On Friday night I took my husband to a beer tasting event that was paired with a seven course meal. It was an event that was put on at Bacchus, a Bartolotta Restaurant along with  New Glarus Brewing Co. It was advertised as a five course meal, prepared by Executive Chef Adam Siegel, who is a 2008 James Beard Award Winner for Best Chef Midwest, but was actually a seven course meal.

I must admit that in all of the excitement of taking my husband to this, I didn’t really think it all the way through. It wasn’t until the day of that I realized that I wasn’t going to have any choice in what I was being served. And, if you look at the foods that I eat, you’ve probably already deduced that anything that might be served on Top Chef or Iron Chef is something that I’m not interested in eating.

The menu was as follows, all of the beers are New Glarus:

Dungeness Crab and Melon Salad with Thyme, Lemon and Espelette. Served with Spotted Cow.

Strauss Veal Tartare with Parmigiano, Orange Gremolata and Celery Remoulade. Totally Naked.

Seared Sea Scallop with Spiced Rhubarb, Fava Beans and Port Syrup. Dancing Man Wheat.

Grilled Quail Breast with Stewed Apricots and Foie Gras Sauce. Imperial Saison.

Braised Shortrib with Cumin, Carmelized Cauliflower and Garlic Spinach. Stone Soup.

Lamb Noisette with Brown Butter Polenta, Toasted Hazelnut Crumbs and Sauteed Artichokes. Fat Squirrel.

Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta with Strawberry Soup, Grapefruit and Pistachio Brittle. Wisconsin Belgian Red.

My husband was in heaven with this menu! And the beer! And he even got to meet Dan Carey, the brewmaster of New Glarus Brewing Co.

I thought Dan was pretty cool too, and I had a few questions for him from a business perspective. However the menu? That was a whole different story. The waiter noticed I wasn’t really eating with the first course, so I used my usual excuse. Allergies. Well, that got a handful of suits at our table to inquire about my allergies, they take them very seriously, and they all sighed relief when they heard I was allergic to shrimp — which was not on the menu.

I tried pretty much everything, but it wasn’t until the shortribs that I actually ate most of what was on my plate. Thank goodness Bartolotta’s is known for keeping a slice of bread on your bread plate, because I had about five courses of it.

I had the most difficult time with the quail, I mean there was an itty bitty quail leg bone on my plate! Food on a recognizable bone pushes me over the edge and my husband had to explain to the waiter that I was about this close to being a vegetarian.

My husband claims the lamb was the best he’s ever had, I’m not a fan of the lamb, and after that quail bone I seriously couldn’t eat the lamb. This was when my waiter offered me a plate of pasta instead. Oh. My. Gosh. The Tagliatelle Pasta is to die for! Yum! But, I didn’t quite hear him when he said their was going to be lobster in my pasta. Are you ready for this? I don’t eat lobster either. But my husband was more than happy to take care of that.

So in one evening, my husband got to meet the brewmaster of one of his favorite beers, eat crab, veal, quail, shortrib, lamb and lobster. I had a fantastic glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and then seven small glasses of beer  — served in wine glasses. The beer was very good, if you ever have the chance to drink New Glarus you should take it.

Even though I didn’t care for the food due to my sensitive palate, it really was a great night.