San Francisco/Bay Area restaurant reviews by Chris Norris
Archive for Microbrew
June 22, 2008 at 3:28 pm · Filed under Bar, Hmmmm..., Microbrew, Phoenix, Pubfood
SanTan Brewing Company, Phoenix
March 2008
Hmmmm. We were hunting for a local Mexican restaurant called El Zocalo, which turned out to be closed. Conveniently, the unavailable Zocalo is adjacent to a microbrewery that happened to be opened. Yay! Except, the service was soooooo slow, it hurt. The food & beer I’m sure must not have been too bad, or I’d remember it better. But what I really remember is slooooooow. Off night? Bad luck? Or crappy restaurant? Not sure …
June 22, 2008 at 3:21 pm · Filed under Bar, Microbrew, Pubfood, S'Ok, South Bay
Los Gatos Brewing Company, Los Gatos
Feb 2008
S’Ok. This rating doesn’t really do the Brewing Company justice, since the Brewing Company is singularly unique in Los Gatos as the only microbrew in town! If it had to compete side by side with Gordon Biersch, for example, it would probably fall below on both beer and food. But it certainly gives Tied House a run for its money. Since Laura works in Los Gatos, we have quite a few lunches and dinners at the Brewing Company. The beer is great, the food is dependable, if not inspired, and the service is at least at pub standards. If you want to eat at a microbrew, not pay too much, and have a good time, the Los Gatos Brewing Company is there for you.
October 23, 2007 at 10:40 pm · Filed under Microbrew, Pubfood, S'Ok, South Bay
Gordon Biersch, San Jose
September 2007
S’OK. One of the original Bay Area micro-brews, we like Gordon Biersch, and if you’re single and looking to run into lots of other singles, I’m guessing Gordon Biersch scores quite a bit better that S’OK. It’s a hopping place late in the evenings and especially on weekends. For us family folk, we’ve got to judge the place on its food and drink merits. That said, both the food and the drink are very good. Lots of good beers, some that are unusual, and almost never a loser. The food is a step up from traditional bar food with some seafood and a good smattering of dishes that boast an Asian influence. In the summer, the patio is a darn pleasant place to kick back, before or after a movie, game, show, etc. Have a beer and a sandwich, or a thin crust pizza, or another beer. You could do much worse.
August 1, 2007 at 6:43 pm · Filed under Bar, Microbrew, Pubfood, S'Ok, South Bay
Tied House, San Jose
August 2007
S’Ok. The Tied House in San Jose (and also in Mountain View) is one of the early microbrewery slash eateries established in the Bay Area. They’ve since become a bit dated given the onslaught of competition in the microbrewery arena, but still put out some mighty fine beers and a menu that goes well with the libation.
We recently had the chance to catch a pitcher of beer and some eats with our friend Ron S. who was in town for a conference. Ron is one of those classic entrepreneur guys who are always fiddling with bits of technology and at the same time thinking about all problems in the Universe that need to be solved. He matches the bits of technology to the problems and Voila!, a company is born. He’s started a number of companies and is darn interesting to be around!
Anyway, between us we shared the popcorn shrimp, which were crunchy on the outside and melt in your mouth on the outside. For dinner we had the blackened catfish, jambalaya, and Santa Fe salad. All were good and are consistent performers from our previous visits. In general, we’ve never gone wrong with the salads, burgers, sausages, fish or beer at Tied House. Try the beer sampler: eight 6oz beers for under $10. Rock on! Frankly, the main reason I don’t rate Tied House higher is that the menu is mostly basic meat & fish without lots of creativity. Gordon Biersch, for example has equally good beer (although quite different), with a broader, more inventive menu.
July 31, 2007 at 6:13 pm · Filed under Bar, Coastal, Hmmmm..., Microbrew, Pubfood
Boulder Creek Brewing Company, Boulder Creek
July 2007
Hmmmm. The Boulder Creek Brewing Company is on Highway 9, about halfway between Santa Cruz and San Jose. We stop in occasionally if we are dropping kids off at summer camps or taking in some wineries in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s a really twisty road, and isn’t a drive we do without a good reason, and the Brewing Company by itself isn’t a good enough reason. But, once in the area, it can be a reasonable place to grab a bite. The beer here is all good – none of it great, none of it bad. The place is pretty run down and you will not for a second think that you are in a fine dining establishment, but they serve a pretty mean burger, treat the kids well, and at least try hard.
June 24, 2007 at 10:55 pm · Filed under Bar, Coastal, Microbrew, Pubfood, S'Ok, Seafood
June 2007
S’Ok. Seabright has a special place in our hearts because it was our “the day of sailing is done” stopping point for several months while taking sailing lessons at the Santa Cruz Harbor. The beers are awesome! We’ve tried many, liked them all, and remember them fondly. The food is mostly competent, the clams excellent, the service ok. But, if you’ve been in the wind and sun all day, and you want to eat something from the ocean and drink a great beer, ask to sit on the patio, and just kick back!
May 24, 2007 at 7:27 am · Filed under Bar, Microbrew, Pubfood, S'Ok, South Bay
May 2007
S’Ok. Pretty good bar food and very good beers brewed on the premises. The pizzas are good here, and we’ve tried quite a few and never gone wrong. The menu is extensive, with sandwiches, burgers, salads, stuffed baked potatoes, pasta, etc. The Jambalaya is nice, as are the fish tacos. The locations near us is situated in a large mall and is usually a crowded with mall traffic (which is also the reason we are there). As a result, it can be hectic and to avoid a 30 minute wait, we generally have to go scouting for a group of folks about to abandon a table in the bar area. Most of the food won’t call you back with a siren call, but if you’re choice is the food court or BJs, choose BJs.
April 21, 2007 at 8:11 am · Filed under Microbrew, Pubfood, S'Ok, South Bay
15 April 2007
S’OK. The El Toro Brewery is recently opened and is associated with the El Toro Brewery which has been in the brew biz for at least 10 years. Basic half cafe/half brewery decor; not as authentic or complete as a Gordon Biersch or Tied House or Los Gatos Brewing Company or Rock Bottom or … hmmmm. Regardless, this IS Morgan Hill and having a brewpub restaurant at all is a minor miracle. And, the beer is absolutely fab! I’ve tried most of them … they are all very good, some great, some passable. If you are only going to try one, give the Poppy Jasper a go. The food is classic pub food, with really good pulled pork, burgers, fish & chips, etc. There is a woodfired pizza oven just outside, which produced some passable pizzas. Some practice needed here, but the potential for a great pizza experience is probably hiding here at some point in time.
