Foodies partial to fancy tasting-menu restaurants should reassess their expectations of beer-food pairings — and of where beer belongs at the dining-out table — before going to Miles, The Prince. The 45-seat fine-dining restaurant, which opened in November (with a downstairs brewery and an 18-seat outdoor taproom slated to have opened by press time), brings a novel concept to the 914-dining scene: a seasonally changing, five-course tasting menu of New American fare in a fine-dining setting ($110/pp; reservation only) with suggested 3-oz pairings of house-brewed beers.

The appreciation of beer and fine dining is the precise background of owner Zach Goldstein, a veteran of both the restaurant and brewing worlds, with a decade-plus of experience at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s properties and Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, CA).

“Miles is a culmination of my background,” says the Mamaroneck native, who named the restaurant for the dog he had when he was a child. “I’ve always been into beer — it’s scientific and creative. And brings people together. Growing up here and now opening this restaurant, it feels like a homecoming.”
Goldstein, along with his team, Partner and Director of Hospitality Dana Lawrie (ABC Cocina, Schiller’s), Executive Chef Eric Brach of South Salem (The Inn at Pound Ridge, ABC Cocina), and Head Brewer Evan Koepnick, want to challenge and elevate the traditional perception of beer.

The debut menu, for example, had a farmhouse Belgian witbier paired with a dish of acorn squash, buckwheat, potatoes, honey, and serrano. “The tart-sweet acidity of the beer helps to cut the creamy richness of the squash and accentuate the serrano chili,” says Brewer Koepnick, “bringing out its flavor while helping to cut the heat.”
For a mushroom, cured-egg-yolk, and scallion course, a dark German-style lager was the suggested beer pairing. “The roast of the malts in the lager makes the earthiness of the mushroom really shine,” says Koepnick. “The char that happens to the mushrooms and scallions on the grill is also happening to the malts used in the beer. Truly a perfect pairing of the same chemical reaction giving completely different flavors that come back together after a bite and a sip.”

In addition to the saison, sahti, bier de garde, and other predominantly farmhouse styles coming out of the four-fermenter, ten-barrel brewery, the beverage program offers international bottles (including some orange wines) ranging mostly from $75 to $120 and cocktails that change seasonally and incorporate fresh fruit juices and in-house syrups. There’s also a three-course, $55 tasting menu at the bar; a weekend only, a la carte taproom brunch is planned.
“Chefs have always talked about beer like people typically talk about wine,” says Goldstein. “We think our pairings will lead to a lot of interesting conversations.” So along with foodies, beer nerds may want to do some reevaluating and be open to how suds can fit into a fine-dining experience.
Miles, The Prince
873 N Broadway, White Plains; 914.358.1015; milestheprince.com
Related: Shop These Last-Minute Gifts for Foodies in Westchester