"I'm so hungry that I could eat my own arm!" - Mrs. G-LO
Why was Mrs. G-LO so hungry on March 13, 2016 that she almost resorted to cannibalism? Here's the answer...
On March 11th and March 12th, Mrs. G-LO and I had the good fortune of enjoying three performances (Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night) of #1 Son's acting debut in his Middle School production of The Lion King, Jr.. Mrs. G-LO volunteered to be a Drama Mama, so in addition to sewing costumes, hair styling, and make-up artistry, she also helped with taking down the set after the final performance on that Saturday night.
After two late nights of shuttling back and forth between home and the Middle School, which left no time for proper meals, Mrs. G-LO was more than ready for some serious eating by the time that Brewer's Plate 2016 rolled around. In addition to being the reward for all her hard work as a Drama Mama, Brewer's Plate 2016 is how we chose to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary which just happened to fall on the same day. Limpd and his lovely wife also joined us for the festivities.
As has been the case for the past two years, Brewer's Plate 2016 was held at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Center City Philadelphia. The last time I went to this event, it was held at the National Constitution Center. I have fond memories of that event, so I was super curious to see what it would be like at the new venue.
With over 90 different food and drink purveyors at this year's event, detailing every single one of them would make this one seriously long post, so for the sake of not boring you to tears, I'll skip the blow by blow commentary and instead touch on the highlights. Here goes...
The Venue
When Limpd reviewed the 2015 event, he had a few gripes about the multi-floor layout at the Kimmel Center. While I agree that navigating the stairs after a few too many beers and cocktails could be a recipe for disaster, I actually enjoyed the wide open feeling of having the food and drink vendors scattered throughout the venue on multiple levels. This year's event was a sell out, but it never felt crowded, and I never had to wait in line for any food or drinks.
My only complaint was with the band that was playing a wide variety of music on the ground floor. The band itself was great, and I enjoyed listening to them, but because of the wide open interior, they were so loud that it was almost impossible to carry on a conversation (we ducked into the Drink Philly Lounge on the 2nd floor to grab a cocktail and take a break from the loudness. Our old ears can only handle so much). And if you don't believe me about the volume issue, just ask the guy from Manatawny Still Works. He was trying his best to tell us about his spirit selections, but we couldn't hear a word he was saying because his table was just fifty feet from the band.
The Food
As we wandered around the venue sampling all of the food, it looked like there was an overabundance of pork dishes (is that even possible?). There was pork belly made five different ways, pork terrine, pork shoulder made two different ways, and two different kinds of pork sliders. Upon closer inspection of all the food selections that were on offer, it is readily apparent that there was more than just pork going on...
Cheese. Chocolate. Chicken in numerous forms. Creamed Chip Beef. Braised short ribs. Duck. Pate. Sausage. Chicken livers. Ice Cream. Pastries. And sooooooo much more!
So given all that, why did we think that there was too much pork on the menu? Who knows! All I know is that I tasted some really good food and definitely didn't go home hungry.
The Drink
Here's the most important thing that I learned during Brewer's Plate 2013: go easy on the beer! While there's nothing better than washing down delicious food with a beautifully crafted beer, if you're not careful, you will fill up really quickly and cut short the good times at events such as this. You have to pace yourself if you want to go the distance, so while we loved the beautiful glass that was handed out this year, we always asked the folks working the taps to go easy on the pours.
With over 50 different things to drink (beer, cider, booze, and cocktails), we tried our best to have a little bit of everything. The downside to a bunch of itty bitty pours is remembering what you had and trying to pick a favorite. If forced to pick a favorite beer of the night, I'd have to go with Brooklyn's "K" is for Kriek. Not too tart, not too sweet, and a fine accompaniment to the bite sized snack that was paired with it. Mrs. Limpd really liked it too!
Final Thoughts
Once again, The Brewer's Plate did not disappoint. While the food, drink, and venue were fantastic, I was super impressed with all of the people that were hard at work during this year's event. From the roving band of waiters that were taking our plates as we wandered around the venue to all of the people that were plating the food and pouring the beers. Everyone was super friendly and well informed about what they were serving to the hungry and thirsty masses. We're already counting down to next year!
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Many thanks to Jenna Greb of Rolling Barrel Events for the media pass hook-up!
Categories: Brew Review, Food Review
Tagged as: Beer, Craft Beer, Drinkwire, Events, Food, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, Photography, Review, Reviews, The Brewer's Plate
