Agustina Hobbs
We've all heard about the statistics that today’s younger generation is drinking less alcohol, but if this week’s Monday Menu is any indication, local restaurants, breweries and bars are doubling down. Read along and maybe plan your first Waymo trip home from one of these opportunities.
First off, Halls Chophouse will welcome winemaker Agustina Hobbs for an intimate wine-pairing dinner at the West End restaurant on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 6:30 p.m. Hobbs will discuss her wines and the connections between Argentine food and wines. The four-course meal will highlight what’s special about Argentine winemaking, a craft that Hobbs learned from her father Paul, acclaimed in both Napa Valley and Argentina for his winemaking prowess.
Here’s the menu that the Halls kitchen has put together for the evening:
First Course
Crispy crab cake topped with salsa criolla
Wine Pairing: Felino Chardonnay from Mendoza, Argentina
Second Course
Roasted lamb lollipops served with summer vegetable medley
Wine Pairing: Cocodrilo Corte from Mendoza, Argentina, and Bramare Lujan de Cuyo Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina
Third Course
New York strip served with garlic mashed potatoes and charred asparagus
Wine pairing: Vina Cobos Cabernet Sauvignon Hobbs Estate Vineyard from Agrelo, Argentina, and ALH Cabernet Sauvignon from Coombsville, Napa Valley
Fourth Course
Balcarce-inspired cake: chocolate cake, dulce de leche, meringue, candied toasted pecans, creme chantilly
Cocktail pairing: "Noche de Canela"
Tickets are now available for $190 per person, including tax and gratuity, and can be purchased online at hallschophousenashville.com or by calling 615-246-6000.
New Heights Brewing doesn’t officially turn 10 years old until November, but they’re not waiting to start celebrating. Chucking any sort of calendar or naming conventions out the window, they are kicking off the November party with a Roktoberfest in August, specifically on Saturday, Aug. 29, from noon until 10 p.m. at their brewery location at 928 Rep. John Lewis Way S.
In true Bavarian fashion, there will be beer, brats and live music, but not märzens, weißwursts and oompah bands. New Heights is keeping it local with their own German-inspired lager named Oktoberfest Wunderbar. Daddy’s Dogs will be on hand to provide the best of the wursts, and the music will be courtesy of two cover bands representing music from the ’70s through the ’90s — Rock Star Parking and Chill Pill. Kiwi Scoops will also be offering their cold sweet treats.
The food and beer will be available all day and night, and the music starts at 5. Snag your tickets at the Roktoberfest web page.
Over in the Nations, Fat Bottom Brewing is hosting a 14th anniversary party on the same day, Saturday, Aug. 29, so choices may have to be made. In addition to their flagship brews, the brewery at 800 44th Ave. N. will offer special themed areas to celebrate all the products in their family of brands: Fat Bottom Brewing, Bravazzi Hard Italian Soda, Teddy Loves and Music City Beer Co.
The individual areas will offer cold drinks, live music, food, local vendors, flash tattoos, lawn games, adoptable dogs from SOAR Rescue, and lots more family-friendly fun. Inside The Reserve, kids can enjoy a dedicated zone featuring an inflatable obstacle course, arts and crafts, and face painting while adults sip, shop and celebrate.
For their ivory anniversary, Fat Bottom is adding a new VIP upgrade ticket level that includes access to their loft area featuring a dedicated bartender, appetizers and food stations, comfortable lounge seating, and a private balcony overlooking all the anniversary action below.
The power move is to buy tickets in advance so that you receive a special limited-edition aluminum souvenir cup that entitles you to bottomless pours all day long. (Remember that Waymo I suggested?) There will be a limited number of bottomless cups, so don’t dawdle. Buy yours or your VIP wristband at the event’s website before they sell out.
Finally, on the cocktail front, Le Loup is one of my favorite craft bars in town. The sultry lounge above Ford Fry’s The Optimist in East Germantown has added a new late-night “After Dark” menu featuring some fun treats including Butter Burgers, Oscar Fries topped with lump crab and béarnaise sauce and the showstopper, Le French Dip with wood-roasted thinly shaved chilled prime rib, beef jus and horseradish. The menu kicks in every night at 10 p.m. until close, so one of y’all will probably have to tell me how it was.
An ideal time for one of you young-’uns to check it out would be on Sunday, Aug. 30, when Le Loup hosts their next edition of Jazz After Dark from 8 to 10 p.m. Enjoy music from Allison Young and the Accords along with $2 oysters until the late-night menu kicks in at 10. Sounds like a great Sunday night to me!
