Lylian D.
Yelp
The Beau and I have been eyeing this place for a bit now. I always like to give restaurants a few months to work out their kinks before trying it out. After reading the reviews, because you know I have to do my research first. I got two things: decent food and okay beers. I came in with low expectations, but my guy had very high expectations since he is a beer lover.
Parking situation on a Friday night is a bit difficult. There are lots all the way in the back, but I think the lot belongs to the apartment buildings? Not too sure. Either way, we were hungry so I just parked in that lot.
Got there around 7. The hostess said it would be 30 minutes for a table. We got drinks at the bar while we waited which is nice that we had that option.
Quick service at the bar. They ran out of our top 3 picks for a flight. That is okay though because we just picked 6 other beers on the list mostly IPAs and 1 Belgian-style beers. The beau got the honey ale, and liked it. I thought it was ok. I prefer the Belgian one that they had. It kind of reminded me of a lighter final absolution. Good flavor.
As for the IPA, I liked the one labelled NE IPA, but no idea which one that was one the menu. Least favorite was the session IPA. Not your traditional IPA so probs why I wasn't a fan. Probably good for someone who prefers a lighter IPA.
By the time we finished 1/3 of our drinks, the hostess had a booth ready for us. The wait was less than 15 minutes. I don't even think it was that long.
I'm a petite girl, but damn the booths for two are small. I get it, and I give them kudos for maximizing the space, but just a fair warning for people who are like me and like to stretch and have a bigger table top (for all the food that we order).
As for the food, we ordered soft pretzels with beer cheese, and steak tips for apps. For main, I got the brisket plate, and he got the chili pasta.
We got our mains first. Weird. Definitely there was a mix up in the kitchen and pass.
I was fine with getting the mains first because I was really hungry. The brisket was okay. Kinda dry, but the jus and sauce helped. I am very picky when it comes to bbq, especially since I recently had Arkin's brisket. I am not comparing it to bbq in Texas, although we do have some bbq joints in MI that can give those places a run for their money. I did appreciate the selection of the cut, good ratio of lean meat to fat. Chips were good! Wish I had ketchup though, but bbq sauce did the trick.
My beau's chili pasta dish was bland af. Needed more salt. Disappointing since the chili itself has good beef flavor, just needed more salt. And um where did the cheese go?!?
After we ate a good portion of our mains, someone came out (seemed like the manager, maybe owner) to apologize about the apps. They did make the pretzels and gave it to us on the house. They also only charged us for the apps, not the entrees which was a very nice gesture. I appreciate it that because it shows they are trying to make their customers happy, and if they make a mistake they own up to it and comp us. That's good business. Hence why I bumped up a star.
There are things they definitely need to workout, but what new business doesn't. This place has some interesting and good craft beers. Staff and ownership are respectful. Food wise: cooks just need to taste and add a bit more salt, but pretzels were on point, and I have a feeling the steak tips would have been good too.
We will come back for the beers forsure, and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone.