Brazenhead

Brazenhead is an Irish pub with an American menu of comfort food classics. Burgers, sandwiches, fried appetizers, soups and salads are paired with large-production craft beers and a few local taps.

The atmosphere is typical of an Irish American establishment. The bar is busy at happy hour. Bands play inside the bar area as well as on the patio some evenings.

There are multiple choices for vegetarian starters. Options include warm soft pretzel sticks, hummus, Greek fries, house-made potato chips and chili glazed cheese balls. The onion rings and pickles are breaded with Guinness, which contains isinglass, a fish gelatin. This is your vegetarian warning.

The pretzels are an addictive snack that can be eaten by the sackful. Though sometimes a little greasy, the piping hot starter tastes better with mustard and best with beer cheese dip.

The chips, which come standard with entrees as well as alone as an appetizer, are golden brown and delicate yet crispy. The subtle garlic dip adds creaminess and layers of flavor.

The vegan burger is a deconstructed take on the traditional veggie patty, made from eggplant, mushrooms, grains and onions. It is served on a brioche bun, topped with lettuce, tomato, sprouts, sliced avocado, balsamic vinegar and mustard.

The grilled cheese is slathered in Cabot cheddar pimento cheese and walnut pesto, with sprouts and pears making up the difference. The sandwich is served on nine grain bread.

Rogue Distillery and Public House

Oregon is a brewing wonderland, and Portland may well be at the heart of it all. The city, called Beervana by brew-loving visitors, is home to a number of high-profile breweries. The brewery that put the Beaver State on the map, though, is Rogue. The Newport brewer has a brew pub in Portland, and it is a great spot to sample the off-the-radar offerings that fit the slogan, "Dedicated to the rogue in each of us."

Sure, you can get Rogue ales in almost a reputable liquor store in any state in America. However, there are plenty of barrel-aged and otherwise unavailable brews at the Public House that make it worth seeking out. Rogue was one of the United States' first breweries to make spirits, which can also be sampled here.

The food, for the most part, was run-of-the-mill brew pub fare. Dishes had a nice focus on Pacific Northwest ingredients. An apt description would be forgettable pub grub. 

But why go for the food? Delicious food can be found all over Portland. Go here for the brews.

Four sample size brews cost $6.50. It is a good way to sample the catalog. Interesting choices on my visit included the marionberry braggot, six different pale ales (Juniper pale, 200 Meter IPA, XSIPA, and the cask aged Imperial IPA being most interesting), cask aged Imperial stout and Beard Beer, a wild ale. 

Designated drivers and the little ones in the back seat can enjoy Rogue root beer and sodas, which come in flavors like cucumber citrus.

Wolf's Ridge Brewing

Wolf's Ridge Brewing is one of many brew pubs to open up in Columbus over the last year. Guided by Chef Seth Lassak, the operation is on the radar of most if not all the foodies in central Ohio.

The restaurant offers a printed vegetarian menu upon request. It indicates gluten-free options with an asterisk.

There are meatless salads, appetizers, soups and entrees. The kitchen's course is determined by seasonal ingredients, meaning specials and some items change regularly.

The kitchen makes haute cuisine that pairs well with the house brews. The staff handles dietary restrictions well, although the menu overall seemed to lack multiple options for vegan diners.

The kale salad is a perfect synergy of ingredients playing off each other in a delightful harmony. The dressing and goat cheese have acidity, the fruit and candied pine nuts have a great sweetness and the kale gives the dish an understated bitterness. Flavors can be combined by the diner to highlight a variety of characteristics from each individual ingredient.

The selections on the cheese plate came from different classes of cheese. The fruit, house made crackers and bread accompany the cheeses.

The saffron risotto was creamy, piled high with assorted mushrooms, candied red onions and smoked paprika oil. Its appearance was surpassed only by the layered, unctuous taste.

