Thursday, June 17, 2010

Brewery Fun Fare

After scoping out the wait time for a local eatery with the best veggie handmade burgers ever (and cream soda to boot), and that wait being over an hour long, we traveled eastward instead.

No "fries with that?"

No chicken nuggets?

THANK YOU baby Jesus!

I completely realize that the best aspect of a brewery are the brews. The bold, succulent, and tasty beer recipes artfully concocted. But I wasn't there for the beer, I was there for the food. After the disappointment of missing out on that other veggie burger, I threw myself at the Veggie Burger at Broadway Brewery. My stomach was already growling, so first up I ordered the Apple Salad to tide me over until my "in house burger" was ready. Evidently, just about everything is made in-house. (bonus points!). The Apple Salad is simple and completely amazing, if you're a fan of endives- they pop some fresh goat cheese, walnuts, chopped apples, and a sprinkling of crushed black pepper with pomegranate vinaigrette, and you're in heaven. I was, at least. Maybe I'm just a big fan of goat cheese and never knew it.

There we were, 3 of us, and one being much smaller in age and size, he got to order a grilled (not cheddar!) cheese on panini, with a Vruit juice box (Uh-mazing juice by the way), and maple-tangerine carrot slices. Lucky me, each of us ordered a different side item, so I taste-tested all of them. Yes, it's not on the website, but they DO have a kid's menu.

After my salad, my veggie burger arrived. Hand-made veggie burger without black beans (often a big 'filler' ingredient when soy is absent), they use hummus instead, on a homemade bun, with a side of black-eyed peas and collard greens (no bacon inserted there). The other entree ordered was the Turkey Club with a side of roasted root veggies. As a family, we definitely love our potatoes, so sweet potatoes instead of fries as the side is just fantastic. I have a self-imposed rule of not eating more than one fried item at a meal. This is absolutely NO problem at Broadway Brewery.

Speaking of brews at the brewery, the list was so long I had not a clue what to order. I pointed over to an unsuspecting patron and said I'd have what she's having: the Sampler. I premise this saying I am wuss when it comes to IPAs- I haven't found a single one my taste-buds have drooled over yet. But I did it; I handled some Summer Ale, APA, IPA, Double-IPA (sorry, gag), Rye IPA, some Nut Brown (pretty good), and the Porter (2 thumbs up there). 2 samplers, not enough time. Next time, I really hope they still have the Grand Teton's "Bitch Creek" on guest tap. And why the hell didn't I have the pizza? I've heard that's the other best part- and I wonder if they can nix the bacon on the smoked trout one, because obviously, I dig the goat cheese.