I was thrilled by the opportunity to have a positive impact on a new restaurant, so I pondered for a few days and eventually typed up some notes. By the time I was finished, I had a fairly lengthy message that I thought might be useful for other readers (and Googlers) as well.

I’m not posting it here not because I claim to be an expert in the area—I’m certainly not. I can actually think of several far more qualified readers who will likely chime in to tell me where I’m wrong. Really, I have two reasons for posting. First, there might be other restauranteurs out there looking for similar advice; second, because I have no doubt that I’ll be seeing some insightful comments in response. I have a feeling the comments will help turn my thoughts into something even more useful.

I realize some of you could care less about beer. If that’s you, then just ignore this post and start looking forward to the E2 post that I’m working on next.

Re: Suggestions for our beer list

NOTE: The restaurant in question plans to serve authentic Mexican cuisine. Some of my advice is directly purely at that theme, but most of it probably applies anywhere. He also didn’t want to have a huge beer list. This isn’t going to be Bocktown or even Mad Mex.

As promised, I collected some of my thoughts on beer list. I started with four pieces of general guidance and finished up with a specific list to use as a starting point. I’m hoping that will be more useful than just giving you a single list without much comment.

1. Focus on a few solid options.

I completely understand that you’re not looking to have 18 different beers on tap. There are actually a couple restaurants in the area that have been doing very well with just 4 taps (Yo Rita and Salt of the Earth come to mind). The key is to spread that selection across several style categories and keep things changing.

I think an ideal number would be 6 taps: 1 reserved for a macro lager (e.g. Yeungling). I’ve come to terms with the fact that everyone needs to carry a macro lager or two because that’s all some people drink. For a Mexican place, you could stretch to 2 macro lagers by including Negra Modelo (a half-decent macro-lager).

2. Keeping a dynamic draft list.

The beer lists that catch my attention are the ones that change over time. That gives me an incentive to head back to a restaurant to see what new stuff they have on tap. Changing a keg also makes for a good opportunity to post a notice to twitter/facebook–it’s the kind of thing your fans will help spread if they particularly like the beer.

My basic advice here would be to keep your macro lagers constant, but rotate the other four taps on a regular basis.

3. Hit a wide variety of styles.

Different beer enthusiasts have different opinions and different favorite styles. When you only have a few different beers, it’s really important to make sure that each one is from a different style.

A few of the more significant categories…

• India Pale Ale (IPA)
  (a very popular category, so it’s important to have at least one)
• Stout / Porter
  (very dark/roasty styles)
• Pilsner
  (hoppy but light bodied style out of Germany)
• Wheat
  (hefeweizen, American wheat—goes over well for those who don’t like beer)
• Seasonal
  (have an Oktoberfest in Sept and a winter/spiced ale leading up to Christmas)
• Amber Lager
  (märzen/Oktoberfest/Vienna lager–works very well for Mexican cuisine)
• Dark Lager
  (bock/dunkel–a more mild lager with some history in Mexico)
• Belgian
  (usually bigger beers with spicy/fruity flavors left over from warm fermentations)

The amber and dark lager categories work especially well with Mexican cuisine because much of Mexico’s historic brewing tradition was brought by German immigrants. For example, Negra Modella is actually a decent example of a German Dunkel.

4. Connect with the local brewers

There’s a big push for staying local these days, and beer is no exception. Pittsburgh (and more generally PA) has a number of great local/regional brewers. If you carry something from the local brewers, many will make a point to tell their fans. They want to sell their beer just as much as you do.

The most notable local brewer is probably East End Brewing, but there are others out there to keep in mind as well.