The brewery produces a number of beers in a variety of styles from the traditional (pale ales and cream ales) to a few less common options like Zane's Trace, a roggenbier (German-style rye ale) named after a famed frontier road that ran through central and southern Ohio. The sampler is a great way to try six different brews. Cocktails look delicious, but might be tough to justify ordering since the beer is so good.

Grandad's Pizza

Grandad's Pizza is a shop with two locations. The one in Grandview Heights is located on West 3rd Avenue next to a bar. The box boldly advertises that they deliver both beer and pizza if you're in a real time crunch and need both beer and thin crust pizza.

The pizza style is traditional in central Ohio. The cracker-thin crust is liberally dusted with cornmeal, giving the pie a sweet base to deliver toppings.

There are a standard variety of toppings. The sauce is light and sweet with a hint of garlic and basil.

The veggie pizza comes topped with tomatoes, green peppers, onions and mushrooms. The crispy crust adds a nice textural contrast to the weighty vegetables.

Overall, Grandad's is pretty middle of the road in terms of quality. It isn't great, but it carries a reasonable price. It's a decent pizza that isn't worth going out of the way to obtain.

The Hey Hey Kitchen

Hey Hey is Schumacher Place's most notorious dive bar. Everybody knows it's a great place to go for reasonably priced beers and a little bit of the old neighborhood charm. Vegetarians were limited in what they could eat at Hey Hey since the menu consisted of one item - sauerkraut balls laden with sausage. Those looking for a greater variety from the kitchen will be excited now that Angela Theado has taken over the dining room Thursday through Saturday nights.

Theado runs The Coop food truck, which many times parked outside of the Hey Hey. She previously spent time in Alana's kitchen.

There are not a tremendous amount of vegetarian items on the menu. The staff, although they are adjusting to running a kitchen full time, took great care in double checking on the best bets for vegetarian diners.

The tostones with queso fundido are delightful. The fried plantains are crispy yet delicate. They benefit greatly from a squeeze of lime. The queso fundido, served without chorizo, is melted and well toasted. While both dishes were authentic, pairing a Caribbean dish with a Mexican dish is an interesting decision. While the flavors are complementary, they aren't items one expects to see served on the same plate.

This should be a great addition to a neighborhood where the food is getting better every day. It also should allow Hey Hey patrons a chance to grab a delicious and fun bite to eat between drinks at their neighborhood hang-out.

Pies and Pints

Pies and Pints is a small pizza chain that started in West Virginia. The first central Ohio location opened in Worthington. If you watch as much food television as I do, you may have seen Pies and Pints on the Cooking Channel special Pizza Outside the Box. 

The concept is gourmet hand tossed pizzas paired with a choice selection of craft beers. There are standard options and more adventurous selections, like grape and gorgonzola pie that was on the Cooking Channel special. 

There are about 30 draft beers. There are plenty of Ohio brews available, including Weasel Boy, Columbus Brewing and Elevator.

There are a limited number of meatless appetizers and salads as starters. The chips and salsa, while not exactly typical pizza shop fare, are fresh and brightly flavored.

The rosemary garlic flatbread is served with a whipped goat cheese and balsamic dip. The appearance is one-note, lacking flash, but it tastes explosive. The tartness of the vinegar and the richness of the cheese flesh out the underlying smokiness of the bread.

The pizza crust is thick enough to hold a voluminous weight in toppings. Splitting a half-and-half large pizza is a good way to sample multiple varieties of the pies.

The roasted mushroom pizza was a perfect marriage of earthy essence punched by garlic. The garlic cloves were roasted so well that they melted in my mouth like a sweet whisper.

The black bean pie is a riff on the traditional Tex-Mex Mexican pizza. Beans take the place of red sauce, and they provide a medium-spicy base to the pie along with the ribbons of jalapeño  pepper. Cilantro gives it a nice freshness, and the creme fraiche adds a nice zip.

The pesto pizza is swirled with the ubiquitous green Italian sauce atop mozzarella and tomato. Tomato often gets a mushy texture when overcooked on a pizza; the Pies and Pints pizza was topped with perfectly cooked tomato.

