Academy of Culinary Arts’ Beer Tasting & Dinner

NEWS & VIEWS > COASTING

Plus Ventnor's Chef's Night Out, New Venues at Showboat and the Album of the Week

By AC Weekly Staff

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Apr. 4, 2012

Dr. Lynn Hoffman

Academy of Culinary Arts’ Beer Tasting & Dinner  

Atlantic-Cape Community College’s Academy of Culinary Arts will be hosting a beer tasting and dinner gathering as part of its 30th anniversary celebration on Wednesday, April 11, at the student-run Careme’s Restaurant (M-Building, 5100 Black Horse Pike in Mays Landing). Guests will be invited to sample international brews and learn how to pair them with great food during the event, which is entitled “The Chef and the Brewer: Why the Best Wine for Dinner May Just Be a Beer.” The event will be led by Dr. Lynn Hoffman, (pictured), a prominent beer writer from Philadelphia (having contributed to past editions of Philadelphia Weekly, sister paper of Atlantic City Weekly) who last spring served as the visiting professor of the Academy of Culinary Arts’ “Beacons by the Sea” program — a public arts and fundraising project that placed 73 artist-decorated lighthouses in prominent spots throughout Atlantic and Cape May counties since 2003. Guests will also have an opportunity to taste new and exciting brews, including: Yards ESB, Hoegaarden Wit, Victory Prima Pils, Dogfish Head Raison d’etre, Chimay Premiere and Allagash Triple. A special menu developed by Academy chef Joseph Sheridan of Ocean City will complement the beer list. Dr. Hoffman will be available to sign copies of his latest book, The Short Course in Beer. Tickets are $30. If you’d like to attend, RSVP to Careme’s Restaurant at 343-4940 or visit atlantic.edu/aca. — Ray Schweibert  

Ventnor’s Chef’s Night Out 

How would like to have a great meal in Ventnor and donate to the beautification of the city at the same time? You can do just that by purchasing tickets for Ventnor’s Chef’s Night Out, which takes place on Sunday, April 15, 4-8pm. It is a tasting event featuring eight restaurants — Caruso, Domenicos, Isabellas, Jade Orchid, JoJo’s, Lisa’s, Malelani, and The Red Room. You go to each restaurant then move on to the next eatery. The event also includes stops at Moonlight Liquors, some candy from Jagielkys and water ice from Carisbrooke Ice. The Downbeach has been a big part of the restaurant renaissance in the region and this event is a terrific way to explore some of these fine restaurants, which are donating their time and food. The event will also feature local musicians and artisans selling their wares. Tickets are $40 and are available by calling event chairman Shelley D’Orazio (267-980-7632) or Beautification chairman Michele Ummarino (929-1710) This event sold-out in its debut last year and Ummarino says tickets are going fast. After ordering tickets, you pick them up at Ventnor City Hall from 3-4pm the day of the event and will be given an order in which to visit the restaurants. There will be different routes so that each restaurant is not over-crowded. Come hungry and pace yourself. “This is a great way to showcase our fine restaurants and we use the money for projects throughout the year,” explains Ummarino. And, if the weather is nice, doing the tour on a bicycle is a great way to burn off some calories between stops. — Lori Hoffman 

House of Blues’ Two New Hangouts 

House of Blues at Showboat debuted a new after-beach hot spot on Monday, April 2, designed to provide a low-key hangout for surfers and beach-goers. Worship Surf Bar is located on the Boardwalk side of the casino where Club Worship’s lower level had been, and is easily accessed from the Boardwalk. Inspired by similar beach bars in Florida and on the West Coast, Worship Surf Bar is sited at the Delaware and States avenue beach, which is one of only three surfing beaches in Atlantic City. It features an outdoor patio on the Boardwalk and eight flat-screen TVs inside perpetually tuned to surfer-favorite Fuse TV, Phillies games and other sports. There is an outside rack for surfers to leave their boards before entering. There are drink specials daily, and signature surfer cocktails including the Wipeout, the Big Kauna, the Barrel and others. There will also be a special food-and-drink delivery service to the beach starting Memorial Day weekend. Also new at HOB is Crossroads, formerly the House of Blues Restaurant, which operates under Food Network celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez and boasts an eclectic menu of contemporary comfort food “that matches the diversity and spirit House of Blues is known for.” It features specialty tacos and flatbread sandwiches, and bayou classics like jambalaya, slow-smoked pulled pork, shrimp and grits, Jamaican jerk style or Buffalo style wings, seared tuna tostadas and braised short rib meatball sliders. Check ‘em out, dudes. — RS

The Figgs 

‘The Day Gravity Stopped’ 

The Figgs celebrate their 25th year as a band (they started out in high school, OK?) with rave reviews of their shows in Texas during the recent SXSW music fest, a tour opening for long-time collaborator Graham Parker, and the release of the power-pop trio’s 12th record, the double album The Day Gravity Stopped. If you are unfamiliar with this highly respected band, think The Kinks meets The Band meets NRBQ and The Beatles, with an edge of hip-shakin’ funk. Along with glorious melodies, hooks and grooves, the new set features Pete Hayes, Mike Gent and Pete Donnelly at their best — lyrically and musically. According to Parker himself, with regard to one of the 20 new tracks, “Watch out, the Figgs have a hit on their new album. It’s called ‘Do Me Like You Said You Would.’ Their time has come.” See TheFiggs.net for more. —Jeff Schwachter