run with a group of friends. We egg each other on whether it’s 100 or 40 degree outside. Smart, right?

Good thing I ran because on my way home Ben called to see if I wanted to go to the beer dinner (does the Pope wear a funny hat?). Of course I did.  I scrambled to get ready and at approximately 6:38 p.m. I hopped in the shower, by 7:01 p.m. we were turning into the Parker House parking lot.

The Beer Dinner
We were escorted into a small side room, and after looking around it appeared that we scored the last table. I was surprised we could get a reservation so last minute, and expected to see more people there.  At any rate it was a nice, intimate setting with groups of people representing Lazy Magnolia, Capital City Beverages, and Raise Your Pints.

As we sat down the staff greeted us our first beer, Indian Summer Spiced Wheat Ale, and I soaked in the detailed course menu and beer descriptions.

The Parker House manager, catering manager, sommelier, and head chef were introduced and scurrying about pouring beer, delivering entrees, and serving tables. Andy Cook, the head chef, explained his thoughts behind each course as it was being served, and a representative from Lazy Magnolia, talked about the beer paired with it. Chef Andy had also worked to incorporate the beers in the dish it was served with.

Food Recap
A parade of food began, and we indulged in five courses and six beers. Along with each dish we received a new glass of a different Lazy Magnolia beer. Although this was a beer centered dinner, I don’t really drink beer. Willing to try anything, I would take a sip and pass the glass to Ben. As a result, I can’t tell you much about them (read the beer menu) except one was thick, most tasted bitter, and Southern Gold was the most drinkable.

The two of us were sitting at a table for four, and the servings reflected that. Each course was served family style; one large dish was to be shared among the table. My preference for the courses corresponded in the order they were served.

The first course, Shrimp and Grits paired with Indian Summer Spiced Wheat Ale, was by far my favorite. They didn’t skimp on the shrimp! There were more than a dozen plump, Gulf Shrimp (according to the menu) swimming in an Indian Summer Ale and mushroom sauce, over locally made grits with blackened tomatoes. The tomatoes had a kick, maybe were slightly over seasoned, but the flavors came together wonderfully. Ben scrapped the plate clean of grits and declared he was full. Ha!

The second course, Fish ‘n Chips paired with Southern Gold Honey Ale, was my second favorite (get the idea?). Pieces of Southern Gold beer-battered Mississippi farm-raised catfish, topped vinaigrette-tossed arugula with a watermelon and corn salsa, served with fresh sweet potato chips. (Yes, all the descriptions were a mouthful.) This was a fun play on an ordinary dish, in the South I’ve only had fried catfish with a cornmeal breading. The beer batter was slightly sweet, a tad thick, but crispy and delicious. I had to stop myself from eating the entire plate of sweet potato chips, and picked out every chunk of watermelon I could find.

By this point, my stomach was quickly approaching capacity, but we forged on.

The third course I could take or leave, it was “Slap Jo Momma” BBQ Pork paired with Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale. Shredded pork shoulder smoked with the ale, covered with a fig- apricot glaze was served with turnip greens and smoked bell peppers on the side. I’m a big fan of combining sweet and salty (chocolate covered pretzels, pizza and Diet Coke, kettle corn), but the meat was far to sugary for my taste. Because of that, the smokiness was hard to detect, but the greens cut the cloying flavor of the pork. The sommelier politely asked if we would share our dish with one of the larger tables who didn’t get a big enough portion (?). She told us to take as much as we wanted before giving up our dish, and Ben scooped up more greens.

I was happy to save some room this round, but Ben had topped out.

The fourth course was Hereford Tenderloin sliders paired with Reb Ale Deep South Pale. The sliders were dressed with blue cheese aioli, cheddar cheese, Reb Ale and onion marmalade, Jefferson Stout grain mustard and house made pickles. Four tall sliders, speared with sprigs of rosemary were set at our table and we only ate two. Sadly there was so much going on it was hard to detect the blue cheese aioli, marmalade or cheddar cheese. Or maybe our taste buds had surrendered. The sliders were decent, but my least favorite dish of the night. Ben loved the pickles.

The fifth course, and best part of all dinners, was dessert – Chocolate Bread Pudding paired with Gulf Porter. This time we each were presented with a large hunk of bread pudding drizzled with a Gulf Porter and blueberry syrup, crème anglaise, and sprinkled with a few fresh blueberries. A cube of bread would shine through here or there, but the consistency was more like a large brownie (fine by me!). I took a few bites and then put both my dessert and Ben’s in a to-go box. Since then, they have been polished off.

After the onslaught of food was an after dinner beer (didn’t know such a thing existed), Jefferson Sweet Potato Stout, which rounded out the total count to six brews. This is the one that resembles motor oil.

Beyond the Food
It was a pleasurable evening and interspersed in between the food, drinks and descriptions were swag giveaways. The staff was kind enough to award me with a Raise Your Pints t-shirt for tweeting about the dinner that day. Ben swiftly confiscated it, XL looks better on him anyway.

The service was attentive for the duration of the two and a half hour feast, and for the amount of food and beer we consumed the price wasn’t outrageous. In addition to the meal, we came away with two Lazy Magnolia glasses, stickers, menu print outs, and fully bellies.

I love events showcasing local tastes and talents, and the Parker House and Lazy Magnolia are two great representatives unique to Mississippi. It was a wonderful, spontaneous date night out.

Support your local businesses, and if you think about coming next time, I might share my beer with you.

Parker House
104 South East Madison Drive
Ridgeland, MS 39157
Phone 601-856-0043
www.theparkerhouse.com

Disclaimer: In the exciting turn of events I grabbed my camera, only to discover that my battery was dying a sad death. I only got two photos out of it, then it was down to my camera phone.