Blue Moon & Fitzgerald’s Beer Dinner – Charlotte Elite Event

I mean, who doesn’t love beer dinners?!
Another great event in the Unilocal books! Good food, good beer, great company. 5 beers from the Blue Moon Brewmaster’s Seasonal sampler paired Fitzgerald chef’s choices of hors d’oeuvres, an appetizer, a salad, main dish, and dessert, and man, you’ve got one knock out meal.
Everyone said the short ribs were amazing and should be included in the regular menu, but, alas, my meatless status relegated me to the eggplant barley veggie sausage entrée, which was tasty as well. My personal favorite was the Agave beer and the dark chocolate panna cotta (not paired together, but delicious on their own).
Swag was swaggy and the 12 packs were a nice touch. Thanks Blue Moon! Thanks Fitzgerald’s! Thanks for another great event Ben!

By far the best Elite event I’ve ever been to! I hate to say it but I’m not as well verse in beers as I am in wine but that was all changed at this event. Yes, the beers were great… the food was amazing… the venue was cool and the swag was swaggerific. What I really appreciated about this event was the conscious effort to educate us about beers and how pairing them well changes and enhances the flavors. The chef really understood the different flavors of the beer and paired them perfectly with our meal to create a gourmet flavor explosion. Here’s how my night broke down:
Always love to check in and redeem my free hug, high five or hand-​shake. I opted for the hug.
Appetizers: I tried everything I saw… I really, really enjoyed the scallop and pineapple salsa on pita chip, and the artichoke hummus… hello!
Dinner: All of the pairings were spot on… I did try the beer first and then tried to beer with the dish to see if it was different and it was. I had a touch time with the salad just because of the texture but it was interesting and paired well with the agave beer. My favorite dish was the Chicory and Molasses Short Rib and mashed potatoes. You have no idea how that first bite changed my life! (Here’s a little bit of back story… my hubs doesn’t eat beef or pork so I don’t have the pleasure of eating these in my daily life) This was soooooo incredible! The sauce/​gravy was so salty and flavorful and the only reason it didn’t pick up the plate and completely clean it is because I was sitting at the table with Tonya from Poprock Photography and no doubt she would have had a field day with me! Amazeballs!!! My husband had the Eggplant and Barley dish and he said that it was delish!
Swag: I always love getting Unilocal swag, so I picked up a few mints, lip balms and buttons but the socks and sunglasses were so cool! I be Unilocalin’ y’all!
Special appreciation to Blue Moon for the thoughtful swag gift of a 12 pack. I can say with certainty that I was not a Blue Moon drinker before but I will definitely keep it on my list of faves now.
Ben, once again you cease to amaze us! We’re a lucky bunch!

Loved the beer, loved the food, loved the people! What more can you ask for in an awesome Elite Event?! I am very thankful that I got to attend this super fun event and appreciate all the hard work put into planning & organizing the event by our wonderful CM and the folks at Blue Moon & Fitzgerald’s!
It is hard to say what my favorite part of the menu was — but I would say of the appetizers we got to try, I was a huge fan of the lettuce wraps! The flavor went well with my first Blue Moon of the night!
I had ordered the vegetarian option and looked forward to the artichoke hummus, but sadly, never got a chance to try that one.
I was super excited to try the Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale and I was not disappointed. It did pair nicely with the cactus & hearts of palm salad. although I must admit that a little cactus goes a long way for me.
The Grilled Eggplant with braised barley & veggie sausage was quite tasty however and it went well with the Farmhouse Red Ale.
But in thinking back, maybe my favorite dish of the night was the Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta with the Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale — delish!
And of course, we were super stoked to find out that we got to take home a 12 pack of the Blue Moon Variety pack along with some Blue Moon glasses and my super duper cool elite socks! Score!!!

Thanks for another great Elite Event!
I am a beer drinker through and through, so it was great to spend an evening with the teams at Fitzgerald’s Irish Pub and Blue Moon Brewing Company enjoying some tasty appitizers and a four course meal paired with the Blue Moon Summer Sampler pack.
My favorites were the goat cheese and sun dried tomato profiteroles paired with Blue Moon Rounder Belgian Style Pale Ale as well as the Agave Nectar Ale and the Chicory and Molassoes braised short ribs. The dark chocolate panna cotta was buttery smooth and I enjoyed its companion, the Blackberry Tart Ale Reduction.
Thanks to to Ben our Community Manager for such a good time and some fabulous swag. Thanks Blue Moon for the complimentary Summer Brew pack!
Unilocal has really given me the opportunity to enjoy so many local places and flavors and I am happy to share my good times with others to help promote the QC!

