All Over Albany

A beer dinner, course by course

We give away tickets to a lot of stuff that sounds fun -- and we admit that sometimes we're a bit envious of the people who win. Because we'd like to go, too!

So when we emailed Alex recently that he was the winner of the tickets to the beer dinner at Central Steak, we were pleasantly surprised that he offered to take photos and share them with us. We're always curious to hear about how these events turn out. And we want to know if people had a good time. (Seriously, if you win tickets from AOA and the event doesn't go well, we want to know.)

After the jump, photos from the five course dinner at Central Steak, courtesy of Alex and his wife, Marissa.

Descriptions from the pre-dinner menu.

Nori Beer Battered Cod
Wild mushroom miso broth, lobster and scallop dumpling, Bok Choy, shitake, wasabi scallion aioli
- Paired with Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat

Arugula
Crispy pork belly, apple, spiced pecans, R&G Cheesemakers goat cheese, cornbread croutons Maple bourbon vinaigrette
- Paired with Samuel Adams Summer Ale
(Emailed Marissa: "Sorry for the few bites out of the salad... it looked so good, I dove in before taking the picture!")

Backyard Barbeque Appetizer Platter
Hickory smoked ribs, apple smoked chicken wing honey barbeque, pulled pork and house maple smoked bacon slider, assorted pickles, deviled egg
- Paired with Samuel Adams Tasman Red

Black and Blue
Peppercorn crusted strip steak, "Berkshire Blue Cheese", truffle whipped, potato, roasted fennel and cipolin onion, port wine glaze
- Paired with Samuel Adams Lager

Warm Chocolate Torte
Banana hazelnut semifreddo, spiced chocolate sauce
- Paired with Samuel Adams Cream Stout

Said Marissa: "We met some great folks, enjoyed some good pairings, and overall had a wonderful time."