Review of Owen & Engine: This “Engine’s” Firing on All Cylinders

Restaurant: Owen & Engine (“O&E”)
Locale: Chicago, Illinois (Logan Square / Bucktown Neighborhood)
Restaurant Established: 2010 
Style:  British Gastropub
Notables: Comfortable décor and ambiance.

Overall: Great time. Cozy ambiance and décor, truly a “British Gastropub”.  Food was outstanding from appetizer to dessert. Service was stellar although it did decline a tad as the evening progressed. Perhaps we were spoiled with the extra attentiveness at the outset before the crowd at O&E grew bigger. And now to the beer. I was intrigued when I perused the menu and found the black saison offering from New Holland Brewing Company. I love saisons and a black one at that; this would be a first since I was feeling adventurous. New Holland Brewing Company’s “Four Witches” Black Saison came in at a 7.3% ABV. The menu described it as having “Roasted Almond, Fresh Anise, White Pepper” (anise is the licorice plant in case you didn’t know).

New Holland Brewing Company’s “Four Witches” Black Saison 7.3% ABV

I thought this would be a hybrid that would knock my socks off but it failed to deliver. It just lacked the classic peppery /spicy saison notes and effervescence. I didn’t get the almond or white pepper as advertised. Eventually hints of anise crept up on me and on the back of the palate. The beer really should be marketed as a “milk stout” with a hint of anise. Even so I thought it was just very average. 

For our appetizer we started off with a selection from the “Small Plates” section of O&E’s menu: the Cornish Pasty with Piccalilli, Chutney, and Arugula Salad. Stuffed into this flaky pie crust was a stew concoction of some veg and rabbit meat. Circled around this on the plate were the sides of piccalilli, chutney and arugula salad.  While these sides were tasty by themselves, when combined with the rest of the dish it was a symphony of flavors and it all just came together very nicely.

Cornish Pasty

The waiter recommended a different beer for my meal sensing that I wasn’t thrilled with the first (though me saying “I'm not getting the saison in this [“Four Witches”] beer” probably teed him up). So with my meal of Fish & Chips he recommended Green Flash Brewing Co.’s “Rayon Vert” Belgian-Style Pale Ale. The beer was just ‘ok.’ As you can see (below) it had quite a head on it but the flavor or lack thereof was not what I would expect from a Belgian style ale. Granted, this was after having one beer and an appetizer and my palate may have been compromised so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and jot this beer down for a future B&B “B” only review.

Green Flash Brewing Co.’s “Rayon Vert” Belgian-Style Pale Ale ABV 7.0%

“On to the on-tray…BooWAHWAH!!  As a comic in all seriousness…” -Bobby Bittman.  Or as a blogger in all seriousness, the entrée was an outstanding version of Fish & Chips, the oh so British staple. The Chips (aka French Fries in the States) were delicious seasoned and properly crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. The side of very liquidy peas caught me off guard at first but once I tasted them I thought these are some of the tastiest peas I’ve ever had. There was also a side of tartar sauce (“Let the fools have their tartar sauce.” –M.B.) (Yinzer prefers HEINZ vinegar), and a thing of mayo for Chip dipping.  Last but not least, the Fish which was crispy, moist and flaky…delicious. I was a bit disturbed to find the skin on the bottom but the fork cut right through it and there was no “fishiness” and I believe the skin actually added flavor.

Fish & Chips

For dessert we went with the Sweet Potato pie. Or I should say Sweet Potato pie with Barber’s cheddar crust, lemon marshmallow and buttermilk anglaise. And boy was it delicious. The contrast of butter, sweet and creamy and a bit of sour combined to make one package of pie-goodness.  Kudos.

Sweet Potato Pie

Acquisition: Dinner for two including 4 beers, 1 appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert ~$85 (not including tip)

Windfall: The burger with grilled onions which you gotta try, too. It’s quite good.

Cheers!

~Gy

Review: Revolution Brewing Cross of Gold

Brewery:  Revolution Brewing

Locale:  Logan Square, IL (Chicago)

Craft Circa:  2010

Style:  English-Style Summer Ale / Golden Ale

ABV:  5%

Notables:  2012 Gold Medal Winner at the World Beer Cup (Category 66)

Label:  Get used to seeing these fists breaking through a grocer aisle near you.  Love the reference to the speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan referencing bimetallism in place in England that stirred up politics and propelled his place for the Democratic nomination for presidency in the  (refer below for your beyond tidbit of the day).

Overall:   In case you missed it, there was a recent post about a revolution a brewing here in Chicago a couple weeks back.    Fitting that we’ve been covering the evolution of Revolution, and the word “gastropub” is being added into the Merriam-Webster dictionary for its yearly update.  The Logan Square Revolution Brewing Brewpub is the epitome of gastropubs here in Chicago, with high end quality food, to go with in my opinion even better beer. 

Ok, I’m blowing smoke up their asses, but that’s due to the fanatic status B&B has for Rev Brew…  hey, what can we say, they make quality brews.  In addition, the start of this review may be sugar coated to maybe mask the subpar feelings for Cross of Gold.  This just didn’t do it for me. An English Style Summer Ale can be compared to an American Blonde, at least portions of it.  Still though, there just wasn’t much to it.  You anticipate, you hope something more happens with this brew, but doesn’t.  You wait for a flavor note to make its way to a taste bud, strike a nerve, do something, but instead it fizzles out.  It’s a tad bitter off the bat, but nothing to steer you clear of this. 

I mean don’t get me wrong, the beer could be phenomenal for this style of beer; it won gold for Pete’s sake.   The beer is full bodied, goes down extremely smooth, pours great, I just have little experience with this type of ale, and didn’t thoroughly enjoy it.  I would be curious to taste others that have no WBC award assigned to them.  There is no sign of hops, and maybe that’s appropriate. 

Either way, when it’s all said or done, there are so many other viable options Rev Brew pours out… those are what I am sticking with. 

Acquisition:  22 ouncer - $5

Windfall (Wiki Collaboration):  Cross of Gold was a speech delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a former US congressman at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1896.  The speech was promoting the “free silver” policy that he believed would bring the nation prosperity.  He decried the gold standard, concluding the speech, "you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold". Bryan's address helped catapult him to the Democratic Party's presidential nomination; it is considered one of the greatest political speeches in American history.  "The gold standard has slain tens of thousands." He referred to "a struggle between 'the idle holders of idle capital’ and 'the struggling masses, who produce the wealth and pay the taxes of the country;’ and, my friends, the question we are to decide is: Upon which side will the Democratic party fight?"  The idea was that minting silver coins would flood the economy with cash and end the depression.

Although Bryan lost the election in a landslide, he did win the hearts and minds of a majority of Democrats, as shown by his re-nomination in 1900 and 1908; as late as 1924, the Democrats put his brother on their national ticket.  The victory of the Republican Party in the election of 1896 marked the start of the "Progressive Era," from 1896 to 1932, in which the Republican Party usually was dominant.

~gY