Tag Archives: craft beer

A Jar of Pickles Walks into a Bar…

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

Solemn Oath Skinny Jeans are Ridiculous & Pucker Pickles

Last Friday night started out like many do around here, full of good food and good beer. Our destination? Solemn Oath Brewery. Now, let me tell you. This place is the definition of cool. If Solemn Oath was in middle school, people would make mix CDs in its honor and trade their zebra cakes for a chance to sit at its table during lunch. (What these things aren’t cool anymore?!?)

Tucked away from the street lights and big city blocks, Solemn Oath Brewery is nestled (much to my excitement) in the Chicago ‘burbs. Breaking the mold that is cookie-cutter suburban restaurants/bars, the brewery occupies just enough warehouse space for beer lovers to grab a drink or two at the bar while enjoying the scenery. And that scenery? That’s beer being made in the background.

Okay, okay. Back to the pickles. Most Friday nights hopheads and malt aficionados alike have reason to bring their appetite to Solemn Oath. Each week a food truck glistens in all its glory outside the brewery doors. Lucky for me, a born-again cheesehead, Toasty Cheese was serving up any hot and melty combination of grilled cheese you could think of.  I went veggie.

Toasty Cheese Veggie Grilled Cheese

Sourdough bread  loaded with fresh veggies (bell peppers, asparagus) and creamy goat cheese. Once I picked it up, I didn’t put it down until it was all gone. Nom, nom, nom. It washed down seamlessly with the Skinny Jeans are Ridiculous (yes, that’s the name of the beer) and a pickle.

A free pickle. Big shot out to the friendly folks at Puckerd Pickle Co. (Chi-town made!) for creating a memory I’ll never forget. I can honestly say Friday night was the first time I’ve ever eaten a pickle straight out of the jar… at a bar.

Hop Juice Festival 2012

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Disclaimer: It’s beer fest season. That time of the year where streets open up (or I guess, shut down) so people can gather to enjoy, yep, you guessed it – beer. I will be attending many of these events in the coming months, so therefore I apologize (although I don’t feel there is anything to be sorry about) for all the posts about beer. Just pop the cap of your brew of choice and deal.

It’s been a few years since I made it to Two Brothers Hop Juice Festival, but it was well worth the trip. We only spent about an hour and half at the fest since we had a wedding to go to in the evening, but a glass of Hop Juice IIPA and some pork tacos made a fabulous afternoon snack.

One of my favorite elements of the Two Brothers experience is that not only is the beer good, the food is phenomenal. I personally think their food is so delicious because they place emphasis on the quality of their ingredients. The menus boosts organic this and local that, and believe me, you can taste the difference.

Anyway, back to the tacos. The pork tacos did not disappoint. The meat was tender and topped with cilantro, onions and what I thought was a tomatillo sauce with the perfect bit of sweetness and heat.

Since I’m a food (ahem) enthusiast, I also tried falafel and buenelos (donut holes with an orange marmalade sauce. ) They were both good, but the tacos won out as my favorites. Looking forward to visiting the restaurant again soon to eat more of them.