Restaurant Week competition heats up! Vote before Oct. 30th.
It’s election week for a number of reasons. Eat. Drink. Restaurant Week! 2022 officially launched on Monday, Oct. 24 on the heels of the 38th annual Lexington Barbecue Festival. For Davidson County restaurants, and local foodies, the third annual celebration helps solidify Lexington as a fierce foodie scene that extends beyond pulled pork barbecue.
Several local favorites are participating during the third installment cosponsored by Eat.Drink.Triad and the Winston-Salem Journal. This collaboration features many favorite culinary destinations as they offer discounted meal options through October 30. Vote for your favorite food and drinks during restaurant week! Voting is FREE!
Despite the odds, Lexington’s own Chef John Wilson at Sophie’s Cork and Ale dominated the competition bringing home mouthwatering titles for best Fine Dining Restaurant during Eat. Drink. Restaurant Week! 2021 and Eat.Drink.Burger Week 2021. “It feels pretty awesome people were always asking me why Lexington,” Wilson said. “Winning triad competitions twice now, I think this is an example of how small-town restaurants are doing. Hard work and dedication can do positive things.”
During this year’s competition, Wilson set out to “keep it interesting” with a sushi burger. This includes tempura sushi atop of a half-pound certified angus patty covered in American cheese, kimchi, a house-made bang bang sauce on a brioche bun. “I am always thinking of ways to incorporate anything abnormal into a burger. We ran it as a special a couple of weeks ago and people kept asking us for it.”
Quoting the words of the great Muhammad Ali, Wilson posts a jovial photo on social media saying…”The Champ is Here!”
Wilson wants people to know that there is nothing raw on the burger but feels comfortable with taking risks, including his decision of returning to his hometown of Lexington to help grow the depot district. “I feel like being in Lexington is going to mean something different. It’s going to change in a little bit.”
Meanwhile, the chef says it’s humbling to work on the local scene. You can see him deliver a plate once in a while when the wait staff is busy. “I want to cook for my hometown; I want to know everybody.”
This growth includes Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse, a partnership with Tyler Prevatte and Brent and Ashlee Moore.
The are competing in two categories, including a craft beverage clever Seductive Mullet Amber Lager. The Mullet is described as a “malt-forward amber lager, notes of caramel and toffee. GMBH's take on a Vienna lager. Hopped with traditional Bavarian hops. 32IBU 6.5% ABV.”
Additionally, they are competing through their Pour Folk Pizza, which made its fast casual debut in the spring of 2021 PFP.
The Chicka Chicka Boom {Contributed Photo}
“It started as a food truck in COVID as a way to stay open during the shutdown,” Prevatte explained. “The company expanded our original vision for delicious, fast-casual dining, on February 28, 2022 with the addition of Pour Folk Provisions Co. A brick-and-mortar expansion of Pour Folk Pizza. Offering fan-favorite flatbread pizzas, handhelds and shareable plates.” Despite supply chain issues felt throughout the industry, Moore said, “Business is going well.” Unlike other local restaurants, Moore and Prevatte said they have solid staffing of 25 full and part-time employees. “Thankfully, we have 80 to 90 percent of the same staff since the open of the trailer.” They credit the family environment and loyalty of customers.
And while the name Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse has its origins in fairytales and fiction, the accolades are pouring in.
The brewers won a silver medal at the 2022 Great American Beer Festival competition. Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the nation’s largest commercial beer competition and recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States.
Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse was recognized in the American Amber Lager beer-style category for its Seductive Mullet Amber Lager, a freedom loving malt bomb. Tasting notes of the aforementioned caramel and toffee give it a dry finish that’s smoother than your Trans Am’s paint job.
Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse is a 10-barrel microbrewery located in the Historic Depot District in Lexington that specializes in inventive and delicious craft beer. “I’m honored to have been able to travel to Denver, Colorado, to participate and experience the Great American Beer Festival. I’m excited that we were recognized on a national level for a silver medal,” Eric Gibble, brewer, Goose and the Monkey Brewhouse, added.
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The top three winners in the competition’s 98 beer categories covering 177 different beer styles were announced October 8 at the Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.
The 2022 GABF competition winners were selected by an international panel of 235 expert judges from 9,904 entries, plus 94 Collaboration and 35 Pro-Am entries, received from 2,154 U.S. breweries.
If following the competition on social media, know that Eat. Drink. Restaurant Week! is fast, friendly and intense. Let’s see who brings home the title.
Check out special at all participating restaurants: Restaurantweek | journalnow.com
*Davidson Local is the official media sponsor of Eat.Drink.Restaurant Week!
