Sunday, June 12, 2011

Saturday Beer Recap (Part 1, Corndance)

My wife and I went out for our anniversary yesterday, just as we do every year. The plan was to see a movie (The Hangover 2) and grab some dinner at Corndance on Grape Road in Mishawaka. Sure we would do those things, but wound up stopping by several other places (The Mark, Fiddler's Hearth, and a friend's house) by the time the night was over, and had ourselves quite a nice time.

Corndance Draft List
Corndance Bottle List
After locking the kids safely in their bedrooms, making sure to leave plenty of water and food (just kidding, we dropped them off with the in-laws for a night of camping), we were off to start the evening with an early showing of The Hangover 2. You don't read this site for movie reviews, but I will say that th2 was uncomfortable, awkward, and hilarious.

Anyhow, back to beer....

We hit up Corndance for an early dinner, making sure to leave the rest of the evening for whatever trouble we decided to get into. This was my first time at this restaurant, and although this night was not meant to be about beer, I was still looking forward to seeing what they offered.

Nothing too exciting about the tap list, Mad Hatter was out, as was the Upland Ard Ri Imperial Red. In place of those, they had Bell's Oberon (which is what I chose), and Pilsner Urquell (which I would never choose). They did have New Holland's Dragon's Milk (Strong Ale, aged in Bourbon Barrels, 10% abv), which I'm not a huge fan of, but it was one of the better beers on the list, and the waiter was kind enough to allow my wife a chance to try it. The bottle list was also better than average, but nothing special. I've had everything on that list, with Founders Breakfast Stout being the best, in my opinion.

I'm no food critic, but I thought their menu was great, and what we had to eat was extremely good. The atmosphere was nice, and laid back, definitely one of the better restaurants in the area. The only thing I don't understand about this place is that they go out of their way to match their nice decor and killer menu with (from what I can tell) good wine and spirits, but they fall way short on the beer list. To me, it doesn't make sense. When I go to a nice restaurant, I expect to pair impressive food with equally impressive beer. Even Buffalo Wild Wings has Corndance beat in this aspect. Overall, we enjoyed our time here and will certainly return, but I hope they will step up their craft beer offerings before then.

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