Tuesday night The American hosted their first Bluegrass and Beer Supper with a live performance by Smoke & Steel. The event was wildly successful, amassing a crowd of 190 guests.

Owners, Heather and Tyler Thomas really wanted to do the event after they saw how successful the American Bluegrass and Folk Festival went. They saw how supportive the community was at the events and wanted to something a bit more intimate and pair beer with true Southern roots food.

The dinner offered craft beers from around the state such as Second Self Maverick and Gose from Atlanta and Pretoria Fields Skywater Golden Ale from Albany.

While the menu didn’t offer any craft beers from the upcoming brewpub, Tyler hopes they will be able to do dinners like this in the future in tandem with them.

Tyler knows the owner has had great success in brewing competitions and he can’t wait to work locally with him.

Tyler found last night was a great way to engage with the market and get feedback on specialty items they had on the menu. In fact, people were so thrilled with a few of the dishes they may become menu regulars in the coming months.

One of the favorites was the buttermilk fried pork paillard with Bradley’s smoked sausage and Calamint Farms pepper gravy, braised greens and sweet potato ribbons. The other favorite of the night was the fourth course dessert goat cheesecake.

The restaurant was really pleased with the reaction and with the fact they sold out perfectly and didn’t have to turn anyone away.

The American will host another event on August 15 to celebrate their one-year anniversary.

It will feature a specialized menu with housemade Sangria and free champagne. In addition, Heather and Tyler will have a jazz band they are fans of performing at the restaurant.

They hope everyone will come out and celebrate their first year in Bainbridge and the many years to come.