Category Archives: Ladyface Ale Companie

by | March 19, 2011 · 1:29 pm

Bernard’s Wine Gallery

My friend and cousin Allie came over for a day of wine tasting and food eating yesterday. I had a Groupon for wine tasting that I bought way back in December, and it was expiring in three days. We jumped in the car and headed over to Calabasas to Bernard’s Wine Gallery. Tip: Pull into the free parking lot to the left of the store and try to get parking there if you can. When we got there, no spots were left. We ended up driving down the street and valeting with some snobby, uppity guys who scoffed at us and begrudgingly agreed to valet after hearing where we were going.
As you can tell, I got really dressed up for the occasion…
We “splurged” and got the Petit Sirah tasting. The Groupon got us a wine tasting for two people for only $15, but the Sirah tasting was $3 extra per person. We figured we could spare the extra cash, even though we’d gone all fancy with valet.
Our favorite was the third one – Hunt Cellars Irresistable Paso Robles Petite Sirah from 2002. We jokingly asked for a refill and the wonderful gentleman who was serving us generously poured us another taste!
Allie is well-versed when it comes to wine. Seeing that this was my first wine tasting, I did a lot of nodding and agreeing with whatever she said. It all tasted good to me!

After our four tastings, we roamed the adorable little shop for a bit, talked with some of the staff and finally went to retrieve my car from the snobby valets, who we tipped because I’m so very, very nice. It was around dinnertime, so we headed over to… LADYFACE!!!
Ahhh, this is MY kind of place!
I tried their oaked blueberry Trois Filles Tripel that had real wild blueberries in the glass. This beer was very mild, slightly sweet and very tasty, however I just cannot get used to drinking room temperature beer. I went with my current Ladyface favorite – Chesebro IPA.
We split the sweet potato fries with red ale ketchup – another one of my “regular” orders, along with the sausage plate.
BREAD PUDDING!!! We specifically requested a center piece of the bread pudding (I’ve found the corner pieces are dry and hard) and it was AMAZING! Notes of sweet cinnamon, rich caramel and nutmeg made for the best bread pudding I’ve ever tasted in my entire life – including mine! Okay, maybe not QUITE better than mine, but pretty close!

Ladyface Fridays.
It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

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Filed under beer tasting, Bread pudding, bread pudding makes me happy, Ladyface, Ladyface Ale Companie, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, sweet potato fries, wine

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by | March 13, 2011 · 3:39 am

Ladyface with Bloggers!

Last night I met up with eleven other bloggers and one of my very favorite places in the world: Ladyface.
We got seated inside at one of the long tables, but after a few minutes of screaming at each other trying to be heard, we requested a swap for a table on the patio.
I ordered my favorite: Chesebro IPA. 9.8%ABV and soopah hoppy!
It made me soopah happy.
Kaitlin being a super-creeper and getting WAY better, clearer pictures than I got. I’m not jealous of her camera or skills at all…
From left to right: Dan, Monica, Katherine and Amanda.
Left to right: Danielle and Kelley.
Jessie!
Andy!
We spent the entire night drinking delicious beer, consuming wonderful food, but most importantly, talking incessantly about beer, blogging, food, life in general, and having the most amazing, fun Friday night with new friends. I never would have thought that I would be spending a Friday night with some people that I met on the internet, and ENJOYING myself at that, but I’m hooked!
And then Amanda did the downward dog.
And our night was complete.

We’re all waiting for the group pictures to show up – I think Jessie and Kaitlin have those in their possession. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Friday than at Ladyface with good beer, good bloggers and great friends.


WHEN IS THE NEXT MEETUP??

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Filed under Becki Kregoski, beer, blogger meet-up, brewery, Chesebro IPA, IPA, Ladyface, Ladyface Ale Companie, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, NEW WEBSITE, sweet potato fries, Uncategorized

by | January 5, 2011 · 10:38 am

Ladyface Tuesdays!

