Beer Bliss at The Porter

I've been working in the Atlanta area for the past week and I haven't explored the city nearly as much as I should. Tonight I went out with an ole hiking buddy from college and we went to The Porter in Little Five Points. Its been rated highly in Beer Advocate and Draft Magazine.The neighborhood had a bunch of unique shops, street art, and local night life. Walking into The Porter, guests get the sensation of being in a little hole in the wall restaurant in New York City. The narrow bar near the entrance opens up into a large pub filled with exposed shelves stocked with lagers, ales, vintages, and more.

In addition to The Porter's brilliant beer menu, they also feature a spread of quality whiskeys and other liqueurs. The menu provided a fairly wide variety of wholesomr foods and beer pairing suggestions- the perfect information for any novice drinker. As a vegetarian the options were not all too slim- there were a few options that suited my palate. To compliment my posting from yesterday regarding salad pairings, I noshed on the organic black bean burger and substituted fries for a side arugala salas with slivered almonds. My beer of choice was a hefeweisen. What a classic beer varietal- you almost never can go wrong!

Arugala salad topped with slivered almonds, crumbled goat cheese. The main entree featured a cheese and baked tomato roll topped with feta, an organic hand crafted black bean burger, onions marinated in beet juice, tomato, and romaine lettuce. To all my veggie loving friends- The Porter has got you covered! 

Menu of champions accompanied by mason jar water glasses. Am I in Williamsburg or Atlanta?

My blissful beer pairing of choice. What better way to celebrate OktoberFest than with a German classic?

A big menu for my beer enthusiasts! Though note that not too many of the Pilsners come from the motherland ie. Ze Czech Republic!

Easy White Wine and Salad Pairings

Now that summertime is coming to a close, I've finally had a spurt of creativity to think of fun summer salads that pair well with whites, namely Pinot Gri, drier Reislings, and Sauvingon Blanc. These are my summer favorites- best served slightly chilled in a nice tall wine glass while dining out on the terrace. Sound snooty? Oh, on the contrary. Wine and people watching go hand-in-hand. Wine conneseurs are also amateur ethnographers. Before any white wine pairing, make sure you read the back of the bottle. As always, wine drinking is about your preferences, your preferred tastes, region, etc. Anywho, below is a series of easy peasy salads that you can whip up in no time flat.

1. Sweet and Savory:
- 2 cups spinach
- 1/3 cup craisins
- 1/8 cup walnuts crushed
- 1/4 blue cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinigarette
- 1 tbsp olive oil

2. Berry Sweet:
- 2 cups arugala
- 1/3 cup blueberries
- 1/3 cup raspberries
- 1 cup Persian cucumbers sliced thin
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/8 cup crushed peacans
- 1/4 cup sliced strawberries
- 2/3 cup pan cooked and browned onions caramelized with salt (sliced ultra thin before cooking in the pan)

3. That's Cheesy:
- 1 1/2 cup spring mix
- 1/3 cup goats milk feta (buy in block form from your local grocery store and soak the block in water to remove excess salt)
- 1/4 cup kalamata olives slices
- 1/8 cup cooked scallions
- 2 tbsp basic olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar dressing with chili powder, basil, and mustard mixed in
- 1/2 cup sliced yellow heirloom tomatoes
- 1/3 cup artichoke hearts
- 1/3 cup mushrooms (shitake or other unique mushroom varietal)