This update is a review for Fitzgerald’s only… Check below for the Unilocal event review… No idea how I jacked this up… lol
Now, I have to say I’ve only been here once for a Unilocal event and I’m not sure if the chef that made our dinner is their house chef or a guy they brought with them… That being said, I’ll comment more on the layout, service and overall vibe…
There is plenty of bar seating which likely makes this a cool place to come hang out… There’s even a separate section with another bar up on risers and a dining area directly across from it… They do not have a way to cordon that off from the regular restaurant noise, though, so if you’re trying to rent some space there, I would keep that in mind…
Their restrooms were pretty clean by Uptown bar standards and there were about 8 stalls, so I was definitely surprised and pleased with that… Normally, the lines are huge at a place like this, but that’s got to help…
I’m going to tell you, the servers here were some of the best that I’ve encountered… Quick, frlendly and a lot of fun… They really seemed to want everyone to have a great experience and it showed…
They validate parking from the Wake Forest lot, so yay for that! Who likes to pay for parking? Not this lady…
I’ll have to go back again to make sure the good food was really theirs, but I’ll make sure to do an update when I get around to it! Until then, this looks like a safe bet for some drinks and a nighttime hang…

Another great Elite Event bites the dust!!!
I had a wonderful time… given that I’m not really a beer drinker, but Chef Deacon really out did himself. Let me first start off by saying hats off to the staff that served up the delightful dishes. At the end of the event they came up and introduced themselves and I was shocked to see that it was only about four of them. The way they brought out all the drinks and food to the tables I thought that it was way more. They did an excellent job and made the night even more memorable with their sense of humor and speedy service.
I arrived a little late so I didn’t partake in any of the Hors d’Oeuvres but I heard they were great. I would have really like to have sampled the Coriander Spiced Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Citrus Glazed Peacan (after reading that don’t you wish you were eating one right now).
Once we were seated we were introduced to a Husband and Wife duo, representatives from Blue Moon Brewing, educated us on the history of Blue Moon Beer. This part was really informative but I was a little loss at times (not knowing that much about beer and all) and they made me laugh on serveral occasions.
Now for the 4 course dinner (and let me throw in that Chef Deacon really did a fantastic job pairing and using the beer within the meal). I enjoyed the Goat Cheese and Sun-​dried Tomato Profiteroles with Onion Marmalade. Two reasons really (1) I like goat cheese (2) I like onions! The salad was… it was definitely different. Cactus and Hearts of Palm Salad with Tequila Lime Vinaigrette. I think if the dressing was kinda weak in my opinion and the cactus was a little too slimy for my taste… but it wasn’t bad. The entrée’ (my favorite) was Chicory and Molasses Braised Short Ribs with mashed potatoes and sliced sweet potatoes (or yams… couldn’t tell they were good anyway). I plowed through this dish. Lastly (insert tear here) for dessert, a dark chocolate Panna Cotta with Blackberry Tart Ale Reduction. This was good also. Light and creamy it was a great finale to a great meal!
The beers that were served with the food was Blue Moon Rounder Belgian-​Style Pale Ale, Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale, Blue Moon Short Straw (Farmhouse Red Ale), and Blue Moon Blackberry Tart Ale. My favorite was the first… Blue Moon Rounder Belgian-​Style Pale Ale.
I enjoyed chowing down with my fellow elites, joking with Ben, and playing «Where’s Waldo… I mean Where’s JJ» with JJ’s head :)

Rundown of our night:
–Free Beers and Appetizers
–Hanging out with Fun people
–Free Beer and Free 4 course meal
–Great service (and countless speeches)
–Trekking home through Uptown with more Free Beer slung over our shoulders
Great event.