Some local Pittsburgh brewers:

• East End Brewing Company
• Full Pint Brewing Company
• Penn Brewery
• Church Brew Works

Some well-liked brewers in the region:

• Tröegs Brewing Company (Harrisburgh, PA)
• Victory Brewing Company (Downingtown, PA)
• Stoudts Brewing Company (Adamstown, PA)
• Great Lakes Brewing Company (Cleveland, OH)
• Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Easton, PA)
• Erie Brewing Company (Erie, PA)
• Lancaster Brewing Company (Harrisburg, PA)
• Sly Fox Brewing Company (Royersford, PA)
• Roy Pitz Brewing Company (Chambersburg, PA)

5. A good list to start with

To give an example, I’ll throw out the beer list that I would use if I were starting a Mexican restaurant with 6 taps.

Suggested Drafts:

• Negra Modello (Dark Lager, to appease people wanting something Mexican)
• Yeungling Lager (Light Lager, to appease people wanting a macro lager)
• East End Big Hop (IPA, for the hop heads in the crowd)
• Great Lakes Elliot Ness (Vienna Lager, a good medium-body lager in a Mexican-friendly style)
• Bell’s Porter (American Porter, for the guy asking about something dark)
• Penn Weizen (Hefeweizen, a damn-good  example of the style for the wheat-beer fans)

(option 1-prime, for once your up and running: Penn Dark, which is a better example of a dark lager)

If you wanted to keep a few bottles around, you could appease a few other common requests. I think things like Corona and other typical Mexican requests might help out with the portion of your audience looking for that sort of thing.

NOTE: I should point out here that the self-proclaimed beer novice tipped his hand just a little bit here and threw out some great additional ideas for Mexican options: Bohemia and Nochebuena. Both would probably be fantastic additions for the bottle list if he can’t get them in kegs. If he can get by without stooping to the level of Corona, then I’d be thrilled.

…

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Others may have different opinions, so I tried to keep my high level advice general. If have questions or ever want a few more specific recommendations, I’d be happy to help out.

–Mike

Why am I posting? My gut reaction to Habitat is split. On one hand, the marketing material claims a focus on local sourcing; on the other hand, many of the ingredients on their menu are obviously not from around here: Scottish salmon, Maine lobster, maryland crab, yellowfin (a.k.a., “ahi“) tuna, and even freakin’ octopus. With ingredients like that, one might think they’re not even trying. Despite the menu versus marketing disparity, I’ve actually grown to be supportive—and not just because they served me an amazing free dinner. I’m hoping I can use this post to explain why.

DISCLAIMER: The Fairmont Hotel invited me to this preview event, served me cocktails and wine, and bombarded me with a flowing stream of samples from a beautiful open kitchen. I didn’t have to pay a thing. I’ve also never actually sat through a traditional dining experience. What I present in this post are my own opinions, but readers have every right to take them with whatever size grain of salt they deem necessary.

Habitat: Internationally inspired, locally unique.
www.habitatrestaurant.com

510 Market Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 773-8848

Some background on Habitat. Habitat just opened this year—coinciding with the completion and eventual opening of the Fairmont Pittsburgh in the new building at 3 PNC Plaza. Located in the second floor of the hotel, it features a well-regarded Chef (Andrew Morrison) and a menu focusing on international cuisine. As I noted earlier, Morrison tries try to construct those international dishes with as many local ingredients as possible. There’s also a bar in the downstairs lobby, Andy’s, but it’s actually a separate entity—though still under the Fairmont’s umbrella. For the time being, Andy’s is even playing host to some local jazz each week from Wednesday through Saturday.

What is it that makes me supportive? I wasn’t always a supporter: I actually left the preview event with a negative perspective. The food was amazing, but it really felt like they could have tried a little harder to create a locally sourced menu. Add to that the realization that the restaurant is way out of my price range, and I was already pondering how I would frame a fairly negative writeup. I really only changed my mind after some extra details started to emerge.

What Habitat’s doing right:

1. They keep marketing in house and target social media.
2. They are open in their policy on non-local ingredients.
3. The chef (and staff) are normal down-to-earth people.
4. They actually sent a representative to PodCamp!

Participating in the Internet community. My email invitation came through the FoodBurgh contact form—from one half of the Fairmont Pittsburgh marketing department: Julie. That’s a huge step up from the external marketing firms that usually contact me on behalf of larger downtown restaurants. That simple details is what brought me in the door.

