Celebrate National Beer Month with a true gluten-free beer as another local restaurant attains Gluten-Free Resource Education and Awareness Training (GREAT) Kitchens status. The Glens Falls and Saratoga Celiac Support Group, Kim Klopstock's Fifty South Restaurant and Bar, and Amy Rota-Poulin are teaming up for the First-Ever Gluten-Free Burgers and Beers Dinner. This four-course all-inclusive dinner will take place at Fifty South on Tuesday, June 18, beginning at 6 p.m., and will feature New Planet Beer, a true 100 percent gluten-free beer. The dinner is $45 per person. 

“The First-Ever Gluten-Free Burgers and Beers Dinner at Fifty South will be a fabulous night that will delight your senses,” said Amy Rota-Poulin, a local gluten-free expert and the only affiliate of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) GREAT Kitchens gluten-free training program in upstate New York. “Kim Klopstock is simply amazing. She features so many local products and has always offered gluten-free dining. You can order with confidence, and know your meal will be prepared by a chef and a staff who have been properly educated to provide gluten-free alternatives in a safe gluten-free environment.”

 

The four-course dinner’s main course features three different burgers:

• A Longlesson Farm burger of grass-fed and antibiotic-free beef served on a Saratoga gluten-free roll with fried onion straws , local cheddar cheese, local smoked bacon or pork belly (depending on availability) with grace cheese, and house-made barbeque sauce.
• A pan-seared tuna burger, served on a Saratoga gluten-free roll with an Asian slaw.
• A gourmet vegetable burger with local chevre served on a Saratoga gluten-free roll with potato skins.

Each course will be accompanied by the following 100 percent gluten-free New Planet Beers:

•         Course 1, or the welcome, will feature the Blonde Ale, both light and refreshing, which offers bright notes of honey and a subtle floral aroma with a crisp clean finish
•        Course 2, or the appetizer, will feature the Raspberry Ale, a delightfully drinkable ale that offers a crisp yet complex balance of subtle fruit flavor and aroma with a zesty, citrusy finish, brewed with natural raspberry puree and orange peel.
•       Course 3, or the main course, will feature New Planet Beer’s Pale Ale, reminiscent of a classic American Pale Ale, offering bold hop character, and rich caramel and grapefruit notes with a clean yet distinctly hoppy finish.
•     Course 4, or the dessert, will feature an exclusive tasting of New Planet’s latest Brown Ale, brewed with coffee and organic cocoa, and unavailable in any market served by New Planet Beer until late September.

The evening will also feature a presentation by Rota-Poulin regarding the important aspects of cross-contamination.

“I like the educational component of being a farm-to-table restaurant,” Klopstock said. “We are dedicated to making good wholesome food affordable and delicious by using only the finest and freshest ingredients. We strive to use fair-trade, organic and biodynamically farmed sustainable products wherever possible, while leaving as small an environmental footprint as we can. We never use trans fats or monosodium glutamate. We use only heart-healthy canola oil and fresh unsalted butter. So the gluten-free aspect was fairly easy for us since our food, by nature, is clean and simple.”

Make your reservations in advance by calling Fifty South at 884-2926.  The restaurant is located at 2128 Doubleday Ave. in Ballston Spa.

--Jennie