October means the return of BC Craft Beer Month, and there are now – thankfully – dozens of local, craft, micro (even nano) breweries offering hoppy delights of all sorts. Not many such breweries, however, offer extensive (if any) food menus to go along with their liquid offerings, but three new openings are starting a new trend.
Truck Stop at Red Truck Beer Company
Located at the site of the original Vancouver Brewery at the mouth of historic Brewery Creek, Truck Stop offers the requisite 24 taps with a rotating selection of the brewery’s seasonal, limited edition and classic beers. The food menu, which you can enjoy in the 120-seat space that includes a fair-sized patio, is classic diner fare with a few West Coast twists.
Dishes like buffalo fries with blue cheese and tomato might be for the more adventurous, but the barbecue pork belly sandwich ($13) is a sweet-and-spicy mountain of meat that is well drizzled with sriracha mayo and stuffed with slaw. For more temperate palates, try the corned beef hash with eggs and Texas toast ($10). RedTruckBeer.com
Red Racer at Central City on Beatty
This new pub from the local brewery and distillery is about all things barbecue, and offers great deals on platters of brisket or pulled pork ($16 each), as well as daily specials like whole barbecued chicken, beef short ribs, and even lamb ribs. The cornbread is stuffed with a jalapeno-laced ricotta and is moist and delicious, as are the burger bowls. Finish with the gin and citrus panna cotta for a boozy treat.
As for the drinks, in addition to its own extensive offerings, this brewery pub also offers a surprisingly decent wine list, with a healthy by-the-glass selection, as well as solid cocktails, like the Seraph Gimlet with key lime, soda, lemon and egg white, or the Forbidden Fruit brunch cocktail with Hangar One Spiked Pear, Calvados, orange curaçao and Prosecco. CentralCityBrewPub.com
Big Rock Urban Eatery
The latest addition to the local brewery scene, Big Rock just opened their brewery a handful of weeks ago, and the Urban Eatery opened as part of the package. The menu here is comforting and inventive. Chicken liver mousse is made with brandy and served with beer jelly and flatbread made from spent grain.
The flavours from the beers are infused into a number of dishes, like the hop salt served with the crispy chicken skins, or the Big Rock-infused kielbasa that’s part of the charcuterie board. That kielbasa also makes an appearance in the banh mi, which is loaded with the chicken pâté, prosciutto, Korean barbecue sauce and fennel slaw.
The drinks list here also extends to a good selection of local wines and spirits, as well as some interesting cocktails, and spirits flights that are a steal at $10 for four tastings. BigRockUrban.com
Listen to Anya Levykh every Monday on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast. Find her on Twitter @foodgirlfriday and Facebook.com/FoodGirlFriday.
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