Wow. What a great night of Fitzgerald’s chef pairings with Blue Moon beer varieties. I was never a big fan of the original Blue Moon Belgian White Ale beer usually sold in bars, but I’ve discovered two that I AM a big fan of — the Rounder Pale Ale and the Short Straw Farmhouse Red. The latter, paired with the outstanding Chicory and Molasses Braised Short Ribs — yes! I agree with many more, that it could have been the dessert as well. We liked all the hors d’oeuvres, although a plate was needed for the tender chicken lettuce wraps. Not a fan of goat cheese, but the onion marmalade, mmmm! The pairing with the Rounder Belgian-​Style Pale Ale was delightful, I must admit. Lucky for us, too, we shared our booth with two new friends with whom we found we had a lot in common, and hope to see again. And then there was the swag. 12 pack of Blue Moon varieties, cool beer glasses and more! Can’t wait for the next Elite event! I heard it’s going to be amazing! Thanks Ben, Blue Moon, Fitzgeralds and everyone involved!

Holy awesome beer dinner Batman!
From the food, beer lessons, excellent company, and ridiculous loot, I found myself asking myself «how’d I get so lucky?»
Fitzgerald’s, if you don’t put that short rib/​mashed potato item on your menu, I will cry. All the custom Blue Moon inspired dishes were delectable and I found myself day dreaming about the food after the last bite.
The hosts of Blue Moon Brewing Company kept us entertained, educated, and horribly spoiled.
I love you fellow Unilocalers. Ben G, you done good.

I think this is one of my favorite Unilocal events ever. Ben you out did yourself. A great thanks to the Chef for creating such perfect pairings and for Blue moon for the 12-​pack variety and glasses. Everyone did such a great job educating us on the pairings.
The only down fall is that these great dishes were created especially for this dinner and not sold on Fitzgeralds menu. So I will dream of those creamy mashed potatoes but will I ever have them again? Fitzgerald’s should hold monthly beer dinners as this may be Chef Deacon’s calling.
Thanks Unilocal for the Elite socks. They seem perfect for an Independence day themed event. ;)

Could a Unilocal event get any better than this!!! Delicious passed hor d’oeuvres served with cold draft Blue Moon… a 4 course dinner paired with special release Blue Moon… souvenirs to take home. Where does one begin?
I loved hearing from the Chef himself about why he chose each dish and ingredient & how they matched the chosen beer. Hearing about the history of Blue Moon and each beer selection made them even tastier! I wouldn’t think to cook with beer (when I’d rather drink it), but it was fun to slow down and taste them together — and they really enhanced each other.
My favorite? Hmmm… I think the short ribs. And the mashed potatoes on the side. Yummm. I was already so full from the previous 2 courses (and apps), but you better believe I wasn’t leaving anything on my plate! The dessert was sinful — oh yeah, and I finished that too! I was still full when I got up this morning =)
The Blue Moon folks were so generous to bring us Seasonal Sampler 12 packs and gorgeous glassware to take home and (ahhh hemmm) a beautiful Charlotte painting won by yours truly! Yay!!! (I seriously NEVER win anything — so exciting!)
My +1 and I had such a great time meeting new Unilocal friends and getting stuffed silly! THANK YOU Ben & JJ, Unilocal,Fitzgerald’s and Blue Moon! Can’t wait for the next event (and to wear my fancy new socks!).

This was my first Unilocal event and to put simply, I was blown away. Everyone is so nice and welcoming: I made so many new friends today!
Everything was awesome — from the check in with JJ (she informed me on the things to do) to Tonya taking all the glamour shots of me — I can’t really begin to say how wonderful it was.
The beginning walk around apps were delicious (especially the jerk scallops) and the social time was nice.
Once we sat down, while the Blue Moon people were a little chatty, it was extremely interesting to hear the history of the brewing company process into making their beer.
The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 would be the salad — I understand that it is supposed to be light and a precursor to the main course but I just thought the flavor was lacking.
I hope to become an elite myself and hopefully will continue to meet new people. Thanks!

