Wow, flashy video alert! Chicago entertainment/restaurant guru Billy Dec is set to open his latest creation, Sunda. According to the YouTube description, the restaurant will feature "contemporary and progressive interpretations of traditional dishes from Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and the rest of the Southeast Asian Island region." The video breaks that all down, but still doesn't show us too much about what the place will look like. But if the video is meant to peak our interest - job well done.

On the 25th, $25 gets you a four course meal. Not bad. How about a four-course meal of Ian's Pizza unique slices and some hand selected craft beers from Sheffield's Beer School's honor role?

There'll be a beer expert on site to talk about the brews, and we thought we had an easy gig.

The nigh'ts one of a kind menu and reservation info after the jump!

Valentine's Day is coming up so why not treat your main squeeze to a romantic evening of sensuous chocolate and... beer? This Friday (2/13/09) and Saturday (2/14/09) Chocolate Grape in Bucktown is pairing dark beer with chocolate desserts. Negra Modelo (yes, it's not just for mexican food!) is the lager of choice for this event. It's caramel and coffee maltiness compliments their unique chocolate creations: Burnt Grapes with chocolate caramel Negra Modelo Mousse (mmm...), Negra Modelo Truffles (double mmm...), and Negra Modelo pairings with Caramel Truffle and Chocolate Grape Obscenity, rich molten lava cake with 58% trudelia dark chocolate served warm, with a fresh raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries (triple mmm...).

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YUM!

Beer and gourmet food? It's like casting your pearls before the swine, right? Beer tends to be a drink that most people associate with pizza and burgers. While those foods do make great pairings, lately craft brewers have been showing beer enthusiasts that lagers and ales can be placed alongside finer cuisine. No longer does wine dominate the culinary platform.

You can get an idea of what I'm laying down this Friday at Jake Melnick's Corner Tap (41 E. Superior). There you'll find their chef on hand along with reps from Goose Island demonstrating how certain beers compliment their respective dishes. It's $35 to get in and it's all you eat and drink.

Imagine two brewers having this conversation:
"You've got your Three Floyds in my Dogfish Head!" exclaims one brewer. "You've got your Dogfish Head in my Three Floyds!" replies the other. Three Floyds and Dogfish Head; two beers that go great together! The result of this mad combination: Popskull!

All jokes aside, these two breweries are collaborating to concoct this experimentally extreme beer. Described as an "old school, german brown ale with Palo Santo wood and botanicals," only 60 barrels of Popskull will be produced for a very limited release for the Chicago area. The market due date of this brain-buster beer will likely around late April.

Beer? School? Festival? You can sign me up... just as long as the school part doesn't involve any math homework! Sheffield's in Lake View is offering their first ever Beer School Beer Festival designed to teach beer patrons about rare and specialty brews. It happens this Saturday, Jan. 17 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. There'll be over 15 different breweries on hand including locals Three Floyds, Goose Island, Two Brothers, and Flossmoor Station. Others include Dogfish Head, Left Hand, Bells, New Holland, and many others.

Entry is $40 and you get 12 drink tickets that enable you to sip on any 14 different drafts AND 4 different cask condition ales! Not to worry! Extra tickets will be available for purchase if necessary!

Do the "post-Holiday blues" got you down! Not to worry! Quencher's Saloon (corner of Western and Fullerton) is currently hosting Stout Fest this month! What not a better way to chase away the winter blahs!! From their Myspace bulletin, here's the skinny:

For the entir​e month​ of Janua​ry,​ Quenc​hers will be hosti​ng Stout​ Fest - 2009.

TAPS:​
Three​ Floyd​'​s Molok​o Milk Stout​,​ Two Broth​ers North​wind Imper​ial Stout​,​ Surle​y Coffe​e Bende​r Stout​ or Dogfi​shhea​d World​wide Stout​,​ Bell'​s Doubl​e Cream​ Stout​,​ Lagun​itas Espre​sso Stout​,​ Found​er'​s Break​fast Stout​,​ Dark Horse​ Cream​ Stout​,​ New Holla​nd Drago​n'​s Milk Stout​,​ Beami​sh Stout​,​ Guinn​ess Stout​.

Brrrrr!!! It's cold out there! Just like one eat's hot oatmeal or thick, creamy soup to stay warm, might I suggest sipping on a Russian Imperial Stout to thaw out your bones! North Coast Brewing in Northern California brews their award-winning Old Rasputin all year long! Although, Rasputin (a strange, Russian mystic) was known for his gifts of prophecy and healing, this bold brew won't impart any special powers with you. However, you'll be entranced by its crude-oil thickness, its smokey malt flavors of chocolate and coffee, and its spicyness from the high 9% ABV. It pairs well with dessert, especially the dark chocolate type!

Move over Chicago micro-brewers! Metropolitan Brewing is coming to town! Doug and Tracy Hurst are the owners/brewers behind this big city/industrial themed brewery. However, don't expect typical British-style ales; German-style lagers are going to be the output from these deutch-beer drinkers! Their flagships, Dynamo Copper Lager and Flywheel Bright Lager, are expected to hit bars and liquor stores by the end December this year.

If you're brave enough to venture up into Packer/Badger country, you'll fare very well with the excellent beer choices (minus the typical Milwaukee brews). Heck, Wisconsin is the land of beer! Me and the Mrs. decided to visit our old stomping grounds of Madison, WI back a few weeks ago. While there, it was imperative for us to stop by the Great Dane Pub.


With three locations with the Madison area, it's not hard to choose from a great selection of brews. I recommend the Old Glory American Pale Ale and the Stone of Scone Scotch Ale. You can also order a flight of samples from there entire beer selection if you don't know what to pick! Also, they have excellent grub to pair with your drink of choice! Get there early or put in a reservation... Great Dane is very popular with the locals!

More beer after the jump...

Local brewers Goose Island have developed the perfect beer for this time of year: Harvest Ale. It's a brew that falls into the style known as ESB (extra special bitter)... or what the Brits normally refer to as "bitters."

With Halloween just around the corner, why not imbibe in a beer that brings the spookiness of the season to your tastebuds? Great Lakes (out of Cleveland) has the perfect brew for any adult trick or treater: Nosferatu. A tribute to the 1920's vampire classic, it's label depicts the eeriee Count Morlock staring back at you, beckoning his victim to partake of his wicked concoction.

Fall has been officially here for the last few weeks and that means it's time to putaway the summer kolschs and wheat ales... or at least drink them down already! Dark and heavier beers are the way to go for the darker and colder days to come. While recently musing around the local liquor store, I came across an interesting 22oz. bottle of Three Floyds Moloko Milk Stout. As their brew master has told us before, "we're not known for our subtlety." Not only does that go for their beers, but also their wacky label art. Attached to the bottle is strange japanese-style psychedelic pop art label depicting the their iconic Alpha King.