here’s a peek at the menu:

first course
panchetta crisp with goat cheese & pear
accompanied by a lemon arugula salad
and paired with our roggen rock

second course
spring pea & asparagus risotto
with shaved pecorino cheese
and paired with our german pilsner

third course
grilled lamb chop with strawberry rhubarb jam,
celery root purée, and baby green beans
and paired with our elephino double IPA

fourth course
banana grand marnier tiramisu
and paired with our bavarian weisse

$38 per person for food + $10 per person for beer
does not include tax or gratuity
credit card deposit required with reservation

make your reservations today by calling 435-575-0295
or email junction@redrockbrewing.com

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just a small note: last time we went with a vegetarian friend of mine and they were willing to accomodate her, so if you have such friends (or even those with certain food allergies), don’t be turned away by the set menu. but call ahead to see what they can do.

first off, two new gig posters to show. the first, wanda jackson, who will be at the state room later on this month is one hell of a rockin lady. the queen of rockabilly shall put on a heck of a show, i’m sure. be sure to check out the  “you know i’m no good” amy winehouse cover that i recently became privy to. something from back in the day: hard headed woman. can’t you see why she and elvis dated? not bad at all, miss wanda jackson. and, props to jack white who’s featured in her newest stuff. seriously, she’s a big deal. come check her out!

up next is the rural alberta advantage. i hadn’t heard of them initially but with my increasing use of the hype machine, they were popping up in my playist and i dig it. this indie-rock band hails from canada (duh) and produces songs that embrace living and growing up in central and northern alberta. their song stamp is probably what i’ve liked most and only look forward to hearing more (the stamp video is pretty damn funny, too). strange to say, too, that this band selection was solely based on their name. it looked like fun to hand letter…and, of course, it was. a nice marriage of good music and fun type to play with. again, should be a good show! dont miss them.

also related: for you tweeps out there, the state room is doing ticket and swag giveaways as they try to reach 1000 followers on twitter (@thestateroom, hashtag: #1kfollow). so, follow them, retweet them and show them some love—they’ll certainly love you for it. seriously, these guys are awesome. and if you haven’t come to a show at the state room, you’re missing out big. it’s one of my favorite venues in town because it’s an intimate show even when shows are sold out. really, they’re an understated music gem in small lake city.

so, as for me, here’s what i’m diggin on lately:
+florence + the machines – cosmic love, dog days are over
+mumford & sons (yeah they’ve blown up now, but still awesome) —little lion man, white blank page (check it out on youtube in their bookshop acoustic sessions. amazing.)
+toro y moi (he’ll be at urban 3.30) still sound, blessa, talamak
+the rural alberta advantage (they’ll be at the state room 4.19) - stamp, dont haunt this place
+sharon van etten (state room 4.02) – one day
+andreya triana — far closer

enjoy! and, just as a side note, i’m working on gig posters for sharon van etten and the rural alberta advantage. can’t wait.

on the docket: sharon van etten and then the rural alberta advantage on her tail. maybe another one before those two—time permitting.

knuckle
incredibly raw, this documentary unveils what seems to be family feuds passed down from generation to generation. director ian palmer tails the quinn mcdonaghs for twelve years as james, the seemingly quiet and confident leader, as he partakes in fights provoked by other families. undefeated through the years, james grows tired of the brawling and pointlessness that never seems to end as the feuds never see any resolve—even if he does win. what once only put family pride on the line, escalates to a huge amounts of money weighing on the shoulders of these fighters. sure it felt like low-production strung together home videos but it was years of footage and it went well with the trash talking home videos they sent to each other in the film. person in my highlight for this film: big joe joyce. real piece of work.

prairie love
awkward and bizarre almost seems like an understatement. the film still had it’s humorous moments—due to awkward moments which i completely enjoy. there’s nothing like the paths of three love-seeking people crossing paths. i mean, c’mon: a roaming vagrant and a pen-paling love-struck boyfriend who’s off to pick up his girlfriend from a state penitentiary whom he’s never met? and a deer that doesn’t seem dead. yeah, strange. and all of this during the bitter cold winter in north dakota. just strange. overall, enjoyable but there were some scenes that could have been cut—it felt too slow in some parts. check the trailer for an idea.

