The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Haus Original Pretzel with $3 Warm Three Cheese Beer Dipping Sauce
Haus Bacon Wrapped Dates, Imported Pecorino and Honeycomb
Belgian Fries with Ranch
Fall Turkey Brat with Butternut Squash, Apples, Sage / Duck and Dates with Coriander, Fennel Seed, Orange Zest / Beer Brat with Parsley, Oregano, Beer
(Root Beer Onions, Apricot Onion Chutney, Picked Red Onions)
Brat Burger – Pork Sausage Patty, Fried Egg, Swiss Cheese
Drunken Date Cake – Oatmeal Stout and Whipped Cream
Belgian Waffle with Jalapeno Honey Butter and Syrup
Spending the afternoon of New Year’s Eve in and around Scottsdale as lunch came around I asked my family what they were craving and deciding against Lo Lo’s after much debate we ended up at Brat Haus in hopes of finding the artisanal sausage house as good as previous visits to similar locales in Chicago…but unfortunately no such luck would be found. Clearly a spot where the impressive beer list supersedes the quality of the food our meal started off on the wrong foot when we were denied seating in the main dining room and placed in a smaller back bar area and although the bartender was pleasant enough while a great soundtrack played overhead it became quite obvious early on that our lack of enthusiasm for suds was unappreciated with food arriving slowly, often far from hot while water refills required direct inquiry.
Focusing on the food, a first round of appetizers proved to be fine, if not wowing – the pretzel nothing to write home about and the “do you want cheese with that” commanding an unannounced $3 up charge while the dates and pecorino were a nice sweet and savory pairing with quality ingredients well prepared. Last and perhaps least, a basket of fries was ordered by my aunt and although I’m far from an expert I found them to be a bit undercooked; more starchy and less fluffy than I’d prefer.
Moving on to the meat of the menu (pun intended) aside from being luke warm and served on a decent roll I do not understand the reviews for the brats at Brat Haus and, as a matter of fact, with all the ridiculously hefty spices I’d defy anyone to differentiate on blind tasting the difference between pig, duck, or turkey on any of our selections – a lack of subtlety that led to my mother giving up after a few bites and even challenged myself on the duck brat as I felt like I was eating the smell of Penzey’s Spices more than anything protein. Faring better – as a matter of fact quite a bit better – my aunt’s burger with a supple and smoky patty, fried egg, and sharp Swiss was the highlight of the savories; a case of “Keep it Simple, Stupid” if there ever was one.
For desserts – generally not a beer fan I actually liked what the rich chocolate stout did to temper the sweetness of the dates and the waffle that so many have raved was indeed a light at the end of the tunnel; a light, airy, and golden crisp disc with a bit of spice balanced by the sweet honey showing that the kitchen can indeed achieve balanced boldness when they try – or perhaps when they DON’T try and end up overthinking and overshooting their mark as they did with the sausages.