Dean C.
Yelp
11/8/20
Just finished running/hiking 5mi of Lake Chabot carrying my baby on my back (I ran but my gf and her friends walked, so I ran back and forth to stay with them,) so I was pretty thirsty and hungry, and this place really hit the spot!
The beer was good. Not quite excellent or even great, but a solid "good". Unfortunately they were out of basically most of the ones I really wanted, which was pretty lame. But I guess I'll cut them slack since this is still #Covid19 #CoronaVirus season, and it's possible it's hard to estimate demand or predict whatever rule or law that may come up affecting seating and closures.
The food though was unexpectedly great for what is essentially mostly a beer garden! Nothing particularly fancy, but just well prepared classics...
1. Tom Yum IPA 6.3% ABV 16oz $8 "makrut lime flavor with soft lemongrass notes and a touch of galangal ginger with a lingering lime flavor aftertaste": Yeah so, making a beer out of Vietnamese soup??? It sounded nasty, and so ridiculous I HAD to have it! And yeah............ it was not good, but totally not in the way I expected. I was expecting something at least tangy, which would be a pretty significant flavor of the real soup, but this was more like an IPA missing the crispness, with SOAP added in. Haha... yes, like soap. All those Vietnamese herbs I guess created a good beer to wash your dishes with. Don't get this. But I know you will. 2/10
2. Pumpkin Pie in the Sky 6.1% ABV 16oz $7: My friend arrived before me and ordered this. Then I tried and they were out. Pretty decent stout. I can't recall the details, but I like it enough. 6/10
3. Marooned on Hog Island 7.9% ABV 12oz $5: I just looked this up and ratings aren't good, but you know, I thought it was pretty cool! The waiter told us it was made with real oysters and shells among other things. I do taste some salinity and some extra soy-saucy Chinese "oyster sauce" (if you know what that is) flavor, so I trust he's right. On the dry side. Well, I think it goes very well with food, but perhaps not the most pleasant to drink by itself. 8/10
4. There's Always Money in the Cocoa Banana Stand Stout 8.1% ABV 16oz $7: This was why we came. You guessed it--OUT. They said they don't sell this as cans/bottles either.
5. Wilsons Wicked Wings Lemon Pepper $9 "served with a side of blue cheese": So, I dunno what happened here cause I can tell just from appearance that this were fried very well. Great appearance of texture with plenty of small and large bubbles in the skin. BUT... they were soggy. No clue why. Unfortunately, that means... 3/10
6. Nico's Tater Tots $7 "seasoned tater tots served with a sriracha aioli": Yup. I LOVED these. The surface texture was so light and crisp and savory! I think they seasoned these with some nice spices as they just had that extra awesomeness. Insides were moist and creamy. 10/10
7. Sully's Cheese Curds $8 "wisconsin's own ellsworth cooperative creamery white cheddar cheese curds, beer-battered and fried to order, served with a chipotle ranch dip and marinara": So, like the wings, they could be crispier, BUT I wouldn't say they were "soggy" at least. Still the cheese was melty and stretchy and gooey and I was really happy anyway. 6/10
8. Three Alarm Burger $13 "two 1/4lb. grass-fed, certified angus beef patties, served with pepper jack cheese, beer battered jalapenos, jalapeno aioli, lettuce, tomato and onion": ZERO heat. ZERO. Let's get that out of the way. So, I would suggest them change the name else open themselves to lawsuits for false advertising. Hell, I could eat this to cool down my mouth from eating something actually hot. Seriously. Okay that aside, it's a quite solid burger. I asked for it to be done medium, but it came well-done, OF COURSE. But it was still quite edible despite being overcooked. I wouldn't say "juicy" but not dry. Nice fresh bun. Good flavor from the peppers (but again, ZERO heat). 6/10
8a. Upgrade Potato Chips to Fries +$2: Fries were pretty good. Crispt and light finish, creamy insides. 7/10
9. Grilled Cheese $6 "texas toast, cheddar cheese, served with fries": Classic. Nothing fancy here but just loads of melty cheese and ULTRA buttery toast. Like nearly dipped-in-butter toast, but crisped perfectly. Fries were great, as I mentioned above. 8/10
Sooooooooooooooo............... you know, while happily buzzin' and talking, the wind started to get crazy and all of a sudden everything got super cold. Then RAIN!!! Haven't been rained out of a lunch in a looooong time. Kinda cool I guess. Welp... so that was that...
4/5
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