Did you know that there is only one artisanal cheese maker in Southern California that can actually sell cheese? It seems almost impossible, but any cheese you get at the farmer's markets around here is from a far off land, unless it's from Winchester Gouda.

Fortunately, their cheeses are some of the best. It's authentic Dutch style gouda, a creamy white to yellow cheese made with raw milk that can be either soft or hard depending on how long it's been aged. We'll be featuring a cheese plate of 5 different types of Winchester gouda starting August 1st. The cheese melds perfectly with flavors like garden herb, jalapeno, and cumin.

On Thursday, August 5th at 7pm, Jeffrey Smoot, expert cheese maker at Winchester Gouda, will be joining us for a 5-course gouda tasting menu. If you've ever wondered about how great cheeses are made, this is your chance to learn and indulge. Chef Christy will be making 5 special menu items to highlight the flavors of each cheese which will be paired either with a taster size local draft beer or half glass of wine.

The price for the dinner will be $45 per person and include a short presentation about how Gouda is made! Reservations for this event are required. Please call or e-mail Elena at 619-997-8043 or elena@searocketbistro.com to hold your seat. A credit card is required and $10 will be charged per person for any no-shows the night of.

Here is the scrumptious menu that Christy is planning:

Garden Herb Gouda Cracker Bread with Susie's Farm Heirloom Tomato Salad
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Susie's Squash Blossoms Filled with Mild Gouda, brown rice and summer squash
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Jalapeno Gouda Nachos with Brandt Ground Beef and Cunningham Farms Avocado Guacamole
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Cheesy Local Mushrooms from Golden Gourmet & Mountain Meadow Farms with Smoked Gouda
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Local Farms Fruit Plate with Super Aged Gouda

I visited the California Center for Sustainable Energy today. They have some great displays in the lobby showing how energy use can be conserved and reduced, and they also offer free workshops that review the issues of renewable energy solutions for houses, as well as transportation. Check out the cool electric bikes below! You could even win won.

We got some great little pickling cucumbers from New Roots Urban Farm in City Heights last week and have spent that time curing them in Christy's tangy pickling juices. We'll be selling them by the whole pickle as a tapa special this weekend, so if you're a fan of the pickles that come with our sloppy joe, you can really satisfy your sour craving with these!

(I ate the one in the photo and it had the perfect tanginess and cucumber flavor coming through. Best pickle I've ever had. --Dennis)

On Thursday, July 8th, and continuing throughout the rest of the weekend, we'll be creating some special menu items to pair with the three World Beer Cup Gold Medal Award Winning beers from Ballast Point Brewing. They also won the Champion Brewery and Brewmaster award for the Small Brewing Company category. Cheers to local craft breweries everywhere!

Here are our planned small plate specials:
Braised Beef & Cabbage, paired with Piper Down Barrel Aged Scottish Ale
Spicy Grilled Fish & Cucumber Salad, paired with Fathom India Pale Lager
Vegetable Curry with Coconut Milk, paired with Sculpin IPA

And here are the beer details straight from the brewer:

Piper Down Barrel Aged Scottish Ale
The Ballast Point Brewing Company Bag Pipe Band was the inspiration behind this Scottish Ale. Pipe Major and BPBC owner Jack White wanted a moderate alcohol, low hopped and malty Ale to be enjoyed by the band. Using UK Maris Otter Malt, Roasted Barley (no Peated Malt), UK Hops and a three hour boil, we did just that. Now take that base beer and age it in Bourbon Barrels for genuine "Kentucky Flavor" and you have our 2010 World Beer Cup Gold Medal winner in the Barrel Aged Category!

Fathom India Pale Lager
Originally brewed for the 2003 Southern California Home Brewers Festival this "out of style" adult beverage has been a part of the Ballast Point’s five lager line up since 2005. Made with a "traditional" West Coast IPA recipe but changing out the warm fermenting Ale yeast with cold fermenting Lager yeast. Helping to get rid of any fruity Ale esters and taking advantage of the cleaner Lager profile. Allowing the Hop flavor and hop aroma to shine brightly! German Pilsner Malt, Warrior and Magnum Hops all add to this unique 2010 World Beer Cup Gold Medal winner in the Traditionally Brewed/Out of Style category!

Sculpin India Pale Ale
Inspired by our own Home Brew Mart employees Gold Medal success in the American Homebrewers Association National competition, we combined both a Single and Double IPA recipe with a few ingredients added by our Brewer to make this a truly “in house” collaboration. With the addition of Belgian Crystal Malts and Simcoe, Amarillo and Northern Brewer Hops a very tropical fruit forward aroma jumps out of the glass. Its lighter body helps balance the large amount of hop oils that give this beer a sticky, not sweet, mouth feel. Bronze Medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in the Pro-Am category. Silver Medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival in the American IPA category. Gold Medal at the 2010 World Beer Cup in the International Pale Ale category!

In the meantime, Happy 4th of July everyone!

Happy Summer everyone! Here's what's going on at the Rocket.

Food News

Dennis went to visit Black Dog Farms recently out in the Imperial Valley. We're buying some things from the organic part of their farm, so keep your eye out for their produce on our menu, along with the plethora of other local farms we buy from of course.

We've finally found a new source for California olives, so you'll now be able to get green olives on our tapas menu that are from up north in Corning. We've created a house-made marinade for them including some minced veggies, lemon and chili peppers.

On that note...We've changed some things about our Market Fish Plate, including a new Green Olive Tapenade and the addition of a side of California Wild Rice along with the steamed seasonal veggies. The rice has a wonderfully chewy texture and is seasoned with some of our chimichurri sauce (herbs, citrus & oil).

Events and Other Cool Things

Here are some photos of our current art installation by Maura Vazakas. If you haven't seen them in person yet, the two very different styles of expression are definitely worth a look.

30th on 30th will be on Wednesday this month, so don't be afraid of fighting too big a crowd. Christy is planning to make some Chinese Broccoli sauteed in a house made oyster sauce, and we usually pick a beer to pair with our special but that's still TBD at this point. Just stay tuned to our facebook page or 30th Street blog for updates. And if you're not a beer drinker, never fear, because it just so happens that every Wednesday we offer select wines 1/2 price by the glass all night!

We'll be closing in observance of the 4th of July holiday this year since last year was really quiet. We hope you enjoy your day and we'll be back open on Monday the 5th for business as usual.

Check out the fun, free, local concert series put on at Bird Park this summer. Maybe we'll see you there, or maybe we'll see you at the bistro for dinner after the music is over and the sun has gone down. We're just 2 blocks away!

Until Dennis finishes up our super spiffy custom iPhone restaurant app, check in on our live specials board anytime you're wondering what's on tap or off-menu.

The SDBikeCommuter.com website is growing, and so is Art Produce Gallery's garden space.