Currently, I find myself in the strange place of having a million things that I want to say, yet I find myself at a loss for words. I just had the opportunity to meet some of the kindest, most talented, genuinely beautiful people I’ve ever met in my life and, at the same time, indulge in some of the most delicious food that I’ve ever had the pleasure of feasting upon. Tonight was a special evening, and not just because I got to meet amazing people. Tonight was the 260xRunex2Toms pop-up dinner. I’ve long wanted to try a Rune pop-up dinner. Unfortunately, being relatively new to the area, I’m still learning the ropes. I would often not find out about these pop-ups until after they’d happened or, on the few occasions that I learned about them before they were over, I didn’t have the necessary funds to secure a pricey ticket to one of these esteemed events. Tonight’s event was not just different because it was a collaboration between Chef Sean of Rune and Chef Rio of Shop260 and Brew260 fame–unlike many other pop-up dinner events to happen in Fort Wayne, the event tonight was not ticketed. Instead, the model was first come, first serve–giving all the opportunity to come and taste as much, or as little, as they’d like. I got to 2Toms early, because there was no way I was going to risk any of these dishes selling out–that and when it gets too peopley out, I get weird(er), and I knew this event was bound to draw a crowd. This is the first time that being a weirdo has really ever paid off for me–turns out, the event sold out by 7:00pm.
As much as I’d like to spend paragraphs fangirling over how lucky I was to meet Kyle: maestro of sourdough, Olive: social media guru, and Chef Rio, with whom I had one of the most meaningful interactions I’ve ever had with another human being–this is a food and wine blog, not just a ‘things that make me deliriously happy’ blog. And besides, even if this was just a ‘things that make me deliriously happy’ blog, the food that I ate tonight would still be a main topic. I had high hopes and higher expectations for what I would taste this evening–Chef Rio and Chef Sean surpassed my expectations tenfold and created a meal more delicious than anything I could have ever hoped for. Bravo, bravo, bravissimo, fuck yeah, get it–these chefs slayed tonight!
The menu consisted of seven small plates paired thoughtfully with four different beers and one mead. Obviously, I tried it all–like I would even consider half-assing a once-in-a-lifetime dinner like this. Often, the first course of a tasting menu is good and sets a standard for the rest of the meal, but seldom is it great. Somebody explain to me how these chefs managed to make the ‘salad’ on the menu not only one of the dopest plates of the evening, but possibly one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. The Celery Root Salad with crispy beef brisket and nước chấm was fire. To call it a salad would honestly be reductive; meaty cubes of brisket created a delicious bite amongst the Celery Root Salad dressed in a bright and acidic nước chấm. Paired with 2Toms West Coast AF Pilsner, this easily was not just one of my favorite bites, but one of my favorite pairings of the evening. The straw-colored Pilsner was crisp, lightly hopped, and the perfect sip for this salad.
The Pilsner was also the recommended pairing for the second plate; Potato Gratin. This particular gratin was comprised of russet potato, fennel, and a more than generous serving of Gruyère cheese. If you’re the picky-type to get a little freaked out by eating greens, this Potato Gratin came in clutch to make you feel better with all of its warm, carby, cheesy, delicious goodness. With its ooey-gooey potato-fennel-cheese layers and crispy cheese top, nothing about this dish could disappoint anyone–ever–unless maybe they were lactose intolerant. (Which, in that case, pop a Lactaid and enjoy, my friend! We only live once!) My biggest, and really only, regret of the evening is that I shared too many bites of this plate. I should have been greedy and kept it to myself.
If I say the third dish of the evening was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, I wouldn’t be lying, but you also might not believe me because I’ve been so complimentary thus far. (Spoiler alert: I have no bad things to say. Buckle in and get ready to read some praise porn.) The French Toast was certainly not your mom’s French toast, unless your mom is an innovative chef making French toast with chicken livers that deftly walks the line between sweet and savory. I’m a girl who loves a pâté but, to be honest, I’d never just eaten chicken liver before so I wasn’t entirely certain how I’d feel about this dish. Turns out, I feel really, really freaking good about it. The Shop260 sourdough bread was transformed into amazing French toast cubes–perfectly crusted outside, yet remaining almost custard-like on the inside. These cubes were accompanied with chicken livers; which added an incredibly creamy mouthfeel and an earthy quality to the dish that typical French toasts simply lack. All was lightly dressed in a lime maple syrup and, holy cow, I would fall in love with anyone who ever served this to me for breakfast–cause mornings don’t have to be *just* sweet. This dish was paired with the only mead of the evening: a Cherry Vanilla Mead. While I typically love mead, this one wasn’t really for me. I’m not a cherry girl. I try so hard not to yuck anything, so I wanted to try this mead even knowing that I’m not a cherry lover. This mead is for those who enjoy a very sweet, cherry-centric sip: it’s co-fermented local wildflower honey and cherries, later conditioned on vanilla creating a sweet, thick mead–almost syrupy in texture. I absolutely see why it would pair well with the French Toast in theory and I’m really glad that I decided to try them both together. I personally wouldn’t do the mead again; but I would eat the French Toast every damn day of my life from now until forever and I’m pretty sure I’d never get sick of it.
