Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Review: Growlers Pourhouse

As a food blogger, I love sites like Groupon and Living Social, which allow me to eat out without breaking the bank.  So one night, when my husband and I had the rare opportunity to go out on a date child-free, I went online, did a quick search of what we had available and decided to go to Growlers Pourhouse.  You may recall that we stopped by Growlers on our way to dinner at it’s sister restaurant, Crepe Cellar.  I had been craving some good craft beer and wanted to check them out again.  So off we went.

Growlers Pourhouse states on its website “What we’ve got is simple: Craft Beer and Beer Food”.  Nothing could be truer.  They have a small, yet terrific, rotating beer menu with a handful of beers which change often, so every time you go, you may find yourself with a new selection to chose from. 

The menu consists of snacks (popcorn, pretzel, nachos, soup and chili), five selections of chips and dip, two salads, oysters, shrimp, five sausages, four paninis and three desserts, along with a selection of six side items.  They also have a cheese and beer pairing that I want to try next time I find myself at Growlers (and there will be a next time.  Hopefully soon.).

It may not seem like much, but what they do, they do incredibly well.  We shared a sausage plate (two sausages and two sides) and had the bourbon beans and housemade potato chips with beer cheese.  We chose the beer brat with juniper berry kraut and the sweet Italian sausage with peppers and onions. Everything was perfection.  The brat and the sweet Italian sausage were both delicious, the bourbon beans were flavorful, and we ended up ordering a second order of chips and beer cheese, because we couldn’t quite stand the thought of being finished yet.  The star of the show, of course, is the beer.  We tried three different beers (I was driving, it was a celebration for my husband), all of which were interesting and all but one I would order again.

Growlers also hosts several events.  Their most recent event was a beer and oyster pairing (although among the very few things I don't eat are bivalves...).  Earlier this month they had a beer education event, which is much more to my personal taste (though give me a beer and cheese tasting any day).

As for the bar itself, it is very spacious, with a magnificent community table near the center of the room, which at second glance is a door with iron trimmings.  A few booths and the bar line the room.  I do wish there was more seating, it seems a bit sparse for a bar that must have a ton of overflow from the Crepe Cellar next door. 

But that is my only real complaint.  And that only because we had to wait a few minutes before we could both sit down and order food.  If you are looking for a good night out at the pub, with some good beers that you may not have had opportunity to try, be sure to head to Growlers Pourhouse.  Open until two in the morning every night but Sunday (when it closes at one), you can get food until midnight (11 on Sunday).  For beer lovers and beer foodies alike, it will provide exactly what you are looking for.

~Aurora

Growlers Pourhouse
3120 North Davidson Street
Charlotte, NC 28205
704.910.6566

Growler's Pourhouse on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

  1. Will certainly have to check them out. I'm a fellow Charlotte blogger btw. I voted for you on CBS Local MVB. Hope that you will vote for YUMMommy in the Lifestyle category. Looking forward to reading more of your blog!!

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  2. Voted! Thank you so much! I loved that place, but it's definitely a beer and bar food kind of place. I'm a beer fan, so I'm always biased when it comes to bars with good beer;-) I LOVE your blog design, it's fabulous! I'll definitely be reading!

    ~Aurora

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