DAIRY AND DRINKING
Many of us might only pair beer and cheese together late at night when the beer is abundant in our stomachs and the cheese is melted in between two pieces of grilled bread. For those interested in a more sophisticated experience, West Flanders Brewing Company and Cured Cheese Shop are teaming together for a night of beer and cheese pairing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, at the West Flanders Brewery on Pearl Street.
West Flanders Brewing Company brewmaster Brian Lutz, formerly of Left Hand and Oskar Blues, and Cured co-owner and cheesemonger Will Frischkorn will explain the pairings and answer questions. The event costs $25 and has limited space. To RSVP call 303-447-2739.
DRINK WHILE SHOPPING
Beer drinkers looking to get crafty this holiday season can shop for gifts and get their drink on at Avery Brewing Company’s “CrAft and CrAfts: Handmade Beers and Handmade Gifts,” taking place 12 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1. Organized through Sisterhood of the Hop, a women’s beer group, the event features local handmade crafts available for purchase in Avery’s taproom, as well as, of course, Avery’s craft beer. Vendor applications are still being considered, according to the event’s Facebook page, and vendors can apply at www.averybrewing.com/vendorapplication.
Avery Brewing Company and Sisterhood of the Hop are also using the opportunity to tap a special keg of 10 Lb. Strawberry Wit, a Belgian-Style White Ale with 10 pounds of fresh strawberries added. Proceeds from every pint will go towards the Women’s Bean Project, a Denver-based social enterprise that aims to empower unemployed and impoverished women by providing resources for immediate employment, the brewery says.
DANKSGIVING AND HOLI-DANKS
Helping Hands Herbals is sharing the love this Thanksgiving with its “Danksgiving Food Drive,” in which patrons are encouraged to bring canned goods, non-perishables and household items for the Boulder Emergency Family Assistance Association to its drop box at 1021 B Pearl St. Helping Hands Herbals is rewarding patrons who bring in five or more items with one “fat cone joint” with their next purchase. According to the dispensary’s website, in addition to needing hearty canned goods, the food bank is looking for basic household items like garbage bags, laundry soap, cleaning supplies and personal care items such as toothpaste, hair products and diapers. The Thanksgiving drive ends Nov. 27, but Helping Hands will then hold a holiday drive through most of December.
TABLES TO FARMS
Front Range chefs and restaurateurs have raised more than $40,000 for Boulder County farmers whose crops were lost or severely damaged during the September floods through the “Tables to Farms” campaign, a series of benefit dinners and fundraising events hosted by SALT Bistro in Boulder and Colterra Food and Wine in Niwot. Proceeds go to the Front Range Farm Relief Fund. Restaurants participating in the program can be found on opentable.com’s “Tables to Farms” page. Jax Fish House, Zolo Grill, Root Down in Denver and other restaurants will continue to collect donations, and SALT and Colterra will donate $1 for every reservation made through November.
THANKSGIVING DINING
For those who would like to avoid the kitchen at all costs this Thanksgiving, you’re in luck, as plenty of Boulder restaurants are hosting Thanksgiving dinners. SALT Bistro will offer a three-course prix fixe menu featuring items like butternut squash soup, vegetable cassoulet, braised pasture-raised beef with roasted pumpkin, chevre and desserts made from pastry chef Zack Rampulla. The menu will be offered from noon to 7 p.m. and costs $55 per adult and $20 per child.
Colterra will also be serving a three-course prix fixe menu for $55 per person ($15 for kids 12 and under) featuring Thanksgiving classics as well as mahi mahi, prime rib and a fall vegetable tasting.
The Boulderado hotel is offering a Thanksgiving buffet to a limited number of guests. For $49 per adult, and $25 per child ages 4-10, patrons can eat chef-carved whole roast turkey, grilled molasses-and-chili-rubbed tenderloin medallions, pan-seared Scottish salmon, tri-color quinoa-stuffed sweet peppers and more. Other restaurants that are offering special Thanksgiving meals include Bacaro Venetian Taverna, Boulder ChopHouse and Tavern, The Greenbriar Inn, Harold’s and the Bayonet Room, Thyme on the Creek and Volta Mediterranean Restaurant.
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