On the day before Fireworks/Earthquake Day, I pointed the car south to Torrance and Snap Tin Eatery. Some of the eagle eyed among you may have already guessed that Snap Tin is partnered up with Yorkshire Square Brewery. Now there is a full restaurant alongside the Andy Black English beers on cask (and draft).
I had the chance to speak with Chef Bruno Wu who brought the British inspired menu to life and they are really using beer in a lot of the recipes. More than I have seen in other places and the beer actually comes through in the cooking. But more on that in a future Food GPS post but I will say that maybe you should head to Torrance and watch the US National teams play and have excellent beer and food.
Now you can have some Italian pizza with your English-styled beers from MacLeod Ales. I am liking that breweries are expanding into food. It is the next step in the L.A. craft beer evolution.
The Bay Area will be getting some Down under beer in the form of Little Creatures who are opening a brewery and restaurant in San Francisco this summer. You will have to dodge construction of the new Golden State Warriors Sports and Entertainment Center and Warrior fans to get the Fremantle beer.
Now you can hop from the worldly Mikkeller to Little Creatures for non US beer in San Francisco.
As gladdened as I am that the Food Section of the L.A. Times is back, I opened the Food Bowl schedule with trepidation. Beer is not usually on the menu when it comes to this month long event. I found one beer dinner, with a Colorado brewery and a movie about tequila. Wine had a page of dedicated events and spirits were on practically every page. As they say in sports, “Wait until next year.”
Stone is getting in on the branded jerky though I don’t know how beer, even one as strong as Arrogant Bastard will come through into jerky. Personally, I would have gone with one of the big imperial stouts instead.
But I do like jerky, so I may have to grab a bag for nibbling.
The premium ice cream-er Häagen – Dazs has a line of “spirits” ice creams and one of the five is beer related. (Quite frankly it looks to be the best flavor combo overall)
I am pretty scattershot with my coffee buying. Most times, I get the latest seasonal offering from Trader Joe’s but when I saw this bag at my local Whole Foods of the Amazon, I decided to give it a whirl since donations to charity always work on me. And this was really good. I will have to look around to find the Hard Wired beer from Left Hand to compare but this was light and a bit fruity without too much acidity to it.
Even though Bell Marker is looking for a new home (?), the ABC group and their New Original Breweries are expanding.
I visited under cover of press, the upcoming pizza project from Tony Yanow and crew, California Sun.
Sunset Junction has a new pizza player with a
healthy side of beer. California Sun
will be opening for business of February 11th and this has vaulted
into the top 3 of pizza places and I haven’t even tried the non Detroit-style
pizzas yet.
This ABC Group outpost slots nicely in between the snugness of Tony’s Darts Away and the expansiveness of Mohawk Bend. It has the vibes of both but also breaks new ground. CalSun straddles the to-go and eating in line with a large cooler (with cans only) of a wide ranging amount of beers. The whole layout is fun with arrows pointing the way to the order counter and a zig-zag communal table that can allow for new conversations or to stay insular.
The
12 taps will pour the typical Yanow split of IPA and Non-IPA. Russian River was seen on both sides with
Pliny the Elder and STS Pils and you will see a smattering of New Original
beers on tap as well. The cooler had a
little of everything from cider, kombucha, foreign and local beers at a slightly
elevated price point but if you are there to get a pizza to go, getting one or
more cans won’t hurt, especially if it is something you haven’t seen or want to
try. Considering Flagship February, tall
Duvel cans were sighted so that would work especially well with the food.
And
the main draw will be that vegan and meat eaters (count me in the latter) will
both have pizzas to choose from and some weird ones at that. (taco pizza anyone) By the slice or whole
pies on offer. The Detroit style had a
lovely light bready and carmelized cheese taste to it. My harsh pizza judge and significant other deemed
them excellent which is high praise. She
also wants to schedule a return visit which is another feather in the pizza
makers cap.
Wanna get some ice cream with your beer and you want to get some SF with that?
Humphry Slocombe has you covered with….. (my personal choices are in bold)
“From February 1st to February 10th, LA craft beer aficionados and ice cream lovers alike can get a taste of the special boozy flavors created in collaboration with key Bay Area Brewery partners at the Venice Shop. The flavor lineup includes:”
Drake’s Brut Rosé (Drake’s Brewing, featuring Rosé Beer Ice Cream with Lemon Zest) Oolong Saison (Barebottle Brewing, featuring Oolong Saison and Pear Ice Cream) Animal IPA Ice Cream (Fort Point Brewing, featuring Animal Ice Cream with Hop Caramel and flavored with Mango, Orange, and Passionfruit) Coffee & Cigarettes (Cellarmaker, featuring Smoked Hops, Coffee Ice Cream, and Chipped Chocolate) Fish & Chips (Hen House Brewing, featuring Red Rye Ice Cream with Goldfish Crackers and Chocolate Covered Potato Chips) Anchor Porter with Fluff and Cookies (Anchor Brewing, featuring Anchor Porter Ice Cream with Chocolate Wafer Cookies and Marshmallow Fluff)
