Prime Street Grille and Flying Dog beer make a fine pair

Friday, March 26, 2010

Click here to enlarge this photo Photos by EMILY DUFTON The Prime Street Grille's five-course Flying Dog beer dinner included dishes with five of the brewery's craft beers. The first course was stout-stuffed tomato with an iceberg lettuce wedge and Tire Bite Ale. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Cheddar ale French onion soup and a new Belgian IPA. Click here to enlarge this photo Gruyere and prosciutto wrapped shrimp with a beer dipping sauce and In Heat Wheat. Click here to enlarge this photo Seared dry-rubbed prime rib with potatoes, asparagus and Old Scratch Lager. Click here to enlarge this photo Cherries jubilee-topped chocolate cake, filled with chocolate sauce, and Gonzo Porter.

Gwen Conley has a cool job. As Flying Dog Brewery's sensory goddess — or quality assurance manager — her primary duty is to taste-test lots of good beer. She's an open boozer, and a talented schmoozer.

On Friday, Conley was our emcee for Prime Street Grille's five-course beer dinner. More than a 100 people attended the event, which featured five great courses and as many great Flying Dog brews for $50 plus gratuity, a sum that ultimately equaled a very good deal.

Servers delivered beer first (about half a beer per course) and food second (all told, nothing less than a feast). While the beer arrived, Conley told us about the ingredients and the brewing process. We also learned some Flying Dog history. We learned, for instance, that it was founded in Colorado 20 years ago by a rancher, George Stranahan, whose process for naming his company had something to do with a mountaineering expedition, a donkey and a suitcase full of contraband.

So I suppose it's hardly as a surprise, then, that Stranahan wound up being pals with the famous American journalist and author, Hunter S. Thompson, and Thompson's illustrator, Ralph Steadman, whose art now decorates the company's bottles and packaging.

In 2008, Flying Dog moved its operation to Frederick. That same year, Prime Street Grille opened in what was formerly known as Rednecks Saloon & Grill. The family-owned restaurant in White Plains now touts an extensive wine list. In the barroom, where photographs depict city life, patrons gather for beers and happy hour deals on higher-end appetizers, like rockfish bites. The dining room walls, painted light gray or soft purple, are adorned with modern décor.

Prime Street pleases patrons, it seems, with no-joke steaks and jumbo crab cakes. Chef Manny Parvis last worked at The Capitol Grille, a restaurant in Washington, D.C., which is organized around a fresh seafood and dry-aged beef concept reminiscent of Prime Street's. He creates an entirely original menu for special events.

For our first course, we started with Tire Bite Ale. Flavored with German hops, it has a light texture but packs a malty bite. It's your lawn mowing beer. You could also enjoy it, as we did, with an iceberg lettuce wedge dressed with balsamic vinaigrette and a warm, stout-stuffed tomato. Gimmicks aside, it was a substantial salad that, with the Tire Bite, readied our palates for more.

Next up was what appeared to be a second starter course and a glass of the brand new Raging B**ch, an atypical Belgian-style IPA fermented with an "El Diablo" yeast that chills out the hops. For now, six packs are just $6.99. As your writer, though, I would advise you against drinking it all in one sitting, as the alcohol content is almost 9 percent. This is a sipping beer.

The cheddar ale French onion soup, meanwhile, could have been a substantial meal. Served in a fresh bread bowl that soaked up the soup, it was topped with a thick layer of cheddar cheese. It only improved as you scooped out the bottom,

Course three, wisely, was considerably lighter but no less memorable. We received a small plate with two meaty pieces of shrimp that needed nothing more. Still, the shrimp were wrapped in gruyere cheese and fresh prosciutto, and we dipped it all in a creamy beer dipping sauce. The shrimp were nicely paired with In Heat Wheat, a banana- and clove-flavored brew which reaches out to people opposed to the heavy stuff.

For course four, we tried the understated yet solid, award-winning Old Scratch Amber Lager, a smooth beer with caramel undertones. It's said to pair well with barbecue.

I really admire the diners who went through with the Lenten option, because the prime rib was exceptional. I asked for mine well-done and received a succulent cut that was wonderfully seared and seasoned. A cup of jus was unneeded, and it came with a big side of comfort potatoes and asparagus. But could the kitchen deliver a grand finale? Or, could the kitchen produce something on par with the Gonzo Imperial Porter, an intense, over-the-the-top brew loaded with all kinds of hops and caramel and chocolate malts?

First, let's just say "yes." For one, porters are not for everyone. In fact, plenty passed on it. But I doubt anyone passed up the miniature, chocolate bundt cake that was filled with chocolate sauce and placed amidst a sauce made from cherries jubilee.

Parvis had surpassed producing an appropriate pairing. He had created a dessert that conjured the Gonzo, and the Imperial, spirit. The beer was originally brewed for Thompson's funeral. And as I drank it to cleanse my palate between bites of cake, it was easy to picture Thompson's last hurrah: his ashes loaded into a cannon atop a 153-foot tower and shot with red, white, blue and green fireworks across the sky.

— The Prime Street Grille in White Plains will host a wine dinner at 8 p.m. April 16 and May 21. A Samuel Adams beer dinner will be held in June. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Entrée prices are $10-$35. The restaurant at 4680 Crain Highway accepts all major credit cards. Call 301-392-0510. Go to www.theprimestreetgrille.com.