Universal and Blue Palms

 Chris and I headed down to Universal Studios again last week to catch a few of the rides and attractions we missed when we went with the Palla family earlier this summer.  Apparently they had the water features dialed up to 11 because we didn't get nearly as drenched the first trip! 

Later in the afternoon we headed to one of Chris' greatest finds: Blue Palms Brewhouse

We've been there once before and couldn't wait to go back! It's located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and they have some really unique craft beer and food...yum! One of the greatest perks- they always have a specialty cheese menu.

 

We ended up choosing  the Sottocenere, Manchego, and Pittig Gouda.  Each of which were fantastic, pictures further down in this post.

I started out with the Avery White Rascal.

 And Chris had the Surf Brewing Black IPA

 

All the beer at Blue Palms is projected up on giant screens and as the night goes by and they run out of a beer they instantly take it off the menu.  The menu was pretty wimpy when we were there because the very next day was National? International? IPA Day.  Chris was so sad.  If you know Chris you know IPA is his very very very favorite.  So the fact that they were saving all the tap space for fancy IPA's that he couldn't partake in was a bummer.

 Here is the beautiful CHEESE PLATE! The top left corner is the gouda, bottom right is the manchego- which was pretty soft and flavor packed for that style, and the bottom left is the sottocenere.  It's also served with candied nuts, apples, thin crispy crackers, and a honey balsamic sauce.  I'm not quite sure if I like the honey balsamic sauce, it's a very interesting and complex flavor.  I want to like it, it's just a bit overwhelming for me.

 Blue Palms has a beautiful sausage menu as well- we chose the Pheasant Sausage with cognac, port wine spices, and juniper berries  and the Duck with Foie Gras and Wine Sausage with a hint of butterscotch.  Holy Cow they were good! They're all served with a spicy sauerkraut, caramelized onions, serrano peppers, chipotle aioli and a wasabi spiced mustard.  Mmmm....

The final portion of our meal was their Lobster Mac & Cheese- Lobster tail, cheddar, parmesan, and crimini mushrooms.  Pictured here the mushrooms are on the side because Chris likes to ruin things for me!  Kidding....mostly... I'm determined to convince him that mushrooms are one of the most delicious things on earth, he continues to disagree.

So, if you find yourself anywhere near Hollywood, head down to Blue Palms, you won't be sorry.  The beer alone is worth the trip; the food is just a bonus.