another happy day
a so-very-real depiction of your dysfunctional family dealing with the issues of children and their mother as they cope with years following the traumatic split. the pain and angst of the suffering mother and her kids’ self-destructive behavior is broken up with the hilarity of the sarcastic eldest son who deflects his own issues by pointing out the failures of other family members. all wonderfully written and directed by twenty-five year old sam levinson.

pariah
powerful. fierce. amazing. lovely lovely film written and directed by the talented dee rees. she pulls you through a young woman’s struggle and ultimate coming to grips with coming out to her friends and family as a lesbian. you feel the real sense of hope, heartbreak and desperation. really can’t wait to see more from dee rees.

shut up little man! an audio misadventure
having not been privy to this phenomenon in the late 80′s and early 90′s, this was all new to me. but holy hell was this funny and yet sad. the story: two twenty-something midwest kids move in next door to two unlikely roommates: a flamboyant gay man and an angry old homophobe. of course what makes this situation even more entertaining are the alcohol-fueled arguments these two neighbors have while the two new young kids record their altercations with a microphone outside their window. the documentary follows the explosion of how quickly these two characters became famous in underground cassette tape swaps and beyond. by the end, you find pity in the two absurd men that end up being exploited for their drunken disputes and find out more about them as people. interesting nonetheless.

circumstance
by far my favorite from the whole set of films i was able to catch. this gorgeous drama is based on two iranian teens dealing with the struggles of their oppressed society where they lack a voice. director Maryam Keshavarz beautifully contrasts the paths of the two young women who love each other and try to find their way towards freedom. it’s beautiful, tragic and deep. an even more beautiful sacrifice is made by these lovely actors who knew fully that by making this film meant not being able to return to iran again—so long as the country is the way it is. this one should hit mainstream so keep an eye out for it. check it out if you can, you won’t be disappointed. i mean, c’mon, it won an audience award.

director and cast of circumstance

documentary showcase
although this was not planned, i have to say it was quite interesting and i now have a slight interest in mopeds (it might be fun in the summer). this was a series of documentaries which i won’t dive into deeply as it covered: moped gang warfare, a family secret, a bank robbery gone wrong, motion sickness-inducing clips, winnipeg drama and an abandoning polish mother. what i got out of it: a hells satan’s friend. apparently now i have a place to crash and a moped to ride should i ever journey to richmond, virginia. hells yes.

side note
got to see the civil wars perform yet again at the sundance ASCAP music café. also would like to mention that their new album that just released today is topping the itune’s charts. well-deserved and i can’t wait to hear more from them! thank you joy williams and john paul white for an amazing show both at sundance and the state room! you two are amazing and a true pleasure to watch.

the civil wars performing another wonderful set

his music can feel romantically sad like slippin and slidin and yet can get your foot tapping with a little fun in ain’t waitin. really, just listen for yourself. i’m just hoping my poster can do some justice. of course, nothing will do such a thing than purely listening.

while i cannot so eloquently explain fine chocolate as well as, say, the academy of chocolate, i’ll share from the authority on the subject.

what is fine chocolate?

• containing no vegetable fat other than cocoa butter
• with a minimum cocoa content of: dark 60%; milk 30%
• where the quality, provenance and treatment of the cocoa beans have been considered
• containing no artificial additives such as vanillin, flavourings, colourings, preservatives, etc.

Notes: if vanilla is used it must have originated from vanilla beans. Vanilla flavour that contains a proportion of artificially created vanillin is not acceptable. The provenance of the vanilla should also have been considered. Artificial or partly artificial flavourings with labels such as ‘natural vanilla flavour’ (in the EU) are not acceptable.

