Ted Dombrowski was wining and dining foodies and beer lovers on East Bay long before beer dinners became as pervasive as palmetto bugs on Charleston city streets.
Despite the general increase in both popularity and cost, Ted’s Butcherblock has stayed true to its theme of quality, fresh food at reasonable prices. I may sound like an advertisement, but the numbers speak for themselves.
Most tasting events this past month were in the $55-$75 range. Ted’s monthly craft beer dinner: $30.
For Cool Dave, our amateur gastronomist with a flair for culinary creativity, Ted’s was the perfect locale to celebrate a 24th birthday.
To intensify the excitement, Thursday evening’s theme was bourbon. Each course was inspired by Kentucky’s liquor du jour. With four festive beer pairings provided by CBX’s Scott Shor, we were in for a treat.
We started things off with the Scrump.
Pre-dinner bubbles.
We delighted in Charleston’s two-day cold snap with a bottle of J.K.’s Scrumpy Hard Cider. J.K.’s was everything I look for in a cider: light, crisp and bubbly with a hint of tartness. You could definitely taste the purity of the yeast and juice in this organic brew out of Michigan’s Almar Orchard. Cheers.!
Ommegang Rare Vos paired with aged Gouda custard tartlet... and this was just the beginning.
Three-year Aged Gouda. How can you go wrong?
Yes. These were our thoughts as Ted and Co. served up the preliminary plates, and our crew took a look at the menu. I was expecting simplicity…cheese and bacon…but the first course surprised me with quite a diverse range of flavors. In addition to the Gouda custard tartlet and double smoked bacon gastrique (heavenly), Ted’s included a bourbon pear chutney and bitter greens. Needless to say, there was a lot going on.
Each aspect of the course was delicious on its own, and, at Cool Dave’s suggestion, I made the effort to conscientiously combine the elements of the dish as well. A fireworks show of color and taste ensued.! The plate was an amazing blend of bitter, sweet and savory.
Scott paired the meal with Ommegang Rare Vos, a Belgian amber ale whose delicate hints of cloves and coriander played a seamlessly subtle role alongside the wide variety of flavors and textures of the Gouda, pears, bacon and greens.
Oh, heavenly butternut squash bisque...your tantalizing flavors wooed me into finishing my bowl prior to snapping a photo. You'll have to use your imagination.
Butternut squash bisque that could make blind men see.
I forgot to take a picture before diving into the second course: leek and butternut squash bisque with a duck confit hash. That’s how freakin’ excited I was about this. Sweet, creamy and warm, but not cloying, this bisque did its job.
On the other hand, I wasn’t as initially impressed with Terrapin Gamma Ray. This wheatwine, at 11% alcohol by volume, smelled of citrus and honey, but when I tried my first sip, I was bowled over by the raw forwardness of the alcohol. I enjoy an occasional barleywine or hefeweizen, but this particular mixture of the two was ill-balanced.
The pairing of the Gamma Ray with the bisque, however, was most interesting. I guess this is why they pay Scott the big bucks. The bisque brought out the honey flavor in the Gamma Ray, which I hadn’t really tasted previously. Two takeaways: 1) I need to try other wheatwines to see if it’s the type of beer that I’m not a fan of…or just Terrapin’s rendition of it. 2) This butternut bisque can do no wrong. C was so enamored by the soup that she bought an extra pint for lunch the next day.
Round Three: UnEarthly DIPA meets other white meat.
A pile of pig.
I don’t think that anyone was prepared for the massiveness that was Ted’s third course. And non-IPA drinkers were in for a treat with Southern Tier’s Un*Earthly Double IPA’s 11% ABV. We responded to Ted’s grilled apple and sage sausage with mouths open wide…a little more shocked than hungry at this point. Pea pudding and bourbon-braised mushrooms accompanied the pork. I was enthralled by the peas, having never sampled green peas with the consistency of Yorkshire pudding. Kids would love this stuff.
The Un*Earthly DIPA really took our meal to another level. Un*Earthly’s piney and caramel flavors paired nicely with the sage sausage and mushrooms. The weight of the hops stood up to the heaviness of this course as well. Strong choice, all around.
You can't say no to dessert. Or a delicious stout, for that matter.
There’s always room for profiteroles.
We couldn’t imagine eating anything else after three intense bourbonasms. But who can say no to profiteroles…those sweet and delicate French pastry puffs of goodness? And we had a birthday. You most def. do dessert on birthdays.
Ted’s chocolate hazelnut profiteroles were served with a caramel and vanilla bourbon sabayon (egg yolks, sugar, and wine), which really completed the dish. Paired with Stoudts “Fat Dog” Imperial Oatmeal Stout (9% ABV), I was positively crowing.! Fat Dog’s dark chocolate flavors enhanced the caramel, bourbon and vanilla of the sabayon. Meanwhile, the profiteroles played up Fat Dog’s diffident flashes of coffee.
Happy Birthday, CoolDave.!!
To cap off the night, Ted scrounged up a lone birthday candle, and we were able to sing Happy Birthday to Cool Dave.
Frankly, getting older is better in times like these.
As I languidly strolled out the door into November’s chilly rain, I couldn’t help but think that Henry Clay would have been proud of Ted’s bourbon inspiration. We didn’t solve the looming government healthcare crisis that night, but no one argues over good food and good brew.
Food for thought.
Keep your eyes peeled for Ted’s dinner in December. He’ll probably hold the event earlier in the month, due to the holidays.
- iBelle
Here we are with Ted. The man. The legend.
Ted’s Butcherblock
334 East Bay Street
(843) 577-0094
Beer dinner cost: $30, includes 4 courses with beer pairings
RSVP Required
