Not my usual, at my usual

Last night we went out with a couple of friends to our local, The Crepe Cellar, and I was feeling adventurous. This is probably due to the fact that I have been watching No Reservations non-stop for two weeks now. I was not, however, feeling Tony Bourdain adventurous, I just wanted to get out of my usual rut and try something new.

My drink was not new, but a newly acquired semi-obsession, McRitchies cider. McRitchies is a hard cider produced in North Carolina using locally grown Pink Lady apples. It is wonderfully dry and tart with a great crispness. The color is quite pale and it has just a hint of effervescence; perfect for pairing with a meal. Especially if that meal is Shrimp and Grits.

I have to start by saying I am not really a lover of seafood, I am barely a liker of seafood. I do however, get a craving for shrimp every now and again. Probably a little more often now. My only real complaint with this dish was the amount of gravy may have been a bit much; but only by a little. It comes in the classic form of a bed of creamy grits topped with half a dozen or so shrimp and then a covering of tasso ham and red eye gravy. The flavors and textures were all perfect. I don't know how to get grits to be that creamy but I'm gonna work on it. The true star however is the tasso and gravy, perfectly salty and savory with a total mouth coating consistency that only comes from a days worth of cooking. Sure, I said they could have dialed it back a little but thats only because I didn't have a biscuit to sop up the extras with. After our meal we decided to forgo dessert and head to Revolution for a chewy beer.

As mentioned in a previous post, I keep pretty good tabs on the comings and goings of beer at the Revolution so I knew that the Highland Vintage Ale was landing right about now. As we waded through the crowd and bellied up to the bar I spotted my prey for the evening and flagged down the barkeep.

The Highland Auld Asheville Vintage ale is an old ale that comes in at 9.5 ABV. It was properly presented in a snifter and poured well. The nose is caramel and hop and the color is a beautiful leathery brown. First sip, the caramel is very prominent and the hop attacks the back of your tongue. Subsequent tastes bring out an off flavor that I could not pinpoint. By the end I found it to be a quite one dimensional beer that I think will probably age well to bring out the complexity. I'll give it another shop next time I'm there and maybe do a follow up.

Until next time