At the registration table, Julie recognized me fairly quickly and even showed some excitement that she actually had some bloggers at the event. Even the property manager made a point to mention that he had hired Julie (a younger professional) for the specific purpose of connecting with the Internet community (among other roles, I’m sure). The final bonus: Julie waved me down the first day of PodCamp and said hi. It seems the Fairmont is really trying to do this social media thing right. To me at least, that’s worth some points.

Getting past the non-local menu. Before any food was served, the Chef came out to address the crowd. His first comment: they don’t source everything locally. Instead, they constantly review their menu for as many local ingredients as possible. Given the International flair, there is bound to be an item that’s simply not available nearby, and they accept that. Could they create a menu that’s 100% local? Sure, but that’s not what they’re aiming for. At least they’re honest about it.

Meet Chef Andrew. Beyond his honesty, the Chef really does seem like a nice guy. There are a handful of profiles to be found, and they all show a fairly similar image: a down-to-earth guy with a family at home (that he keeps completely out of the spotlight). He’s not a native of Pittsburgh—or even this country, but he feels like he could very well live down the street and you wouldn’t even notice. He also keeps a bit of a blog on the Fairmont site. When I first found it, I was more than a little skeptical that the writing was his own, but Julie assures me it is—though with a little prodding on her part to keep it active.

Finally, some thoughts on the food. First, I went completely non-veg for this event. It just wasn’t worth keeping an eye out for every sample, so I took the plunge. Nearly all of the meat was local and humanely raised farms anyway. I’ll avoid writing too much about each and post my favorites here. For everything else, check out the Flickr page I created for the outing.

Best Dish: Tuna Tartar Carpaccio. By far, the most memorable dish I had all evening was the Tuna Tartar Carpacio (below). Served on a tiny ceramic spoon, this was full of complex flavor. With layers from the acid of a soy vinagrette to the fat of an avocado mousse, this was a complex dish that offered no choice but to take it down in one bite and let the flavors meld together. In the parlance of Craft Beer Radio, I’ll go ahead and call it a “wow” dish. Any more than a tiny sample might be too much, but the little spoonful at the preview event was delightful.

Favorite Item: Tuna Tartar Carpaccio

Biggest Flop: Chicken Tikka Masala. To call this a flop is a little unfair, but I’m going for honesty so I’ll say it. The major issue: the chicken was extraordinarily dry—and everyone I talked to at the event seemed to agree. I say calling it out is unfair, because the sample was really nothing but chicken and some Indian seasoning—without the masala. An actual chicken tikka masala would have been braised in liquid and served in that same liquid with some basmati. I’m guessing the entree itself has the missing components, but they didn’t fit into the preview event portion. The dry texture actually makes sense: take out the fluid and set out little pices of chicken on a stick, and it’s bound to dry out. I wonder if it had even been braised in the masala sauce to begin with.

A Big Flop: Chicken Tikka Masala (way too dry)

Overall. I’m a fan of Habitat, but it’s a little out of my price range. Sure, I could afford it—on some very special occasion, I might even go. Still, I’d rather take a few friends to something a little more low key. That’s just my personality. Still, I’ve become a fan and supporter of Habitat. Say what you will about their sourcing and menu, but they’re honest about choices made and seem to really care about being an active participant in the local food conversation. That’s a lot more than I ever expected out of some fancy hotel restaurant, so it catches my eye and gives me someone to root for. If you can afford it, Habitat fits squarely in the worth a shot category—even considering price range.

Sadly, this is the last picture before my camera died.

Unfortunately, my beer purchasing experience was less than stellar, but I’ll hold off on describing exactly why until then end of this post. I do think that the ability to buy beer in Giant Eagle is a big step forward for PA, so I’ll start by talking a little bit about the actual implementation.

