We had reservations with friends at The Bier Markt for New Year's Eve for a 4 course meal (with beer pairings for everyone else) and a live band. We weren't due there till 9pm so there was plenty of time beforehand for some bubbles and nibbles to get the night going! I made a pepper smoked trout pate and my friend brought some bacon parcels. The parcels had a date in the centre, wrapped in 'hand made goat cheese with a blue cheese rind', wrapped in pepper smoked thick bacon and they were amazing! She had them frozen so we just put them under the broiler/grill with some cracked black pepper on them and cooked them until the bacon was crisp and golden and the cheese was gooey! The contrast of flavours works so well, the sweet, the creamy, the bit of blue, the smokey bacon, wow! We had both white and rose bubbles to accompany the nibbles and they worked very well.
I was very excited to see what the menu was for the meal at the Bier Markt. They gave you a choice of 3 first course dishes, then there was an intermezzo, then a choice of 4 main courses and 2 desserts. We had 2 salade maisons, a belgian endive salad and a beef tartare for the first course. My endive salad was very pretty to look at; it had endive leaves laid out along a rectangular plate, alternating between upturned ones and upside down ones. One of upturned ones was filled with Bartlett pear cubes, another with candied walnuts and the last with crumbled stilton and it had pea shoots scattered all over it (can you tell that the photo I took of it didn't turn out?). The salade maison was simple leaves with apple and grape tomatoes and a vinaigrette. The real show stopper was the beef tartare. I have never had beef tartare before but have always wanted to try it, and because I had my eye on the striploin for my main I didn't think I could justify ordering more beef for a starter, but our friend was happy to share which was great!
The generous friend also spoke to the manager and asked if we could get the chef out to chat with me about the beef tartare for my blog, which I didn't think would happen but later on in the evening a sous chef did appear at the table and did sit down and talk me through the process of making this fine dish! So, apparently you use the tip of the tenderloin, the best cut you can find, and dice it up, then mix it with gherkins, capers, shallots, pepper and the best extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on! You don't want to over mix or over handle it as you will warm it with the contact with your hands, so as little contact as possible, and as fresh as possible, the one we ate was made about an hour previously. They topped it with a quail egg that you mix into the meat before you eat it and served it with baguette crisps. If you wrap your head around the idea, the flavour is out of this world, almost sweet, with the strong caper flavour and olive oil and pepper through it, and a little bite from the shallots. I would highly recommend trying this once in your life time, and it probably won't be the last! The sous chef said his best experience of tartare was with horse meat in Paris! Food for thought.. A Palm Amber Ale from Belgium was served with this dish.
The intermezzo was a Steigl Radler and grapefruit granita, which was like a more granular sorbet, or even just like crushed ice, made from grapefruit juice mixed with this Austrian lager. In the Summer they serve this as a drink. It came on a frozen slice of grapefruit with a mint sprig. I dropped the grapefruit and mint leaf into my glass of water and it kept it flavoured all night long! This dish was a great palate cleanser.
Out of a choice of 4 main dishes what are the chances that we would only sample 2 of them, and that the women would order steak and the men would order chicken? Probably because they knew they would eat half the steak as well no doubt! Anyway, there was lots of swopping and sharing because both these dishes were phenomenal.
The steak was a centre cut Aberdeen Angus striploin, as tender as it comes, and cooked to a perfect medium rare with just the right amount of seasoning. It came with some crisp asparagus and home made frites, mushrooms beurre noisette and a cognac and peppercorn demi glace. I am all about the trimmings and trappings for meat, so this was my heaven of sauces and mushrooms to accompany the steak. The beer they would pair with this was a Leffe Brune Abbey Ale from Belgium. The beer came in a goblet type glass and the drinker is told to cup it with their hands so as to warm the beer as you drink it until it reaches it's perfect temperature.
The chicken was cooked to perfection with a sauce that was almost addictive. It was pan roasted and served on a crispy risotto cake with caramelised pearl onions, forest mushrooms, smoked bacon and a Chimay jus. I know I am a huge fan of the mushroom/onion side kick, but when it can taste this good who wouldn't be?! The wild mushrooms were so richly flavoured with the sweetness from the beer in the sauce and pearl onions, which gently coated the simple flavours of the rice and chicken. This dish was paired with a Konigshoeven Quadrupel beer from the Netherlands, which apparently tasted great for a beer that was so strong (10 1/2%!).
We had both desserts between us, but by this stage we were full and not entirely ready for a sweet, rich addition to the belly! Anyhow, both desserts were good. There was a banana, amaretto and cardamom brulee served with a sweet banana croquette, caramelised banana and turbinado caramel. It was good brulee, but a couple of spoons was enough and the side pieces were very sweet. A Paulaner Hefe-Weizen beer from Germany came with this dish.
The other dessert was for the chocolate fans out there; Belgian chocolate cappuccino cake and it came paired with a Fruli Strawberry Wheat Ale from Belgium. I have actually had this beer, in Belgium, on a warm day by a river, and it was superb!
The Bier Markt offered and delivered an amazing evening, with wonderful food and a very entertaining live band. Our waiter was extremely knowledgeable about the beers that he was serving. The atmosphere and lighting and service all come together to provide a great experience. I would highly recommend this location for the beer lovers or beer experimenters out there and those who accompany them too!
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