Soy Lecithin, an emulsifier, is allowed. (If possible the source should be GM free.)

the academy of chocolate was founded in june of 2005 by five UK chocolate enthusiasts and professionals to raise awareness of fine chocolate within the UK. they also hold the academy chocolate awards, ranking the top fine chocolates in the world. do note, for those of you in utah, amano is ranked among the top in the world and they are just down the street in orem—read up and get your paws on some delicious chocolate.

since i cannot conduct a fine chocolate 101 (nor can i do it as well as how i’ve been taught), i highly recommend taking a class from some knowledgable peeps. fortunately for those of us in utah, salt lake city in particular, we have killer classes at tony caputo’s market and deli (classes that go beyond chocolate, too!). the knowledgable matt caputo will give you the rundown and more. his passion for food, and more currently, fine chocolate is contagious. i will warn you though, you will be ruined after intro to fine chocolate. you’ll never look at chocolate (or eat/smell it) the same again. next intro to fine chocolate class is monday, january 10th at 7:15pm at the downtown location. call today to register, the class fills quickly if it hasn’t already. do it.

as an additional note to when you head down to caputo’s, have a go at their chocolatier blue truffles. they will blow your mind (taste and appearance) and the flavour selections seem endless. you won’t regret it, trust me. you’ll find it rather easily, it looks like a jewelry case—it’s that beautiful.

and, if amano and chocolatier blue seem too intimidating to you (they shouldn’t because, well, it’s chocolate), try patric chocolate’s pbj omg. it’s just what it sounds like and if you love a pbj, then this might give you a willy wonka-like experience like it did for me. patric brings out the natural berry flavor from the cacao and adds dark roasted peanut butter to create a delicious omg moment in your mouth. seriously, try this stuff. word has it that it will only be a seasonal bar so run down to caputo’s and grab one…or five. i think i need to go make a trip there myself…

like most people, i was heavily consumed with the holidays. if you’ve ever worked in retail during the holidays, you know what i’m talking about. nothing to bring holiday cheer to my days with pissed off customers, loose cannon children roaming the stores and constantly trying to avoid my ankles being clipped by shopping carts. fine, so it wasn’t all bad.

holidays typically bring the over-indulgent side in most of us, so i thought i should partake. of course, this really took in the form of beer, cheese and chocolate. nothing specifically (i’ll delve into chocolate after this post). holiday beers were everywhere to be found. i quite enjoyed a bottle of deschutes jubelale for xmas eve. it only seemed appropriate to enjoy it next to a roaring fire. beautiful label and great naming on this one.

other things enjoyed have been the lovely mountains. oh how my love for snow has grown since transplanting here from california. yes, i moved to the mo’ state of utah from sunny cali— big fucking deal). while i had my hesitations at first, snowboarding has probably been the best discovery (and best winter activity) yet. although i’m no powder junky, i have become keen to knowing what snow conditions i like. light and fluffy. it makes me smile just to think about it.

xmas wasn’t the same without a much needed trip home to see the fam. in my three days there, i managed to drag the family to port brewing/lost abbey for some afternoon beer tasting (and some great purchases). yum. also managed to get my paws on some sam adam’s/weihenstephan infinium and an orange county brewery, the bruery’s loakal which i have yet to crack open.

insert ample food and drink with family and a huge side of laughter, that was my xmas holiday. then it went blah blah blah, happy new year and here we are. really, there was nothing particularly interesting in between except for maybe seeing black swan (uh-may-zing—go see it).

so, since i don’t really believe in setting new years resolutions, i’ll just stick to what i’ve been striving to do here: learning and doing more of what i love. here’s to more beer, food, chocolate, wine, liquor, music and all else that is beautiful and makes life go round for me. hopefully you can find something in these ramblings as i stumble down this path, learning what i can and sharing the next item of interest i bump into. keep an eye out for sundance films, visiting designers and beer. cheers!

aside from this creepy man being on the label—which makes it awesome, i think—this is one hell of a beer. good bite and a heavy, big flavor with a smooth finish. i cracked this baby open while cooking last night and just had to share. good use of black and gold.

anyways, i hope you can enjoy the final product. hope to see them around town.