Some notes on the selection. At least back in Ohio, Giant Eagle tends to have a pretty good beer selection. Despite what some Pennsylvanians might suspect, G’Eagle’s coolers have always offered up far more than just a few macro-brews. On that basis, I expected to find a pretty good selection at the new Market District, and the new store did let me down (at least with respect to selection).

5 standard coolers—4 of them decent. At first, I counted about 5 standard size beverage coolers. Only a little over one full cooler was filled with macro-brewed light lager. Every thing else, which was the vast majority of available space, contained beer that I would be happy to buy. Of course, the larger and well-known regional craft brewers were well represented: Boston Beer Company, Great Lakes, Stone, Magic Hat, Flying Dog, Sierra Nevada. Even so, establishments like D’s Six Packs and Three Sons shouldn’t have to worry about: the new store lacked options from smaller and less well-known “niche brewers.” When I’m seeking out something truly interesting, I’ll still head out to either of those establishments. Carrying any such small distribution options will never make sense for Giant Eagle.

An end cap of surprises. I almost didn’t notice on my first pass, but just around the corner from the primary coolers, there was a bit of an end cap with some more notable options in larger bottles. I took note of large bottles from the likes of Stone, Orval, Ommegang, Samuel Smith, Carlsberg-Tetley’s, Chimay, and Franziskaner. None of those is ground-breaking in any way, but seeing them in Giant Eagle is a notable experience. There’s actually a full beer list on the Giant Eagle site, if you want any more detail.

Walling off the beer section. Separating beer in its own part of the store is fairly standard under—even the most lax of alcohol regulations, so it wasn’t surprising to see a separate area walled off in the new Market District. On the other hand, completely separate cash registers and barriers separating the beer from the cafeteria area were slightly more surprising. If you wanted to pick up a beer to enjoy with one of the prepared foods, then you would have to pay for the food at one counter, make your way into the beer area, and make a separate purchase. The situation could be far worse, but that’s somewhat of a pain.

How I ended up frustrated and without beer. Now for that tale of woe I promised up top. After the reception and tour, I wanted to wander around the store on my own and scope it out in a little more detail. I knew I wanted to pick up beer a some point, and decided that would probably work best if I did it on the way out.

Upon finishing my shopping, I had three or four items in a small basket, so I thought I’d ask around to see if I could pay for them right in the beer area. The first employee I asked didn’t have an answer, so I walked right up to the beer area’s entrance and asked the woman standing guard (yes, guard). She said those registers were for beer only, so I walked halfway back to the other side of the store for the main cash registers to make my purchase. Once I paid for everything, I walked back into the store, through the prepared foods section, and over to the beer area.

The Automated mid-purchase shut-off. Once in the walled-off beer area, I picked up that Christmas Ale I had been targeting and grabbed an organic hard cider for a cider-loving friend. I stepped in line and waited through 2-3 transactions in front of me. That’s right about when it all fell apart. Halfway through processing the order for the guy in front of me, the cashier looked up and said, “no more beer.” Apparently, the cash registers automatically shut off right at 9:00pm, and I had just missed the window. There was no judgment call, no warning announcement, and no opportunity to at least flush out the line—just a series of powered-down registers and frustrated would-be customers.

Obviously, I was a little frustrated on the way home. In the end, I’m not really sure where I should direct my frustration: the state of PA or Giant Eagle. Whatever the cause of the backwards process, I think there are a few simple things Giant Eagle could do to vastly improve the experience for their newly available beer area.

Some Possible Improvements

1. Post signs to explain the beer purchasing process.
2. Make sure everyone on staff understands that process.
3. Announce the impending cut-off 15-30 minutes ahead of time.
4. Close off the area rather than frustrating every one in line.
5. Let the cashier use his own judgment instead of cutting power.

Really, that’s all I ask. I don’t want to sound angry, or turn prospective customers away from Giant Eagle. Rather, I want the process to work. I would like nothing more than for beer purchasing to at the new store to go off without a hitch and serve as a model for similar establishments around the state. The best thing I can do to enable that to explain the problems I ran into and hope someone cares enough to fix it.