out and about: original 40 brewing
Y’all know about Jamie’s love of ipa’s; and i’m no slouch in the beer department either - especially sours and mexican ales. So it’s a no brainer that we like to check out local breweries when we can.
Unfortunately, a lot of the independent, local breweries, and even some of the larger breweries don’t serve food at their tasting rooms… which always leaves you wanting more.
But a brewery, that not only serves food, but excellent food at that, and that plays the fleetwood mac spotify channel, ensuring that jamie is inundated with deep track steely dan songs? Now that’s a place to be celebrated.
And original 40 brewing is all that and more.
Located in north park, close to a few other breweries… it has what they don’t. Great food, great beer, and good music. With a total neighborhood vibe.
It’s named for the original 40 is named for the original 40 acres on which north park sprung up. It also opened right before the pandemic hit, and has taken a while to hit it’s stride because of that. But I’m telling you… you’re glad it has. It’s 100% worth the trip, and your time.
his flight:
can we kick it: w/ hbc 586 strata and mosaic 6.6%
small worlds: west cost ipa 7%
juice maze: ddh hazy ipa w/citra, simcoe, and mosaic hops 7.%
Big shocker - jamie kicked it all off with a flight of ipa’s. Can we kick it reminded him of his favorite beer and the since closed rock bottom brewery- mosaic. It was a great middle of the road ipa.
Small worlds was jamie’s ipa love language. Perfectly balanced hoppiness, that he could drink all day, every day.
Juice maze was a definite hazy. It was a little too fruit forward for his personal taste, but a good beer, none the less.
her flight:
bivouac jam me up: blackberry cider 6%
mojave sunset: prickly pear sour 5%
blueberry crumble sour: blueberry pie inspired 5%
I love cider. But sometimes it can be too sweet. This was not. It was perfectly flavored, without the heavy hit of saccharine.
The prickly pear sour was good too. I really liked the flavor profile. Also, not too sweet, just the right hint of flavor, and perfect “sourness.”
The blueberry crumble was a new addition. So new, it hasn’t made it’s way to the menu yet. It was supposed to mimic a blueberry crumble. Here’s the thing. I’m not a huge blueberry fan. However, this sour managed to nail the perfect blueberry flavor, without the inherent tartness, yet still maintain the feel of a true sour beer.
poutine style french fries: shredded short rib, house beer cheese and adobe sauce and chives over french fries
Y’all, I love poutine. But it’s so often just not executed correctly. Either the cheese isn’t melted, the gravy non existent, or the meat not cooked. Sometimes it’s just a layer of cheese, with fries on top?!?.
But when it’s done well, it is the best. And this poutine is done well.
It’s the perfect ratio of cheese, sauce and short rib. I really liked the beer cheese swap up. It was a great way to capitalize on the in house brewery, and gave a depth of flavor you wouldn’t normally have. The short rib was fork tender and melt in your mouth. The fries are perfectly seasoned, so much so, i almost ordered an extra plain side, just to have more of them. Delish starter to the meal.
small worlds: west cost ipa 7%
blueberry crumble sour: blueberry pie inspired 5%
We decided to order full sizes of our favorite sips of the flights. While we would happily drink any of the beers from our flights — there was not a one we were disappointed with — these were the two that we would come back to again, and again.
ceviche tostadas: 3 small tostadas with white fish, tomato, onion, and avocado
The ceviche tostadas were our favorite bite of the night.
What we appreciated so much, was that they were not over sauced, which a lot of places tend to do with ceviche, to mask the freshness of the fish.
Not in this case. You could taste the fish — so fresh. You could appreciate the quality of the fresh veggies. You could taste the citrus, and the cilantro… everything just worked. “Clean and fresh” were the words jamie used to describe them. And we both agreed we would order them again, and again, and again.
crispy chicken wings: 1/2 dozen, served with spicy buffalo sauce and ranch
So if you weren’t aware, I’m currently in my buffalo chicken wing era. If they’re on the menu, I’m ordering them. I’ve perfected my at home recipe (stay tuned), and I am obsessed.
These were fantastic. The wings were so crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I’m a big stickler at looking at the inside of my chicken wings, just to make sure they are thoroughly cooked - cause in case you didn’t know it, some aren’t - and these were perfect.
What I really appreciated, was the wings weren’t drenched in sauce after cooking - which allowed them to retain their perfect juicy to crispy ratio. Instead of being coated in sauce, you could dip and dip again, as much as your heart desired. Ensuring your chicken stays crispy and your sauce is all over every bite. Also… love that it comes standard in ranch. Cause I’m not your blue cheese girl. I want the ranch to counter balance my buffalo, to come together in a perfect spicy creamy swirl.
Well done og40, well done.
baja soul: mexican lager 5%
orcastrated: hazy ipa 6.6%
We tried two other beers - and loved both. I am dying to make beer battered fish tacos with the baja soul and the orcastrated was jamie’s favorite beer of them all.
So basically, it’s a 4 for 4, or 8 for 8 situation over here.
So couple that with the food.
And… the excellent music? You’ve basically devised our dream date spot.