Mike L.
Yelp
After enjoying some adult beverages down the street, we were searching for restaurant for dinner. I yelped a few potentials and it narrowed down to the Broken Spirits Distillery. By unanimous family decision, we opted to take the short walk over.
We were lucky we were able to be seated immediately since the restaurant already busy with folks when we were seated at 1705 hours. The first thing I noticed was how friendly and pleasant the staff were!
After being shown our table, our server came by and introduced herself as Anna. She was very patient with us asking for more time to make pour decisions for our drinks and appetizer order. We finally settled on our drink order:
3 - The Blacker the Berry (seltzer cocktails, 2 with added Vodka),
1 - I.H.O.B.S. (International House of Broken Spirits),
1 - Soda
1 - Crusted Warm Brie + Jam
Entrees:
2 - Piggy Smalls (Steak Burgers)
1 - The Paso Robles (Tri-Tip Sandwich)
1 - 1/2 lbs Pork Belly (Craft BBQ)
1 - LB Pastrami (Sandwich)
Our drinks were quickly dispatched to our table. It was really cool/fun to watch as our server, our my BIL's I.H.O.B.S cocktail from a mini syrup dispenser into his tumbler. I took a sip of this bourbon based cocktail. Holy S**t, this went down so smooth like sweet maple syrup with a bourbon flavor. That was one of the better cocktails I have had in my lifetime! I decided at that point, I would order one for my "dessert".
My Blacker the Berry seltzer was good. Was advised there may have been a small amount of alcohol in it without the added vodka, and I was okay with that. I liked the taste of the berries used and it complemented my Piggy Smalls burger too.
My wife like her Blacker the Berry with added vodka, my BIL's wife was kinda weirded out by the flavor of the vodka used. I took a sip of her and had to agree with her. It had the taste of tequila in the mouth, on the tastebuds, but after swallowing, has the aftertaste of vodka.
We all enjoyed the Baked Brie with Jam a lot!! A very mild tasting small wheel of Brie, perfectly melted within its crust topped with the most delicious jam! The only downside was the kitchen is a bit stingy on the small toasted baguettes that accompany the Brie. We ended up with a good sized portion of cheese with no baguette to spread it on. SO we just ended up eating the cheese by itself.
As for the entrees, our son liked his Piggy Smalls burger with waffle fries. As for my Piggy Smalls, it was ok. I wasn't overwhelmed by the burger. Sorry, it was ok, and unfortunately, as with all brioche buns (which I hate as a bun for a hamburger in general) broke apart and became so messy to eat, I finished it with a knife and fork. I ordered 3 Cheese Mac n Cheese as my accompanying side. It sounded great one the menu, but far far from what is described. It was more béchamel sauce and pasta with little to no discernible cheese flavor of any one cheese flavor let alone three cheeses. Really disappointed, but handed over it to our son, who liked it.
My SIL's LB Pastrami sandwich was something I was considering to order, except, I'm not a fan of béchamel sauce, let alone on my pastrami. I'm a purist when it comes to what should a pastrami sandwich would be comprised of, so the béchamel sauce killed it for me. When my SIL gave me a bite, she told me she could not find any trace of béchamel sauce in her sandwich. I joked with her saying it was in my 3 Cheese Mac n Cheese. I tried her sandwich and the pastrami was pretty good. Juicy and tender, with a well defined smokiness to it.
My wife's try-tip sandwich was unfortunately very, very dry. Previous Yelpers have also mentioned this as well. She boxed up the sandwich and will devour it at home once she adds some BBQ sauce to the leftovers. For her accompanying side dish, she ordered Street Corn, which she enjoyed very much
My BIL devoured his half-pound of Craft BBQ Pork Belly. I looked over at his entree of glistening, glazed, pork chunks which he said were really moist and juicy.
For dessert I ordered a IHOBS. Just a great cocktail to end my meal!
My BIL's second cocktail, the Notorious P.O.G., was not as well received as his first cocktail, the IHOBS. To him, the Notorious P.O.G. reminded him of a Mai Tai. A one and done cocktail choice for him.
Our wives both ordered "You're Killing Me Smalls...smore of what?". Yup, it was cold cocktail that was sweet and with a toasted marshmallow. They both really enjoyed it!!
Overall, our server, Anna, was excellent, friendly and helpful with menu suggestions. The restaurant from our start to finish was very loud and it was hard to have a table conversation. Food was decent but nothing that would bring me back just for the food, but most certainly the cocktails and service.
Our-pre-tip total with tax: $238.89
There is also a sister Broken Distillery with a different cocktail menu and meal offerings in Anaheim, CA. Both are under the ownership of Villains Brewing Company, in Anaheim, CA.