A couple weeks ago, we were invited to visit the first of a series of Beer Dinners at Meehan’s Downtown. The dinners feature a key ingredient which is used in each course (think Iron Chef) and each course is paired with a beer from a local brewery. The Brewery was Terrapin and the ingredient was Corn. We were lucky to have Chef Jordan Wakefield cooking for us and John Wetzel from Terrapin Brewery telling us about the beer we were enjoying.

With Chef Wakefield introducing his menu, we started off with an Amuse Bouche of Quail with mushrooms and a sweet corn puree. It was nice that it was a Quail breast, so there was no fighting with the bones. This was paired with Terrapin’s Hopsecutioner.

The first course was an Corn and Crab Chowder. It was creamy and velvety just as you would expect but loved that the crab was served in chunks and was plentiful, they didn’t skimp on crab at all. And the slightly sweet Sunray Wheat was just perfect with the soup as well.

Next up was Scottish Salmon, En Paillote which is fancy way of saying “Fish in Parchment” This salmon was tender and juicy and went very well with the Squash and Corn Salsa. The Rye Squared Terrapin beer surprised me. I expected something, well, Rye tasting. But this tasted more like a Belgian beer which I am mighty fond of.

Third Course was the Smoked Wild Pheasant. Served with Creamed Corn, Turnip Greens and Mollasses BBQ Sauce, it was the largest portion of all the courses. Unfortunately it was the course I liked the least. My Pheasant was pretty dried out, though the other ingredients were pretty tasty and I could have eaten a bowl of the Creamed Corn. The beer pairings were increasingly getting sweeter and I couldn’t have been happier with that. The Gamma Ray (pictured at the top of this post) was lovely.

I was curious as to what Chef Wakefield would prepare for dessert. I mean, corn doesn’t exactly come to mind when you think of dessert. But he expertly prepared a Corn Panna Cotta that we all all adored. It brought back memories of early this year when I had a Tomato Panna Cotta at Aria. This dessert was paired with a dark beer, Hop Karma.

It was a lovely meal in a beautiful space and after we were treated to a tour of Meehan’s by one of the managing partners, Ian Macken. I’ve been to the other Meehan’s locations and like them, but the Downtown location is a exceptional and there are lots of special items in its decor that have been imported, so definitely worth a visit even if you’ve already been to the other locations. And I have a new appreciation of Terrapin beer. The different brews are quite tasty and I definitely see some of those again in my near future.

Dinners are $45 not including tax and tip. The next dinner takes place on 7/26 with the featured ingredient being Peaches and the featured Brewery being Jailhouse Brewery. Menu highlights are Bourbon Poached Peach Salad, Peach Smoked Pork Belly and “Slap Yo Mama!” Peach Cobbler for dessert of course. Here’s the link to the event if you’d like to attend.

Tip: If you are staying at the Westin it is connected to Meehan’s.

180 Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Ga 30303
404 214 9821

About Malika

Malika is the author of Food Lovers' Guide to Atlanta and the founder of Atlanta Restaurant Blog. She is also a Digital Marketing and Social Media Consultant.