     Ladyface has a new “thing” for Tuesdays – 20% off any cellar beers (basically any of their guest beers that are bottled). I met up with the parental unit to give it a whirl.
  
     Unfortunately, “cellar beers” are a wee bit pricey, even WITH the 20% off, so we ended up sticking with the Ladyface brews.

“Jumpin’ Juniper” – Blind Ambition infused with Juniper berries. This was served at room temperature since it comes straight out of the cask. I liked it, but I think I would have preferred it chilled.
We split the roasted vegetable dish – roasted beets (which I’ve never liked until tonight), carrots and parsnips (which I’ve never tried before tonight). Tasty, but could have used less oil and a little more salt.
Charcuterie Plate – No idea what it means, but it had crostini, cheese (which I didn’t have because of the whole “no dairy” thing), dried cranberries and dates, prosciutto and sausage.
I sampled the Chesebro IPA and wanted a glass, then it hit me. This thing is STRONG!!! 9.8% ABV!!! I had this sampler and then decided to get something a little tamer for my final beer.
REGULAR Blind Ambition = happiness!
A good time was had by all 🙂
I think I’ve found a new Tuesday tradition!
If you want to come visit, I’ll be here every Tuesday that I’m in town!

P.S. Sorry Andy and Amanda, any similarities to your “Beer Monday” idea was completely unintentional!

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Filed under beer, Blind Ambition, Chesebro IPA, dairy-free, Jumpin' Juniper, Ladyface, Ladyface Ale Companie, Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie, roasted vegetables, Two Boos Who Eat

by | October 4, 2010 · 7:53 am

A Night of Deathtraps!

     Plans changed last night. Drastically. I originally planned on staying in, having a Punkin Ale (or two) and getting to bed at a decent hour. Dan and Malachi decided that just wouldn’t do.

My amazing boys drove all the way up to my neck of the woods, and the night slowly blurred into oblivion in the best ways possible.
Yep, that loving look between roommates sets the precedent for the evening…
Dan and I split a pitcher of the Ladyface Weizenbock that they had just tapped the day before. This wheat beer is not filtered which gives it the dark cloudy look, and tasted fruity and light with a little sweetness. I find that most of Ladyface’s beers have a little more sweetness than I’m used to – but I can dig it!
Malachi had some wine with his whine – “I don’t LIKE beer!”
We split the garlic and herb pommes frites with garlic aioli. Drool.
     We closed the restaurant and headed out around 12:30am. The rest of the night would be spent risking our lives and freezing our asses off. Disclaimer: we had a sober driver, thank you very much!
Visiting an old abandoned train station in the middle of the night seems like a safe idea to me!
     We went to Paramount Ranch, parked at the outer gates (the parking lot closes at sunset) and hiked the half-mile in to get to the western town. Gates were jumped, trespassing was committed, and many, many pictures were attempted, of which the only usable one is posted above.
     Post-trespassing, we trekked back to the car and decided that the next logical place to go would be the beach. We got to Zuma Beach around 2am and made a mad dash into the water, screaming in pain as each fist of icy water pummeled our bodies – doesn’t that sound like a fun time to you? One minor detail we forgot: towels. But really, who needs towels when it’s a breezy 60 degrees out after an extended amount of time in the bitterly cold ocean? We jumped back in the car, pumped up the heat and decided to end the night.
     I got back at 3am, left my flip flops (that are still coated in sand) outside, showered and crashed. Today’s lesson: going to work is even LESS fun than usual after only four hours of sleep. It was so worth it.
I suffered through the longest day of my life at work and was rewarded with this amazing dinner cooked by the roommate: Lemon-herbed tilapia, sauteed spinach with cherry tomatoes and garlic, seared asparagus and red bell pepper, and a small sweet potato (my family and I thought these were yams for years!) with a pat of butter.
My life is complete.
What was your last spontaneous adventure?

