BRU Fest Recap

BRU Fest was a fabulous party serving everyone's favorites - burgers, wings, 'n' beer - to benefit The Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan.  It was a great time for an even greater cause!

Bagger Dave's Legendary Burger Tavern, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Bell's Brewery all provided hearty food and an astounding variety of beers for tasting and testing at the event.  Treat Dreams - one of my favorite vendors from Baconfest - also offered lusciously rich ice cream and vibrant sorbet for a sweet ending after all the feasting.

Photo credit: Joe Hakim of The Hungry Dudes

My BFF Wendy and I did our best "Thelma and Louise" impersonation (something we're pretty good at, after years of practice) and undertook this excursion into the wild world of beer tasting with open minds and a sense of adventure.

We were absolutely there for the food, there's never any doubt about that (especially with me!).  But as noted non-beer drinkers - Wendy's sister Cheryl laughed when told of our planned escapade; and Jeremy told me point-blank, "You're not worthy" - we were determined to take advantage of this opportunity to taste everything from sparkling ale to summer specialties to stouts.  With such a range, and with such exceptional quality from one of Michigan's finest breweries, we were on a mission.

We started with food - always a good plan before drinking (or, in our cases, sipping).  Bagger Dave's was offering four different burgers, and Buffalo Wild Wings was serving eight different sauces to coat their boneless chicken. On our first go-round, we tried:

- The Kickin' Cheddar Burger: beef burger with cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, diced onion, and horseradish mayonnaise

- Parmesan Garlic Wings: breaded chicken coated in roasted garlic and parmesan sauce with Italian herbs

- The Big Fat Greek Burger: turkey burger with tomato, mint and fennel white balsamic vinaigrette, and cucumber-dill yogurt sauce.

It was good to see a mix of indulgent offerings as well as some that were a bit lighter and healthier.  We happily finished our burgers and split the order of chicken; the seriously garlicky, but not overpowering, wings turned out to be my favorite savory food option of the evening.

Then we went off to the beer tables, where samples were poured into the cute souvenir glasses we'd been given when we arrived. Wendy and I must have looked a bit dazed, 'cause my buddy, Joe Hakim of The Hungry Dudes, took a few moments to give us some recommendations.

I started with Black Note Stout (pictured to the left in the picture at the top of the post), which Joe had told me was rare and distinctive.  It's "a blend of Expedition and Double Cream stouts, aged in freshly retired bourbon barrels," and it had a strong essence of coffee and mocha flavors to it.  (Imagine my glee when I read confirmation of my palate on the Bell's website - "malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso & dried fruits!")

Wendy picked the Cherry Stout (pictured to the right, above), which has been likened to the "Pinot Noir of the beer world."  Given that it features tart cherries, for which Michigan is rightly famous, I was surprised to find it had a hint of sweetness.  And interestingly, each of us preferred the other's selection to our own.

I need to thank Alex Ostrom (left) and Jeff Caldwell for being so friendly and so generous in allowing us to borrow a corner (a quadrant?) of their table at this event that was packed with revelers; without them, there would have been no photo of the stouts for posterity ... or, at least, it wouldn't have been as good a picture as I tried to balance beer and my camera and my purse and my notebook and my pen and ....

In chatting and explaining that I really was working (I may be a flaky chick who takes pictures of everything she eats and drinks, but it's my job!), we found out that Alex was drinking Two Hearted Ale and was planning to try a variety of beers over the course of the evening. Jeff, on the other hand, had chosen the reigning favorite, Oberon, because it's an absolute classic - light and refreshing, a perfect summer beverage.

I have to say that the annual flurry over Oberon reminds me of the festivities surrounding Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released on the third Thursday in November with gleeful signs announcing "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!"  There is such celebration, such joy, to see Oberon each year!  Of course, this is not only a chance to get reacquainted with an old friend, but a simultaneous return of beautiful blue skies, of barbecues, of bonfires at the beach, of baseball ... of all that is good about summer in Michigan.

Caramel Pecan ice cream, Lemon sorbet, and Chocolate Stout ice cream from Treat Dreams in Ferndale

At this point, we meandered over to the ice cream ... sigh. Treat Dreams had offered an amazing concoction at Baconfest called "Sunday Breakfast" that had bacon (of course!), maple syrup, and bits of waffles stirred into it; it was just luscious!  The company prides itself on ice cream that is "lovingly created in small batches on site." They "strive to use local ingredients and vendors whenever possible, and take pride in ... exotic flavor combinations."

So I was giddy to find them at BRU Fest, serving generous tastes of three different varieties: caramel pecan ice cream (I forget which type of beer was used, 'cause I was too busy eating it to scribble notes), lemon sorbet with Pale Ale, and chocolate with stout ... sigh.  Wendy's favorite was the sorbet, which was bright with a definite note of the ale, with much more depth than just a standard citrus dessert. The rich chocolate stout ice cream reminded me of the fabulous Guinness Cake I'd made last fall.  And my favorite was the caramel pecan ice cream, which was a perfect blend of all its flavors with a brown sugar-y sweetness and layers of flavor; it immediately made me want to bake some cinnamon rolls and slather them with a caramel-stout frosting.

Before leaving, Wendy and I took one more tour of the Bagger Dave's and Buffalo Wild Wings buffet, opting this time for:

- The Jamaican Me Crazy Burger: turkey burger with Swiss cheese, jerk cole slaw with walnuts, tomato, and Jamaican barbecue sauce

- Spicy Garlic Wings: "a tasty, spicy, garlicky good sauce"

- Honey BBQ Wings: "a sweet, sassy sauce."

The burger and the garlic wings were too spicy for our already well-tested palates; but the barbecue wings were zesty and sweet, and very very good.

