Beer Dinner - Bethlehem Inn Benefit

Last weekend the wife and I joined some friends and Redmond Roger and his wife for some great beers paired up with some great food at Deschutes' Mountain Room...oh and to support the Bethlehem Inn of course. The evening was a blast for all of us. We laughed (loudly), and joked the night away about all sorts of random topics while we sipped our beers and enjoyed our meals.

When we arrived our friends were already chillin and enjoying some appetizers and half pints. All the glasses were half pints which make me feel like I need to raise my pinky when sipping on them. Like I'm having tea and watercress sandwiches while playing bocce and talking about the recent Jai alai match.

Anyway, we munched on a couple of the appetizers like the tortilla chip with watermelon and a thin slice of sashimi tuna. Good, but wet meat is something I'm not really used to. I've tried Prosciutto and Honeydew and its ok, just not really for me....and I like bacon on anything!

I really enjoyed the Kobe beef on a crustini over (I can't remember the cheese, I want to say Gouda) topped with a green tomatilla salsa.


For our first course we sat and stared at Greg Unruh's Lobster Bisque and Lobster Roll as we listened to a speech about the Bethlehem Inn and what it is that they do. I nervously waited until after the speeches about the Inn, the Bachelor Bitter, and the Brown Butter Lobster Bisque and the sandwich before snapping the photo. I was worried that the bisque would get cold but it was just right.

Greg (from Cork) nailed this dish and its pairing with the bitter. Freakin awesome. To be honest, this was my first ever lobster bisque AND my first ever lobster roll. Both were great but I think the lobster roll should have been a footlong sub all NY Sub Shop style. As a seafood lover, this was my favorite dish although it was very tough to compare on dish to another as they were very different and all delicious in their own way...well except for one.

This one:


Roasted Root Vegetable salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette paired with Mirror Pond by Deschutes Brewery's Matt Neltner. Redmond Roger and I both did not give this dish much of a chance. I did try a couple of pieces but to be honest, these are what food eats. On to the next one!


Gavin McMichael's (from the Blacksmith) Campfire Trout with Cowboy Caponata, Beer Barley Risotto, and a Honey Nut Beurre Blanc paired with one of my favorites, the Hop Trip. I grubbed this dish up, the trout was amazingly good. I thought the risotto really tied the whole thing together. And for my first every taste of a Beer Barley Risotto, I enjoyed it very much and would order it again.

Next up was Jody Denton's (Deep and Merenda) Moroccan Lamb Tangine with Roasted Vegetables paired with the Green Lakes Organic Ale.

The lamb and the sauce were absolutely delicious. I actually took the photo of the plate in front of me but while the wife was turned around looking at the people telling us about the food and beer, I stole her plate cause it had more lamb. I loved the lamb but didn't really care for many of the vegetables....neither did RR (Redmond Roger).

Everyone at the table agreed that we would have liked some bread to dip into the gravy as it was that good.

And then there was dessert:


Katrina Spatrisano prepared the dessert of chocolate soup with pound cake croutons (inside the soup) paired with the McMenamish sounding Dominator Stout. Other than the name, that stout is freaking gooood. I'm not a big fan of dessert so the wife helped me finish my soup. It was really rich but those croutons and the little cookies that I dipped in my soup were all great.

Everything paired so nicely all night long. Plus I was loaded by the end of the evening. Finished the night off with a pint of Hop Trip and I was all set for bed.

Bethlehem Inn
3705 N Highway 97
Bend, OR 97701