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| - In his continuing quest to become Lord and Master of Ohio City, Sam McNulty has opened yet another eatery (his 5th) on West 25th St. Like any good subject we decided to sample his latest creation, Nano Brew.
Per our usual MO we headed over to try out Nano Brew for the first time around 7pm on a Monday. We walked in and the place was empty. Actually, there was another guy sitting at the bar but I think he was filling out a job application. We were alone and had the entire place to ourselves. The bartender was friendly, definitely hipster artist, and probably bored to death. We aren't normally ones to enjoy the talkative bartender thing, but he knew how to balance.
I remember Garage Bar and well, it's still basically the Garage Bar. They've cleaned it up a bit to make it less Harley and more Raleigh, but the look is essentially unchanged. There's a nice long, butcher block bar in the front, high tops scattered about and nanobrewing equipment placed center stage smack in the middle of the joint. A nice feel, anyway. The juke was plenty loud playing a mish-mash of Johnny Cash and AC/DC - thanks Pandora. I couldn't tell you about the patio. It was January in Cleveland.
Yeah, you come here to try their brews. If you don't come here for the beer perhaps you should revisit your agenda. There are 24 taps available and the selection is a well thought out mix of new and old favorites. It's also heavy on the locals, as it should be, with offerings from Great Lakes, Columbus, Market Garden, and Fat Heads. Oh yeah, there are also several Nano selections brewed right there on site. On this particular evening I had the Namber (a pretty hop-forward amber ale with a nicely balanced malt backbone), Midnight Express (a brilliant rye IPA hopped heavily with grapefruity Citra hops) and #Kolsch (a light, pale yellow ale with lager-like characteristics and a nice bready aftertaste). All were excellent. Anyone that stays these beers are just "passable" clearly needs to check their palate at the door. The brewmasters are very talented and the ultra small batches give them license to show off. Well done.
Now for the food. They have a pretty limited menu here, but we were OK with this having already done our homework. It was to be a burger night for us. Here's the low-down:
We kicked it off with the warm hummus platter. Not a bad dish. A sharing sized bowl of warm hummus covered in melted cheese and diced red onion surrounded by triangles of toasty warm pita. I thought the hummus was well-seasoned and velvety smooth.
The burgers, while not the best I've ever had, were tasty and complimented the Nano brews. I had the Fun Guy (duxelle, sauteed mushrooms, steak sauce, cheddar & fried onion ring). What is duxelle? Don't be a lazy ass and Google it yourself, geez. My wife opted for the Acid Trip (pickled onion, balsamic reduction, coleslaw, cheddar & mayo). As others have stated, the buns they use on the burgers are perfect - soft and absorbent without being weak. I hate when I bite into a burger and the guts shoot out the other side. Both burgers came with a side of waffle fries. The fries were crispy and well-seasoned but nothing to get your panties in a wad over.
If I had to levy a criticism, and I do, it would be about how the meat was cooked. We weren't asked what temp we wanted our beef and when they arrived they were both mid-rare (bright pink in the center). While I don't mind a little moo left in the meat my wife is more a medium well person. To her credit, she muscled through it and by the end actually had no complaints about the taste.
All in all, not a bad joint. The schtick of the whole deal, small-batch beers brewed on site paired with burgers, worked OK for me. Good food, good beer. I suppose they accomplished. I do think they should have more than just 3 of their own beers on tap and if a rye-PA is what they are considering "adventurous and experimental" they've gotta dig deeper. I wasn't blown away but if they manage to concoct some truly unique brews I might go out of my way to come back.
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