By Charly SHELTON

Town Kitchen and Grill has fast become a staple of the Montrose diet. Though it has been only open since 2015, it has a loyal following of regulars and locals who visit the restaurant and bar, while attracting visitors from all over LA. The menu features fan favorites like the Brussels sprouts, roasted crispy and drizzled in balsamic glaze, as well as new and exciting dishes to keep the menu fresh and new, like the saffron shrimp risotto with Parmesan, sautéed shrimp, sweet red peppers and peas. But to give a unique experience to regular and newcomer alike, Town holds a bi-monthly pairing dinner to complement the recipes with just the right glass of wine. With the popularity of those wine dinners taking off, owner Jim Collins has decided to expand their horizons and this month is welcoming guests to their first ever bourbon pairing dinner.

“For the pairing dinners, the first step is to identify what we’re pairing it with. So if it’s a wine dinner, we’ll sit down and try a variety of wines and usually we go with what we think represents a specific vineyard best, what represents a specific varietal best, and we’ll narrow it down to about five selections. Now the process is the same for the bourbon dinner,” said Executive Chef David Prewitt. “We were looking for not only a great quality of bourbon but also a nice variety that shows the range of what bourbon can be.”

The final bourbon selection comes down to Bar Manager Michael Stegall. Stegall invited the representatives of the liquor supply companies to come in and hold a tasting, hoping to find unique bourbons that the guests at the bourbon dinner may not have been exposed to before.

“Between the ones that [Town stocks] and the ones that [the liquor company reps] brought me, I probably tasted about 25 different bourbons,” Stegall said.

Once the five bourbons have been selected, Prewitt uses the flavor profile of each bourbon to craft dishes that will pair with those presented characteristics.

“I’m looking for what is sweet, what is savory, what is smoky. Is there anything particularly heavy or particularly light? And I start to formulate courses of food based around those characteristics,” Prewitt said. “The real research begins when I start finding either new recipes or recipes I’ve used in the past to create dishes that reflect and complement the bourbons.”

One such existing recipe that Prewitt is the most excited about is the maple-bourbon braised pork belly, with traditional red-eye gravy and warm slaw. This will be paired with one of Stegall’s favorite selections, the Burnside bourbon.

“The Burnside Oregon Oak Bourbon is aged in Oregon oak for an additional 60 days [and] has these really subtle notes of cinnamon and spice,” Stegall said. “David took the list in general and came up with a bunch of different sauces and dishes that he liked, and then I went back and looked at what he had done. Knowing what I know about the flavor profiles of the bourbons, I chose which meal we would actually pair each one to.”

In addition to that, Stegall said, he is pleased with the pairing of the Southern spiced shrimp with spiced bourbon glaze and southern-style cheese grits, which will be paired with Jefferson’s Ocean Bourbon, a bourbon aged at sea over several years while visiting five continents, over 30 ports and crossing the equator four times.

Stegall added, “I picked the ones that I thought were most interesting, the ones that had a good story to tell.”

The Bourbon on Honolulu dinner will be held at Town Kitchen and Grill on Tuesday, Jan. 31, with only one seating at 6:30 p.m. The tickets are $85 per person and include five courses paired with five bourbons.

For reservations, call (818) 248-1881.

  Charly Shelton