Now, real quick, let me shit talk myself for a moment: I have a tiny mouth, a weak jaw, and sensitive teeth. For this reason, like hell are you ever going to catch me eating ribs in public. Tearing meat off of bones with my teethies is an eternal battle for me–one that I am perpetually, humiliatingly losing. I am not a wild animal. I am a sad, weak-jawed girl who struggles to chomp meat off the bone. Needless to say, I was heckin’ nervous about the Spare Ribs plate. But, jeez-o-pete, these ribs were so tender that I suffered zero humiliation and had exactly 0% trouble eating them. The ribs are glazed in a honey, miso, chile BBQ sauce, topped with a subtle dusting of cornbread gremolata, and served with a side of green apple slaw. While eating the ribs, I got some BBQ glaze on my fingers, and had to stop myself from eating my arm off all the way up to the elbow–the BBQ sauce was seriously that succulent. I’d bathe in it–and probably immediately regret my choices because chile and lady-bits don’t mix–but I’d still do it even forearmed with that knowledge. As for the slaw, you already know I’m going to tell you that it was great. Bright, crisp, acidic, everything you could possibly want in a slaw. The green apple was a knockout. The fruit and veggies on this plate are not background actors, extras, or even supporting actors: they are an integral part of an ensemble cast coming together with the ribs to create an exceptionally tasty treat. This dish was paired with the 2Bees Imperial IPA with honey. If you’ve read any of my other beer-centric blogs, you already know I’m not a huge fan of IPAs. So, with that in mind, I’ll give you my dining companion’s take on the beer rather than my own: he wants to go back and get a pint just to enjoy it. As much as he also loved the food, I think this beer was one of the highlights of his evening.
The Pork Belly plate was entirely not what I expected: it was probably the lightest, most refreshing application of pork belly I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. This dish truly felt like a study of how to perfectly balance salt, fat, acid, heat. My lips definitely got some tingle from this dish, but nothing about it was overly-spicy, and it paired dreamily with the newly released Pinkies Out: Why so Blue, Barb blueberry rhubarb Sour Milkshake IPA. Now, as a girl who just a few sentences ago expressed that IPAs are not her drink of preference, I have to say that I would drink this without reservation. It is one of the first and only IPAs I’ve ever enjoyed. If my friend goes back to get a pint of the 2Beers Imperial IPA, I might consider joining him for this Sour Milkshake IPA that is tart and sweet in all the right ways.
Now, for the triumph of the evening: Beef Cheek Ragu paired with the Veraison Farmhouse Lager aged in TwoEE’s barrels. Before going to dinner, I texted my mom to tell her about the experience because I was excited and wanted to share my excitement with her. I sent her a copy of the menu. She replied, “Beef cheek has been a long time coming.” (Cute emojis redacted because some things are just between a mom and her kid.) The lady raised me and she knows a few things about me: one being that I have a deep love of beef cheek. Seriously, beef cheek has no right to be as gosh darn delicious as it is. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised that this was my favorite dish of the evening. An herbed ricotta dumpling dressed in tender beef cheek and San Marzano tomato sauce. To drink, a Veraison Farmhouse Lager aged in Two EE’s barrels and truly serving as the epitome of beer-for-a-wine lover. Named for the onset of ripening for the grapes, this beer is aged in secondary with Grenache and Malbec grape pomace. (For those who aren’t wine-weirdos; pomace is simply what’s left of the grape after the pressing process. The more you know!) If the Sour Milkshake IPA is the beer I want to go back for a pint of, this is the beer I want to take home a growler full of. I know that this was just another pairing on a pre-designed menu that was being served on an evening when nobody really knew or cared that I was going to show up and eat all the food–but somehow this pairing felt particularly serendipitous to me. One of my favorite foods, prepared splendidly, and paired with a beer made for wine-lovers: simply serendipitous. I had this strange experience, that I’m not sure anyone will understand, while enjoying my Beef Cheek Ragu and Farmhouse Lager. I was so completely enraptured with the experience that everything else melted away. The line for this pop-up was ever growing as I dined, the Barrel Room that I had expertly tucked myself away in was becoming more crowded with each passing minute, but I felt entirely alone with my food–and I mean that in the best way possible. I could have been eating the ragu and sipping the lager on a crowded New York City subway car during peak commuter hours and I wouldn’t have noticed anyone around me. It was just me, the Beef Cheek Ragu, and the Veraison Farmhouse Lager–and I loved every precious moment of it. Not to be grim, but I think this is what I want as my last meal. If I ever find myself in the unfortunate position of ending up on death row, I’ll have to call Chef Sean, Chef Rio, and 2Tom’s for the hook-up. This was not just one of the best things I’ve ever eaten; it was one of the best food and beer pairings I’ve ever experienced.
As for dessert, it was great–duh! But when is “bad” ever really a word used to describe any dessert? I think, at worst, dessert can be “meh.” This dessert, however, was far from meh. (I fucked up a little and let the ice cream melt a bit before snagging a photo of this plate–my apologies to the people who worked so hard to craft it.) I’m a pie girl, through and through, but rhubarb pie has never really been my thing. My grammy used to grow rhubarb. Something about her love for it, and constantly trying to force feed me it as a kid, really turned me off of the stuff. The Rhubarb Pie that I tried tonight may have just converted me from a hater to a lover. Tart and warm with a sweet oat streusel, there was nothing not to like about this pie. It was made all the more perfect by the blueberry vanilla soft serve ice cream that accompanied it. Sweet, vanilla forward, with gorgeous swirls of blueberry throughout, this ice cream was perfectly creamy with just a tiny hint of that awesome icy texture that you sometimes get from a homemade ice cream. I loved it. But, let’s get real, warm pie and cold ice cream–is there anything better? Pie and ice cream is an iconic duo and the chefs really turned this basic pairing up to eleven.
To say that I had a good evening would be a vast understatement. Tonight was amazing. The food was sublime. The people were beyond kind. Chef Sean and Chef Rio are masters of their crafts and deserve all the standing ovations, hugs, and accolades that the universe has to offer. If this collaboration never happens again, I am so grateful that I got to be there tonight to experience this delicious union. But, truth be told, I’m going to waste all my wishes between now and forever that I’ll get to taste these superb dishes again…and again…and again…or even just one more time, please. I don’t want to live in a world without chicken liver French toast.
Plonk & Pleasure 
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