Gary K.
Yelp
My 1st trip to Castle Island Brewing Co. in Norwood, MA was on Sunday, 15 Sept. 2024, around 1:45 pm. My Wife and I presented to the bar and were greeted by an informative and friendly server who oriented us with the product offerings. We had just returned from several weeks in Europe and have a liking for wheat beers. We both ordered the Belgian style CI White Ale, and were pleasantly surprised by the flavor and quality of the brew.
We typically pair beer with food and were directed to the Bardo food truck parked outside. This is where our experience reversed, from a sense of satisfaction and enjoyment with the brewed product, to disappointment with the overall experience.
We ordered the "Linguisa Pizza", "Sweet Thai Chili Wings" and the "Loaded Chips." The Pizza came burnt (black) around the upper margin of the outer crust. Although visually negatively impacting, the overall taste was not affected in any significant manner. I would judge the Pizza as very edible, but overall, mediocre, almost like a good quality frozen pizza. Certainly below my expectation.for dining out.
The wings appeared aesthetically pleasing, the Sweet Thai Chili Sauce was conventional, but tasty. The problem with the wings was that although they appeared perfectly cooked upon visual inspection, every wing exhibited dryness. This is unusual because although it is classified as white meat, chicken wing meat has a higher fat content and is normally quite juicy. After tasting multiple wings, we gave up and stopped eating them.
Lastly we had ordered the "Loaded Chips." These came through with some immediate obvious problems. Firstly, many of the chips were burnt (black). Secondly, while they were loaded with some form of mayonnaise based aioli, the cheese, pulled pork and peppers were very sparsely applied and minimally enhanced flavor. This dish was a total failure. We would not eat it. I can do considerably better with chips and items already in my refrigerator. We don't dine out to eat foods of a lesser quality than that which we make at home.
We limited our complaint to the chips, because issues with the mediocre pizza and dry chicken wing meat were subjective and based upon personal preferences and expectations. Showing the burnt chips to the Bardo Food Truck personnel, my Wife was spoken to tersely and told that the chips were not burnt and that it was the seasoning that made things appear burnt. With that absolute nonsense we knew that further discussion would be a waste of our time.
So, the CI Brewing Company impressed us with a very enjoyable White Ale (we purchased more to bring home), but the culinary skills and quality of the food products produced by the Bardo Food Truck, made the visit an unpleasant experience. My Wife note that while she was ordering the food, the order taker was continuously on her cell phone.
When quality products, such as those produced from the CI Brewing Co portfolio, are paired with lower quality mediocre food products, such as those presented by the Bardo Food Truck, they tend to become less appealing. I realize that the average palate of the typical 2024 consumer is quite unsophisticated and very tolerant of mediocrity. However, I believe that there are providers out there that actually care, are capable of delivering higher level quality products and would be very appreciative of a chance to demonstrate that capability. Why should the experience presented by a first rate brewing company be paired with mediocrity and dragged down by the performance of a mediocre food provider ?