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Filed under Dan, deathtraps, garlic fries, Ladyface Ale Companie, Malachi, ocean, Paramount Ranch, pommes frites, tilapia, Weizenbock, Zuma Beach

by | September 11, 2010 · 8:58 am

Ladyface Date Night!

     Today, I had one goal in mind when I woke up: HAPPY HOUR DATE NIGHT! In preparation for such fantastical wonderment, I centered my day around it. It’s all about balance, baby!

My Monsta had SIX cups of spinach, 1/3 of a cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1/2 of a banana, 3 sprigs of fresh asparagus, 1/2 of a lemon and 1/2 of a lime, and 1/2 of a cup of frozen blueberries. POWERMONSTA!!!!
     I had four teeny-tiny hours at work today. I arrived with a big mug of coffee in my hand and a smile on my face. After those four hours, I left with an empty mug and a scowl. Grrr on you, retail!
I refueled with a mini-Kitchen Sink Salad. This had half of a bag of chopped lettuce, 1/4 of a chopped bell pepper, 1/2 of a cup of lentils and 1/2 of a carton of egg white salad. Just enough to tide me over until dinner, and just enough health to cancel out what comes next!
We went to Ladyface Alehouse and Brasserie (What is a brasserie? I’m too lazy/exhausted to look it up!) for happy hour. This was my first time being here, and most definitely not my last!
The fermentation process takes place in the middle of the restaurant! Next time I go here, I will most definitely ask for a tour of the brewery! And employment! If only I lived closer…
First things first: We got the Picture City Porter. This beer has a strong scent of coffee and a mild taste of chocolate. It’s very rich, but has only a small amount of carbonation. Aaaah, beer, I’ve missed you!
We split a pitcher. It was somewhat awesome.
After checking out the bar menu, we couldn’t agree on the type of pommes frites to get, so I ordered the garlic and herb with garlic mayo, and he got the Harissa spice. The garlic and herb fries were AMAZING! He ended up not being a fan of the Harissa spice (“They’re too spicy! I thought they’d taste smoky!”) and demolished the remains of my fries. Rawr.
The sliders came next. We got them medium-well (NOOOO SALMONELLA!!!!), and they came on the most fluffy, delicate little buns I’ve ever had. When I start working there, I’ll tell you what they actually consist of :).
We also got an order of bruschetta. I was trying to have an open mind, but I definitely do NOT enjoy eating fungi, and only recently began enjoying having tomatoes on my burgers, so these were a fail for me. Plus, the toasted bread almost chipped my tooth. Boo.
Obviously, the only way to make my teeth feel better was to have another beer. They were all out of their ambers, so I settled for what the waiter recommended: Big Daddy IPA by Speakeasy. Apparently, Speakeasy is out of Boulder, CO: my old hometown. As soon as I heard that, I was sold. This beer is ridiculously hoppy, which I’m finally growing to appreciate and respect, and tasted like the holidays – a bit like pine, as weird as that sounds… It’s similar to Hoptober by New Belgium, yet was mellow enough that I wasn’t pursing my lips in pain after every sip. I guess I’m learning!
This picture is solely for my friend, Malachi. A giraffe, and a carafe. You’re welcome.
After a few hours and three beers on my part, we ended up with this amazing and completely unnecessary piece of bread pudding. Okay, that was a lie. It was TOTALLY necessary! This bread pudding was luscious and decadent and full of cinnamon, brandy, and love. It tasted like Cinnabon on crack. In a good way.
     Now, it’s only 9:45pm and I am completely tuckered-out. Starting happy hour at 4pm can do that to you, I guess. Enjoy the visual attack of delicious pictures, and I shall go pass out with visions of bread pudding swirling and twirling through my head. Tomorrey morning shall be greeted with a hike!
Where’s your favorite place for happy hour?

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Filed under beer, Bread pudding, date night, green monster, kitchen sink salad, Ladyface Ale Companie, Picture City Porter, pommes frites, sliders