One of the newest trends in the delicious world of restaurants is the brewpub restaurant. These are restaurants where artisan crafted beers, brewed onsite, play the leading roles, and where the moderately priced menu is fashioned to complement the beers.
?
Forest & Main Brewing Company restaurant is one of these. It opened only a year ago in an old Victorian home built in the late 1800s ? you guessed it ? on the corner of Forest and Main Streets in Ambler. Their spotless brewery is housed right behind the restaurant in what was the backyard.
?
Inside, you?ll find a small bar with a dart board and a 5-seat counter, and 3 dining rooms: 1 on the first and 2 on the second floor. There are light green, sparsely adorned walls, varnished wood-finish tables and chairs, old-style light fixtures, lit candlesticks in metal dish holders, and hand-wrought, single-plank pine wood floors. Napkins are actually old-style dishtowels.
?
Forest & Main has already achieved recognition in the area, being voted in 2012 as best brewpub in Philadelphia, and receiving a Best of Philly award from Philadelphia Magazine.
?
A blackboard and a daily menu insert announce the week?s half-dozen featured brews; divided into Belgian, English, and French-inspired categories, and the alcoholic content of each beer or ale (3.5% to 8.5%) noted.
?
We went for the three Belgian beers. The blonde Palomino was the sweetest, mildest, easiest to drink. The St. Mary (7% alc.) was the driest and crispest, and the Solaire (4.5%) was brightly hoppy. These are not your father?s Budweiser. All had complex taste elements, very different from the mass-produced commercial beers you are used to, which for some may make them hard to like on the first try. But truly, some of the best, longest lasting food and beverage pleasures are those that require several tastings, i.e., those that are an ?acquired taste.?
?
To munch with the brews, be sure to have one of the flavored popcorns ($3): bacon or rosemary orange, the night we showed up. The bacon popcorn was drizzled with bacon fat and had real bacon bits ? what fun!
?
If you go, one of the first things you will notice is that there is nothing on the menu over $15. This is not to say there are no satisfying, filling dishes to be had at Forest & Main. That highest priced item at $15 is the F&M Burger, which is served with aged cheddar, tangy bacon mayo, and crispy homemade chips and pickles. A tablemate ordered the burger, but complained that it was bland tasting and ?gristly,? and though she had specified medium it arrived rare.
?
Much better was my LDC?s choice of a Halupki (stuffed cabbage, $9). It was filled with tasteful ground beef and rice in a delicious tomato pepper sauce.
?
The crowd which began filling the dining rooms was an eclectic mix of young and old.
?
Maddie, our cheerful server, had brought a bowl of exceptionally good French bread & butter, the better to enjoy the Belgian style onion soups ($6) we had ordered. But then we found the overly sweet, Solaire beer-infused onion soup already overloaded with soggy, untoasted bread.
?
Kudos to chef Kaylin Miska for making the best rendition of the British pub classic, fish and chips ($12) I have had this side of the ocean. The superb wild-caught North Atlantic cod was well-breaded, plump light white fish filets that ? to use the clich? ? melted in the mouth. The ?chips? were a generous serving of hand-cut fries.
?
Other menu choices include dishes that display Miska?s creativity and flair, e.g., mussels, that day with bok choy and citrus Palomino beer broth; hazelnut gnocchi topped with a quail egg; crispy skin salmon with curry yogurt dressing; confit chicken leg with grits; and ?green lentil cottage pie? featuring eggplant, lentils, and leeks topped with mashed potato, a sort of vegetarian shepherd?s pie.
Overall Rating: mmm (out of 5 m?s) ? artisan brews, and creative pub fare with some hits and misses
?
RATING SCALE: 5 m?s (Excellent) 4 m?s (Very Good) 3 m?s (Good) 2 m?s (Fair) 1 m (Poor)
soylent green phil davis george st pierre aldon smith friday night lights nick santino bruce arians
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.