Here in Central Texas, we are fortunate to have so many great artisanal and craft producers in our region––a region that is so large and geologically diverse that it can support a variety of farms, ranches and dairies. At the Co-op, we owe much of our inspiration to the ingredients that come from the seasonal offerings of the region, yet we also find it in some of our more static items: local cheese.

We love cheese. Over the past few years, cheese and beer pairings have made inroads on the turf of wine and cheese pairings that have dated back to Antiquity and beyond, and not for reasons undeserved. Craft beer is arguably every bit as complex and intriguing as wine, and for many, more affordable and accessible. If you are not a believer, try it out, and you’ll see that the pairings are near limitless.

If you are a fan of our Snack and Cheese plates, you know that we offer a fair portion of cheese at a reasonable price, and try and rotate our selections frequently. We love our local cheese. Two of our favorite local producers are Brazos Valley Cheese and Pure Luck Farms and Dairy, both offer high quality, artisanal/craft cheeses that are produced in small, delicious batches.

Brazos Valley Cheese hails from Waco and is made using raw milk from grass-fed cows that have grazed along three Brazos River Valley dairy farms. They produce a wide variety of soft, semi-soft and aged hard cheeses that we feature on our cheese board. Last year they completed construction on a gorgeous looking cheese cave that allows them to traditionally age their goods. Some of our favorites are the Havarti and Swiss, both being a bit nutty, creamy, and sharp, which allows them to hold their own against some of the bigger, hoppier beers we offer. We also love a few of the seasonal cheeses, like Black Moon, a soft, raw, milk cheese wrapped in vegetable ash, and their legit Meunster. Their Meunster is no where near the orange stained, deli cheese of your youth, no no. This washed-rind cheese is the Bootsy Collins of semi-soft cheese––funky as shit. We like to pair it with cauliflower in a seasonal gratin, and enjoy it with a Recalcitrant Dockhand, or Vector.

Our friends at Pure Luck in Dripping Springs make some of the best domestic goat cheese that I’ve ever had. I had the pleasure of getting to know Amelia and Ben during my time working at Wheatsville, and not only are they amazingly nice people, they make phenomenal cheese. Unfortunately, this time of year their product is not available, as there is no surplus milk because the goats are feeding their kids. But, they should be back on the board by the end of of this month. Hopelessly Bleu and St. Maure are two of our favorite selections of theirs. St. Maure is a truly special cheese, a medallion of Chevre, gently nestled in a blanket of Brie-like goodness, encased in a rind. Truly decadent and reminiscent of Old World craftsmanship. This pairs well with High Esteem, and beers like Waterloo, or Rebellious Dockhand. Their Chevre is also noteworthy; goaty, grassy and spreadable, it is a vessel for other flavors like honey and lavender and thyme when turned into their seasonal June’s Joy. This cheese will curl your toes.

Keep your eyes on our Snack Plate/Irrational board to see what we are currently offering, and don’t be afraid to try new things. Why waste a selection on smoked Gouda when you can try a local, vanilla/sorghum/cinnamon-rubbed rind, raw milk cheese (VanSorMon)? Be adventurous with your cheeses; be adventurous with your life.

A mile a minute. If you never worked as a line cook and want to learn more, this is the first thing you should know. Seconds are precious. Objects of worship. A successful line is an efficient line. There is no such thing as down time. The ticket machine spits out a ticket in four seconds. A burger flips in 45 for medium rare. A pan on high heat takes eight seconds to heat up. There can’t be any down time. While that burger is cooking on the first side, orders are stacking on the ticket machine. There’s chicken roasting and a pork rib just walked in. Macaroni and cheese in a flash to clear room for the pan sauce and seasonal vegetables, you’re resting a burger and a salad just came through “first out” followed by a veggie sandwich and shrimp and grits and you look up and have to scan the tickets searching for modifications to relay to the grill cook. “Alright you got two mid wells one no l no o mustard on the side, both with bacon, one well done plain and dry, a rare plus bacon and avo no mustard, and that first mid well goes with a fried egg sandwich, the rare with a roast chicken. . .” This is typical. Not a busy night. If you feel overwhelmed then that’s okay. Maybe the grill’s not your thing. There’s always saute or fry or garde manger. Gotta learn to walk first right? The point here is one person can’t do it alone. You need to work together. Not only work but communicate. You need to know what everyone else is doing, where they’re at. Over time with the same crew you will get to the point where you just know what the cook next to you is doing, when they will switch to something else, and the right time to fire those chips, plate that mac, fire out that beet salad. But this is all surface, en medias res, the heat of the moment. You wouldn’t be able to do any of this if you hadn’t spent every second of the previous two hours, stocking, rotating, labeling, chopping, slicing. You simply wouldn’t be able to move fast enough. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it has to be overwhelming. We would all like it to be this way everyday. When it is not, we spend our seconds, our minutes, hours, preparing, planning, cleaning, setting ourselves up for success. Efficiency. Making every second count.

We recently switched from the Water Oak Farms goat ice cream, to making our own in house, seasonal ice creams and sorbets. Did you know that mangoes could grow in South Texas? How about mango sorbet to beat the heat on our patio? It’s pretty rad. With the bounty of the summer months in full effect, we will be able to utilize our seasonal ingredients at the peak of their freshness and flavor. Just a reminder, peaches, berries, melons and herbs are highly prolific in the summer months here in Texas, and they are even better in when blended with cream and sugar and turned into delicious frozen delights. We’ll be using these for our beer floats, too, as well as to pair with our house made desserts. Ask the bartenders what flavors are available, and enjoy.

Summer is coming, and here in the Kitchen we’re gearing up for all the local goodies the season brings. This month, we are excited to showcase one of our newest vendors, Green Gate Farms. This family run farm is just outside of Austin (out on East MLK), and specializes in growing awesome organic vegetables and raising heirloom breeds of pigs.

Skip Connet and Erin Flynn live on the farm with their kids, and both come from farming and ranching backgrounds in Texas and in Pennsylvania. They have a CSA which you can join, and also run a farm stand from March to December, every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. I was fortunate to first work with Erin and Skip when I was Produce Manager at Wheatsville Food Co-op.

Their heirloom tomatoes are some of the best around, and should be getting close to harvest. They are super friendly, and true stewards of the land they cultivate and the animals they raise. We’ll be using their products in upcoming Irrational specials as well as incorporating their produce in our seasonal vegetables and pickle programs. Keep your eyes peeled.

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!

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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