Beer & Mussels at Corridor Brewery & Provisions

Lake Michigan, Chicago, October, 23

After a last minute trip to Michigan to help with some family matters, we slid back into Chicago on a glorious Sunday afternoon to find Indian summer in full effect.  As we drove along Lake Shore Drive, The Husband suggested we do dinner at a new brewery in the 'hood.  We walked in the door, tossed the rollerboards in the bedroom, and splashed some water on our faces.  We watered the plants and headed right back out to Corridor Brewery & Provisions to water ourselves.  We have at thing for mussels and they have 3 flavors on their menu -- Belgian Style with beer broth, cream buttered leek & fresh herbs; Red Curry with coconut milk, cilantro and lime; and Saffron with white wine, chicken stock, roasted potatoes, and Spanish chorizo.  We decided to work our way through them, ordering one of each.  But we stopped with the second.  The Red Curry was so good we knew that anything to follow would be a disappointment.

A day that makes ya wanna put
on a skirt, get on your cycle,  
and ride along the lake.

To drink, all I really wanted was an ice-cold vodka martini with half-a-dozen olives, but you don't go to a new brew pub and not order beer.  So Freaky Deaky Belgian Breakfast Stout it was.  Three of them, by the time we paid the bill!  And it totally tasted like breakfast.  Bitter, like charred bacon.  Sweet, like oatmeal; with a touch of brown sugar unifying all of it.  Three went down super easy.  The Husband had Doubledore Double IPA.  I'm kinda one-and-done with IPA's.  He took a sip and gave a wow-it's-very-citrusy holler.  In a cocktail that's usually a turn-off for him.  But in a beer, it seems to be the opposite.  It was citrusy, and hoppy, and coriander with that slight pininess that is intriguing for the first round, but after that turns somewhat soapy and I'm out.

Upshot: Freaky Deaky Breakfast Belgian Stout

(After the mussels we both had the pulled pork sandwich.  Decent.  It could've used more sauce.   Coleslaw came on it which I usually like.  This slaw was just ok...until I figured out those weird, sweet things were bits-o-pineapple in it.  [*All 4 AGT judges hit their buzzers simultaneously...*]  The fries, however, were excellent!  The stout complimented the pork very well.)

All-in-all, a gorgeous night.  Even after the sun went down and the sky turned inky black above the street lights, the air was beautiful.  Can't believe we're down to 10 hours, 40 minutes of daylight and the steady slide into winter....