It’s a big day! After much hard work by our Kitchen Team and volunteer Member-Owners, today is the first day that the world gets a peek at our draft Rational Menu.

Most everything you see will be on the menu year round, but with slight changes due to seasonality. For example, you’ll see pickled okra for most of the summer, but soon after the locally grown okra starts to become hollow and woody, it can be replaced with pickled summer squash. When the weather starts to cool off, you might not see beer-braised spare ribs, but you’ll see braised pork shoulder and the beer used for the braising might shift to the seasonal Moontower.

Everything on the menu was created to be flexible and will evolve as the seasons change and as our members give feedback. Recipes have also been designed to use as much of the whole ingredients as possible. The scraps from the chips will be made into mashed potatoes to soak up the rich sauce for the roast chicken. The ends of the carrots we shred and celery we chop for the vinegar slaw will be used for the Mirepoix in stocks and braises. There will be very little waste in our kitchen.

As for our Irrational menu, stay tuned. We have some exciting ideas that are still being tested. These are menu offerings that will be updated as often as twice a week. For example, if one of our suppliers has an extra case of figs, they might just be stuffed with blue cheese, wrapped in pancetta and grilled to perfection. Of course we would drizzle it with a sweet malt vinegar gastrique to finish it off. That’s just one idea.

If you just can’t wait to get a taste of what’s in store, you’re in luck. We’ve got A Bite of Black Star BEER SOCIAL coming up on July 17th. We’ll be modifying the usual Beer Social format to feature a couple outdoor friendly versions of items found on our Rational Menu. Be there!

Rational Menu (DRAFT)

A sample of our Rational Menu featuring seasonal and local ingredients where possible. Many items can be made vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Snack

  

Shrimp ‘n Grits
Garlic and serrano sauteed shrimp on pan-fried grit cakes

Texas Mixto
Seasonal vegetables and pickles fried with house ranch and malt vinegar aioli

Chips and Queso
Seasoned chips with local cheese, add chili, blue cheese

Tofu Popcorn
Spicy seasoned tofu, fried crisp

Beer Nuts
Sweet and spicy malt mixed nuts
Snack Plate – Choose your own adventure.
Cheese Pickle Meat
Soft – Pure Luck, St. Maure Goat Brie Sweet – cucumber Country Paté
Semi-Firm – Pure Luck, Claire de Lune Spicy – okra Sausage
Hard – Veldhuizen, Redneck Cheddar Sour – green beans Pork Rillette
Blue – Veldhuizen, Bosque Blue  Beer – High Esteem chard stem Confit Chicken Liver
Choose a plate for 1, 3 or 5 people. Up to 5 selections.

Bowl

  

Bowl of Red*
Beef, pork, bison, and/or lamb chili, cheese, onions, jalapenos

Vegetarian Chili*
Seasonal vegetable chili, cheese, onions, jalapenos
*Or Make it a Frito pie!

Soup du Jour
Blue crab chowder

Bibb Lettuce Salad
Mustard vinaigrette, croutons

Beet Salad
Beets, arugula salad, blue cheese, candied pecans

Wedge Salad
Iceberg lettuce, buttermilk dressing, bleu cheese, bacon, tomato

Chopped Salad
Mixed vegetables, pickled vegetables, house ranch, sharp cheddar

Sandwich

Add: fried egg, bacon, avocado, pickled vegetables, fresh jalapeños, cheese

Black Star Burger
Beef, ground fresh in house, lettuce, tomato, sharp cheddar, beer mustard

Vegetarian Burger
House vegetarian patty, bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, beer mustard – specify if vegan

Grilled Cheese
Sharp cheddar, smoked gouda, tomato, grilled sourdough

Fried Egg Sandwich
Two eggs over easy, tomato, beer mustard

Pulled Pork Sandwich
Braised pork shoulder, vinegar slaw, toasted bun

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich
Grilled seasonal vegetables, malt vinegar aioli, mixed greens, grilled sourdough

Plate

Extra

Fish & Chips
Beer battered redfish, seasoned chips, malt vinegar aioli

Portobello & Chips
Beer battered marinated portobello, seasoned chips, house ranch

Roast Chicken
Chicken, pan sauce, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables

Bar Steak
Flat iron steak, seasoned chips, malt vinegar aioli 

Vegetables
Selection of sides and seasonal vegetables

Pot Pie
Vegetable or chicken, buttermilk and potato biscuit crust

Pork Ribs
Beer braised short ribs, slaw, mac and cheese

Seasoned Chips
Garlic, salt, black pepper 

Mac & Cheese
Sharp cheddar, smoked gouda

Side Salad
Mixed greens, sour beer vinaigrette, croutons

Slaw
Cabbage, vinegar, black pepper

Greens
Seasonal greens, bacon

Dessert

  

Seasonal Cobbler
Seasonal fruit, buttermilk biscuit crust

Candy
A selection of house made candies

Milk and Cookies
Whole milk, cookie of the day

Beer Float
Recalcitrant Dockhand or Moontower over Amy’s ice cream

Beer Crispy Treats
Puffed barley, wort syrup marshmallow