Come for the beer, come back for the rest

The Shores is more than just an ‘Oktober’ destination

For those in search of good reasons to venture out to the beach post-summer, The Shores Restaurant has a convincing enticer. Their Oktoberfest Beer Dinner Series menu is available every Friday and Saturday this month and features four brew-friendly dishes paired with a quartet of quality quaffs.

San Diego is considered by craft brew professionals and fans alike as one of the best regions in the U.S. for great beer and The Shores is spotlighting two of our local brewers - Stone Brewing Co. and The Lost Abbey. The former is well-known for its aggressive hop-forward California-style pale ales and barleywines while the latter is devoted to brewing authentic malt-driven Belgian ales akin to those produced by trappist monks in their country of origin.

Having such contrasting creations at their disposal allowed The Shores’ culinary minds to go many directions where tastes and ingredients were involved and provides guests a broad spectrum of beers to sample and enjoy.

After deciding on the dishes that would grace the menu - a trio of sausages with artisanal mustards, a sampling of shellfish and smoked salmon with sauerkraut in star anise butter, slow-roasted pork tenderloin with a candied shallot glaze and a beer-battered apple beignet with praline ice cream and vanilla bean sauce - the headmen at both breweries were consulted to present the best beers to accompany each course.

Tomme Arthur, head brewer for The Lost Abbey, selected Avant Garde, a French country ale rich with malt flavor and a profound biscuity scent, to go with the sausages. For the seafood sauerkraut, he tapped his Inferno, a golden strong ale with a floral nose and an herbal, honey-laced flavor.

Stone Brewing Co. CEO Greg Koch rolled up his sleeves for the final two courses.

“I paired the Stone Pale Ale with the pork because the caramelized tones in the ale pair really well with roasted meats,” said Koch, who chose a special, limited edition varietal to pair with the sweet dessert course. “I picked the Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout because of its intensity and chocolate.”

The Shores Restaurant, which is located inside The Shores Hotel, offers upscale dishes developed by talented chef de cuisine Augie Saucedo and gussied up with inventive globally-inspired touches from another chef you might have heard of - Bernard Guillas (executive chef of the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club, which owns both The Shores and the infamous Marine Room).

The new fall menu include entrees such as gorgonzola-crusted filet mignon with truffled steak fries and old vine zinfandel sauce, arctic char with duck confit potato hash and porcini jus, lamb osso bucco with gremolata and sun-dried fig polenta and roasted Maine lobster tail with aromatic vermouth cream. These dishes, like everything on The Shores’ menu, are less than $25.

The Shores’ operation was further bolstered several months ago when Lisa Redwine, a certified sommelier with years of local experience, came aboard as the restaurant’s manager and wine director, bringing with her a plethora of great ideas for realizing the restaurant’s immense potential. Already, she has streamlined front and back of the house operations and improved what has to be one of the best happy hour spots in the city (a beachfront view at sunset and a soon-to-be-instituted rooftop lounge area) with an expanded bar menu, wine and beer list, new fall cocktails and live entertainment on Friday nights.

The Oktoberfest Beer Dinner Series

- $55 per person or $35 per person for food only. Tax and gratuity are not included.

- The Shores Restaurant

- 8110 Camino Del Oro, La Jolla

- (866) 644-2630

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www.theshoresrestaurant.com