SOLD OUT!

You might be surprised to learn that 30th Street is acquiring a reputation as San Diego's "Little Belgium." You won't often see the tricolor stripes of the Belgian flag on 30th Street, nor will you typically hear French or Dutch, the respective languages of Belgium's Walloon and Flemish people. But you will find one of Belgians' favorite foods, steamed mussels, in nearly every restaurant from Beech Street all the way to Adams Avenue. On any given day, you may smell mussels in white wine, cream sauce, garlic sauce, saffron broth, coconut milk and curry, spicy tomato sauce, or, perhaps, in beer. Probably a Belgian style beer - maybe one of the traditional brews imported from Europe, or one of the fine local beers brewed under the influence of Belgian brewers' yeast. San Diego's breweries have gained great international acclaim for their renditions of unusual Belgian beer styles including saison, abbey, dubbel and tripel, or Flemish red. And there's no better place to sample these beers than the ale houses and eateries of 30th Street. Which got me thinking...

San Diego brewers are doing such a good job making local beers with Belgian brewing methods, what if we asked our chef to cook some local versions of Belgian food to go with them? We've been reading and researching, practicing recipes, and it turns out that local seafood (including, of course, Carlsbad mussels), natural meats, local cheese and produce work pretty well in Belgian recipes. On Wednesday, April 22, you can taste the results yourself. We'll offer a six course tasting menu paired with some of San Diego's finest examples of Belgian Style ales. Here's the (tentative) menu; we will send out the final version as soon as we've got the beers in house and done the final taste testings on the pairings - it might be a few days since Elena's put a cap on how many beers I can 'taste' per day.

AleSmith Li'l Devil
Shrimp Croquettes- a traditional Belgian appetizer (like fish cakes or crab cakes) made with Mexican Wild Shrimp

Green Flash Saison
Mussels from Carlsbad Aqua Farm steamed in the paired Saison beer.

Lost Abbey Lost and Found
Winchester Gouda with Apple and Pear, inspired by Northern (Flemish) Belgium.

Green Flash Trippel
Halibut Waterzooi- a traditional Northern Belgian stew thickened with egg yolks and cream containing carrots, leeks, potatoes and herbs, served with toasted ciabatta bread.

San Diego Brewing Company Belgian Brown
Carbonnade Flamande- a sweet-sour beef and onion stew made with beer and seasoned with thyme and bay leaf. We'll be using beef from Megan's farm in Temecula.

AleSmith Horny Devil
Belgian Waffle with whipped cream and house-made Horny Devil syrup.

The cost for the tasting will be $50 per person, which includes all beers and food but does not including tax or gratuity. Come enjoy some never before served dishes created just for this event! RSVP required: 619.255.7049, elena@searocketbistro.com or let us know you're interested the next time you're in.