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Good pubs, Good Beer, Good People

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Hailey's Harp & Pub Beer Dinner

Dynamic Duo Back in Action

When Moshe the Barman and Chef Johnny of Hailey’s Harp and Pub get together, magic happens. It did again last evening, and the twenty-five beer and food devotees were both dazzled and fully sated when the night ended. Servers Brigitte and Colleen kept the courses and their matching beers coming out with efficiency, and the pairings on the table worked as well as the pairing in the kitchen.
Many of the attendees were repeaters from Hailey’s successful Oktoberfest event, but there were many new faces on hand as well. That’s actually one of Owner Chris Flynn’s goals. “These dinners are not about making money. They are about exposing people to new beers and wonderful foods to go with them. It helps that I’ve got a couple of Houdinis in the kitchen and at the bar to make it successful.”
The first course set the tone for the rest of the dinner, as a truly incredible ricotta sauce made the figs and starfruit sing and the Saranac Blueberry Blonde beer joined in for a duet.
Yard’s Saison accompanied the Orrechiette and Mushroom  dish, and a magnificent sausage-stuffed poblano pepper and salmon gravalax  dish was paired with Carton Brewing’s highly quaffable Boat. Doug Edwards, Carton’s rep, sat with us and told us this beer was designed to be a hoppy, low-alcohol session ale that should  “dance out of the glass with a whack of grapefruit and open into a crisp, stony tangle of white and yellow fruit with pine and moss notes.” That it did.Climax Brewing’s tasty Golden Ale, escorted by the legendary James Larkin, matched up with Moshe and Johnny’s  Spring Salad, and the very-hard-to-get (and very high octane)Dogfish Head 120-Minute IPA accompanied a delectable Hangar Steak ka-bob entree.
Moshe and Johnny’s Banana Split a-la Hailey’s, reportedly sans ANY calories (yeah, right), was a work of art and Wells Banana Bread Beer worked well with it.
In all, a most enjoyable dinner made that way by two masters, an owner who cares about quality and a distinguished and fun-loving group of beer nuts. Rumor has it that the summer will see another seafood-based beer dinner, too, so stay tuned.


 Check out these pics of a very memorable event!

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