My favorite Unilocal Elite event in Charlotte thus far! I knew that there would be beer and food, but it far exceeded my expectations! I’ve always been a Blue Moon fan, but only knew of the Belgian white and the opportunity to try all the different varieties we got to try last night opened my eyes up to a whole new world of Blue Moon that I will love 10 times more!
The highlights of the dinner for me were the appetizers (I can never have enough goat cheese) and the dessert of course! My dream dessert of chocolate and blackberry. And before this dinner, I never would have thought to pair a beer with my dessert and you can bet your bottom dollar that won’t be the last time!
Getting to take home a variety pack was the icing on the cake. I was talking to friends on my way home and they were all so impressed with the event from everything I told them. They were asking me how they can become Elite too!
My only feedback was just the acoustics. My hubbie +1 AJ really enjoys beer and was quite interested to hear what folks were sharing in terms of beer education, but where we were sitting made it hard to hear. Luckily, the hosts came by our table often enough for us to ask questions, so we didn’t miss much at all.
So proud to be an Elite and so excited for the rest of the year! I’ll be wearing my socks with pride :)

Dang PARTY G! What an awesome event! Blue Moon went off with the delicious brewtons that I have never had. The Hors d’oeuvres were banging and the bartender was slinging us drinks pretty quick. I got to learn a lot especially about the basic needs of human life. The food was great and they did a very good job pairing the beer with it. The take home items were outstanding! I am rocking my socks off as we speak.
PS — Dudes + Ladies if I am staring at your chest its because I am trying to read your name tag. If you are wearing a low cut shirt and think I might be staring at your jibblies i suggest putting your name tag on your forehead. Dudes if you are wearing a low cut shirt, I am staring at your jibblies.

Just my opinion man but Blue Moon was definitely one of the best beer vendors for this type of event. Sure they have an award-​winning original recipe, but they, as most respectable beer manufacturers do, also take pride in their other seasonal formulas– which were thoroughly enjoyed here at the elite event!
Starting with the cocktail hour, the original Blue Moon brew made its appearance and was paired up with the appetizers. Pretty. Damn. Good. It was always good to have some downtime to walk around the bar and chat with fellow Unilocalers before the main festivities got started. Shortly after, we were all seated and introduced to the organizers of the event. It was great to hear their backgrounds and get an idea of what their objectives were on the pairing. Servers brought out three different seasonal beers, each paired with one delectable course. Two words– Short. Ribs. Absolutely amazing.
The three pairing brews from Blue Moon were spot on. I was actually fairly surprised that they «complemented» the dishes as well as they did. Always a fan of getting free stuff, and a 12 pack of seasonal brews from Blue Moon was simply awesome!
I have never really been out to Fitzgeralds other than stumbling in on the final hour of an uptown bar crawl– didn’t recall much, as you could probably imagine. But nonetheless, Fitz was a great set up for this event, and had a great staff to assist with the food and beer service. As always, big props to Ben and everyone involved on the impeccable service we had! Very well put-​together and well organized!

I am not a beer drinker, but man oh man was this beer dinner amazing!
I felt a lot of energy and excitement once I got to the pub (even though my guest and I did show up a little too earl), but that didn’t stop us from having a good time! The Unilocal sign was visible right when we walked in, so we knew where to go.
The Blue Moon was good, and then we got the hors d’oeuvres! My favorite was the lemoned hummus on bread. I definitely ate two of those, but made sure to save room for dinner, which I was so excited for I could’ve peed my pants!
We had a great room that was kinda private for the event, but not too private as we could see other tables, and I quite enjoyed it. We had speakers to inform us about the food and beer before they actually came out, which was nice to know. At times, I wasn’t able to hear them and wished they had a mic, but what I heard was still cool… like the origin of how Blue Moon had received it’s name. Boom, knowledge was dropped upon us.
Alright, alright, food time. It was all WONDERFUL I tell you. In our salad was cool because there was cactus in it!!! I can now cross that off my list of things I have eaten. My favorite was the entrée, which was spare rib with mashed potatoes. It was the bomb diggity!!! I could hear angels singing in the background when I took that first bite. Yeah, it was THAT delicious.
Thanks Unilocal Charlotte for putting on an excellent event! And also a double thanks for the beer we got to take home (which when it was announced, there was a guy who stood up to fist pump), and also the beer glasses!