We also paid one last visit to the Bell's tables, ending our evening with tastes of Sparkling Ale, Pale Ale, Oberon, and my personal favorite for "Best Name" - Hell Hath No Fury.  We tried an entire range of foods and beers at BRU Fest, and had a wonderful time!  As Wendy put it, we "almost felt guilty raising money to fight children's leukemia" because the event was so much fun!

Frugal Floozie Friday - Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub

A pint o' Guinness - or, at least, a pint of Guinness ice cream - for $4.95: that's the fabulous dessert Jeremy chose for his 21st birthday recently at today's Frugal Floozie Friday feature, Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub.

The Guinness Ice Cream Sundae falls perfectly within our mandatory $5 budget, and is an enormous, luscious concoction: 3 scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate fudge, caramel sauce, pecans, chocolate chips, whipped cream and the crowning cherry.  The birthday guest can choose either a dessert or a $10 card as the restaurant's gift.  Jeremy had chosen the latter last time, as Conor O'Neill's is where he asks me to take him every year for his celebration, so he decided to indulge in the sugar rush this time.

Several of the desserts fall within our budgetary constraints for individual servings, but could happily be shared.  The appetizers, which range in price from $6.50 to $8.50, are easily split as well so that they meet our $5 per person limit.

For as long as we've been going to Conor O'Neill's, we've ordered the Galway Bay Mussels appetizer, so I was astounded not to see it on the lunch menu at our visit; apparently it's only available at dinner now.  But our very sweet waitress, Jennifer, checked with the kitchen and told us that they would make it in honor of Jeremy's birthday.

The cream sauce that the mussels are served in is rich with mustard, garlic and sherry; the dish also comes with slices of baguette and some hearty brown bread.  At $8.95, this is a fabulous dish for two - far more than one person could eat alone, particularly before a meal.  The real treasure is the sauce, though, which is just sublime!  Order extra bread to sop it up, because you truly won't want to leave one tiny morsel on the plate.

I have never ordered anything at Conor O'Neill's that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed, from the Irish "fayre" (fish and chips, shepherd's pie, boxty, etc.) to the sandwiches, from the salads to the desserts.  While they exceeded our Frugal Floozie Friday budget, our entrees - the Big House Burger (with cheese, bacon, mushrooms and onion rings) and Ploughman's Sandwich (grilled vegetables and cheddar) with a side salad - were so fabulous that they warranted a photo op, and a few moments of fame, nonetheless:

In addition to the excellent food, Conor O'Neill's also offers entertainment several evenings each week, from trivia contests to Irish jam sessions - you can find both food and fun for $5 or less per person!  How great is that?


Conor O'Neill's Traditional Irish Pub
318 South Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
(734) 665-2968


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Chocolate Guinness Cake for the Notre Dame Game

Well, last week's match-up between the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University was certainly an odd one! Michigan won 34-10, once both teams agreed to end the game in the third quarter after two weather delays and an eventual evacuation of the stadium because of storms and lightning. And this was on a day that had started out with bright sunshine and heat advisories!

But hey, a win is a win! And especially when it turned out that Western - from the MAC conference rather than Michigan's Big 10 - was up for the challenge and even scored first. But the game took a turn for Michigan when we intercepted Western near the end zone (they were on the 7-yard line), and Brandon Herron ran it back 94 yards for a touchdown!!!

And now we're on to a school with which we have a long and exciting history - Notre Dame. According to Wikipedia:

"Michigan football and Notre Dame football are considered to be among the most elite college programs. Michigan and Notre Dame respectively rank #1 and #2 in winning percentage and #1 and #3 in all time wins .... Including the 2010 season game, Michigan leads the overall series 22-15-1; (since 1978) the two teams are 13-13-1."

So, given that the Wolverines are playing the Fighting Irish on Saturday night, I decided to bake a cake using a product that is absolutely quintessentially Irish: Guinness.

But I didn't just use regular ol' Guinness ... uh uh. I used the Foreign Extra Stout, which is "brewed with generous hops and roasted barley for a bittersweet balance & full-flavored, natural bite."

In the bottle, I have to say that the stuff smelled even worse than beer usually does. Out of the bottle, though - and especially with butter melting into it as the first step in making the cake - it smelled like molasses and caramel, and the mixture seemed reminiscent of a hot toddy. The stout flavor isn't noticeable in the final product, but it certainly provides a depth that isn't found in ordinary chocolate cakes.

This unique twist on a basic dessert is fabulously moist and rich and decadent; it makes a perfect treat whether tailgating or watching the game at home with friends and family. It's simple to make, and tastes absolutely divine ... how appropriate when my team is playing one whose home stadium is watched over by Touchdown Jesus!

Notre Dame at Michigan
Saturday, September 10 at 8 p.m. EDT
GO BLUE!!!


Chocolate Guinness Cake
(modified from a recipe by Nigella Lawson)

1 cup Guinness Foreign Extra stout
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
confectioners' sugar, for dusting the cake
ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8"x8" baking pan.

In a large saucepan, melt together the Guinness and butter over low heat. Meanwhile, place the cocoa powder and sugar into a large mixing bowl, then whisk in the Guinness mixture once melted.

Add the sour cream and eggs; combine well. Add the flour and baking soda, and whisk until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan, and bake 35-40 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack, and don't worry if the top of the cake cracks a bit or sinks slightly in the center - that's just its nature, and it still tastes amazing!

Trim 1/4" around the edges of the cake. Cut the cake in half cross-wise, then cut each half into quarters. Place each piece onto a dessert plate, and sift confectioners' sugar over the top.

Makes 8 servings, and is ideal served with ice cream.