Eating And Drinking Seattle: Brouwer's Cafe

UPDATED: Sorry. I forgot we did take a picture with a phone. Michelle had the tasty sausage plate. (mark)

Walking into this place, I got a strong Old Monk vibe. But the place was so well designed and decorated it seemed more like The Idle Rich, only nicer. But there was not a single stripe-shirted douchenozzle (see Shirt Guy) in site.

The beer list here was amazing. There's that word again. I really need to get myself a thesaurus. Of the 50 US brewed beers on tap, I had heard of exactly one -- Lagunitas Maximus. But I went with Bear Republic's Hop Rod Rye. I had had a hoppy rye beer in Vermont a few years ago and really liked it. Since then, I had seen no other rye beer, so I had to have it. And it was staggeringly mind-blowing (yes I fired up Word); a near perfect balance of hoppiness and maltiness. I wish I could describe it as flowerly as true beer nerds. This was my favorite beer of the entire weekend.

My second beer was Port Townsend's Extra Hoppy Hop Diggity. This was a very strong, flavorful beer that probably tasted somewhat like a Christmas tree farm. Don't get me wrong, it was very good.

Foodwise, we started of with the Kaas Croquettes. WOW. These are are emmental battered and hand coated with panko crumbs and deep fried. Oh and if that's not enough for you, there's bacon in the emmental. I could have eaten 10 plates of these, but they only allow you one unless you have a note from your cardiologist.

For my main course I wanted their take on fish and chips and got the Beer Battered Halibut and Frittes with chipotle roumalade and dill tartar sauce. The coating was very unique. It bordered on being a breading. But the star was the actual fish itself. Like Homer, I loves me some tar-tar sauce. And this fish was so good, it didn't even need it. But the chipotle roumalade was too tasty to pass up.

If you like beer and food and breathing (Seattle is smoke free) you will love this place. Sorry, no pix. I forgot my camera.

A


400 North 35th Street, Seattle WA.