Happy Unilocal-​iversary to me! 1 year this month and what a better way to celebrate than by surrounding myself with fellow Unilocalers and phenomenal food and beer?
Since I live in Columbia, SC we had not been able to attend any Elite events yet… this was my first and it has set the bar high!
Everyone has raved about the meal and I wholeheartedly agree. The braised short ribs were beyond amazing. The Short Straw beer that was paired with that course was also my favorite of the evening. (This review is missing the last star because I was not a big fan of the salad. The flavors were totally there and I appreciate the opportunity to try something new but I could not get over the gooey consistency.)
One must not forget the little passed appetizers at the beginning though! The lemon and artichoke hummus was so fresh and delicious (I really want to put it on a turkey sandwich) and the jerk spiced scallop with pineapple relish on a plantain chip was just amazing. The balance of flavors was perfect. I’ve tried scallops several times and never liked them but this one was delicious! I could have eaten 10!
As if dinner and beer wasn’t enough we were all treated to a 12 pack of the beers we had sampled, a set of Blue Moon glasses and lots of Unilocal swag! I’m rocking those socks right now!
I’m so thankful that Ben, the Chef and the Blue Moon peeps all took the time to create this amazing event. I appreciate all the work that went into setting it up and preparing the dishes. Thank you guys for a delicious and educational evening.
Now I just have to find the Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale!

I am also not a beer drinker, but am happy to see I wasn’t the only Elite who doesn’t drink beer, yet came to a beer dinner. My husband (aka +1) is however a very avid beer drinker and enjoyed the Blue Moon themed event very much.
Let me start off by saying Unilocal has opened a lot of doors by way of food that I would never get to try, people that I wouldn’t normally get to meet, and places I wouldn’t normally get to frequent.
My name is Lyndsay and I am picky eater (I’ll wait a second for the gasps). So when I got to the event I was nervous that someone else would be choosing what I would be eating for the night.
I would like to say that I did try everything that was served last night. I discovered I really like goat cheese. I now know what a profiterole is, a great bowl for goat cheese :). Cactus is not my favorite. But spare ribs with mashed potatoes are my jam. OMG, meat and potatoes they were all gone. Could I please get seconds of those? I can drive uptown now.
The dessert had a great flavor. Dark chocolate is probably one of my favorite desserts of all time, and the blackberry tart reduction that went on it was MM good.
I think that this was a great event. I got to meet new people and talk about great food, and great drinks at the same time. Also the Schwag bags were awesome! I’m currently using the straw beer from the 12 pack in a crock pot french dip for tonight’s dinner. Should be amazing! Maybe while I eat it I can also wear those new Elite socks :).

Stepped out Monday night for another fabulous Elite event. This one was hosted by Blue Moon Brewing Company at Fitzgerald’s Beer downtown.
Let me just say that the fine folks at Blue Moon really know how to throw an amazing Sampler Beer Dinner!!!
The four course meal was paired with a different beer each course and we were given some history on the cool beers and the way they complimented the foods.
For starters we had the goat cheese and sun dried tomato profiteroles paired with a Belgian style pale ale. Yum! I was a huge fan of the goat cheese and onion marmalade… simply delicious!
The salad was a cactus and hearts of palm with tequila lime vinaigrette. I’ve never tried cactus before, and it has a very interesting taste paired with the lime vinaigrette. The compliment beer was the Nectar Ale, and it really brought out some cool flavors.
The clear winner of the night was the main course… those chicory and molasses braised short ribs were STELLAR!!! I mean they were Freaking Aaamazing!!! It was so tender and the flavors from the sauce was heavenly. To top it off my favorite beer of the night was the Short Straw. It’s a red beer brewed with hibiscus, coriander and white pepper. It really was a perfect compliment to the ribs and I just can’t say enough good things about these short ribs!!! Except for MORE please!
For desert we had the dark chocolate panda cotta with blackberry tart ale. This was paired with a Blackberry tart ale. Yummy! It reminded me of a chocolate mousse with a lovely blackberry flavor. And as expected was perfectly matched with the Blackberry ale!
This truly was a totally awesome event. I had an amazing time! It’s always great meeting new Unilocalers! I’m thankful to everyone who put it together! I must give a huge shout out to the chef and his amazing crew, Ben and JJ, the staff at Fitzgerald’s and the amazing team from Blue Moon.
And I’m still amazed with all the goodies I left with! A 12 pack Seasonal Sampler from Blue Moon… YES you read that correctly a complimentary 12 pack which included all of the beers we sampled during dinner, Blue Moon glassware and of course the amazing schwag from Ben… these elite socks are so freaking cool!!!
I really can’t think if a better way to spend a Monday night and definitely look forward to the next event!!!