Yelp's Secret Supper Is No Secret Anymore - Yelpers Had A Blast @ 23 Hoyt With Burnside Brewing!

After much anticipation, the clues finally coalesced. On Monday, October 15th, PDXYelp released the highly anticipated location of Portland's second Yelp Secret Supper. On Wednesday the 17th, it was on. 50 of Yelp's most awesome gathered at 23 Hoyt for a special beer-pairing dinner with recent gold-medal-winning Burnside Brewing for a night of tasty treats, all for $25 plus tip. 

The night started off with an hors d'ouvre of grilled flatbread with chevre, caramelized onions, dried currants and arugula, which was paired with Burnside's Wild Plum Gose. Second was a choice between blue mussels with housemade chorizo, Iberian peppers and wheat beer; and a goat cheese brulee with heirloom pepper piperade, medjool dates, and watercress. Burnside's gold-winning Sweet Heat paired with that second choice. For entrees, yelpers were treated to either: 12-hour beef cheeks with soft polenta, chantrelle mushrooms and glazed cippolini onions; or wild mushroom ragu with seared polenta, pecorino toscano and smoked sea salt. This entree option paired perfectly with Smoky the Beer. And finally, dessert came in the fom of a heavenly Valrhona chocolate brownie with walnuts and cognac ice cream. It was rounded out with Burnside's Red Light District - an imperial stout made with strawberries and aged in rum barrels. Yup. rum barrels. On top of Chef Amber Webster's delectable fare, the folks from Burnside were on hand to talk about the beers themselves as an added bonus!

It wasn't just about the food and the drinks, though. Yelpers enjoyed meeting new folks, mixing and mingling, and we even had a news crew show up! Thanks to Matt and Amber at 23 Hoyt; Ezra and the boys from Burnside Brewing; Manterns Kevin K and Chris S; and of course everyone who put their trust in me to throw down an epic dinner. It was worth a lot more than the $25 price tag, and I owe it all to the folks above. 

Until next time, SYOY!

--Don "Master of Secrets" B