The white pizza was classic for the style. Some of the ricotta pooled up into viscous pools that were overly pasty. While flawed, it was still very good.

The chocolate peanut butter brownie terrine is a nice conclusion to the meal if you save room for dessert. It looks as good as it tastes.

Service at Pies and Pints was mixed. A weekend evening visit had its expected wait time underestimated by about 40 minutes. Orders came slowly. A weekday visit saw much more even service. Consistency will need to be maintained if they're aiming for return business.

Yazoo Brewing Company

Yazoo Brewing Company brews Nashville's most well known beers. I first heard of their smoked imperial stout Yazoo Sue as an ingredient in Jeni's Yazoo Sue with rosemary bar nuts ice cream. Tours of the brewery on Saturdays include liberal samples from their brewing lineup. 

 Located in The Gulch, the Yazoo taproom is adjacent to the brewing facilities. The most common draft around Nashville seems to be Dos Perros, a Mexican style altbier. It has a clean flavor and pronounced European hops that come off like Dos Equis' designer cousin.

 Yazoo makes a pale ale, and they also produce a brew called Hop Project that showcases different varietal and regional hop types. The tour offered a single farm wild hop brew that had interesting wax and pine notes that emerged from the toasty malt base. 

The Gerst is an amber session brew named after an old German restaurant. It is bright and drinks easy. The kitschy logo evokes America's early German brewing heritage.

The hefeweizen is much in the classic style. It emphasizes bright citrus notes that cry out for warm weather.

Yazoo Sue cannot be purchased on site because of Tennessee's curious alcohol laws. It can be bought at stores that sell high gravity beer.

Hopleaf

Hopleaf has been a world class beer bar in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago for years. Around 2004, Hopleaf expanded and opened a kitchen featuring Belgian bistro fare.

The gastropub specializes in Belgian classics like frites, which allows the dishes to be paired with Hopleaf's stock of Belgian brews. The dinner menu is surprisingly vegetarian friendly.

The frites are served in an ample portion with a side of aioli. The fries are well seasoned, and would be a great accompaniment to beer if served hot. The frites came out cold because of the busy kitchen and a lack of communication with the service staff.

The roasted cauliflower was prepared with glazed baby carrots, turmeric butter, golden raisin walnut sage pesto and a currant gastric. The cauliflower had layers of smoky flavor, and the pesto was a delightful combination of herbal accents contrasted by bright dried fruit.

The staff capably addressed vegetarian dining concerns. Overall, Hopleaf is a great place to sample a wide variety of great beers, and the kitchen adds another reason to check Andersonville's most happening watering hole.

Broad Ripple Brewpub

The Broad Ripple Brewpub is located in Indianapolis' artsy Broad Ripple neighborhood. In addition to brew pub-original beers crafted by Yorkshire transplant John Hill, Broad Ripple Brewpub has a variety of vegetarian and vegan dining options.

On the way to Chicago, I ate in Indianapolis a couple of times. The Broad Ripple neighborhood was instantly attractive to me. It is most comparable to Columbus' Short North and Clintonville. Like these two neighborhoods, Broad Ripple is very vegetarian friendly. The artistic bent of the Short North is seen in Broad Ripple's galleries, upscale retailers and craft shops. Its design is similar to Clintonville, a city neighborhood with a vaguely suburban feel.

Broad Ripple Brewpub fits right into its neighborhood. The dining rooms are wood-accented with dark lighting. There is a large patio in front of the restaurant.

The menu at BRB is heavily adorned with V's, which denote vegetarian dining options. Orders can be prepared vegan upon request.

There is a pub grub penchant from a kitchen that has a heavily British flair. The menu offers sandwiches, pizzas and deep fried everything.

The fried veggie basket is a collection of potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets and carrots. While the veggies are flavorful, the batter is fried to a dark color that masks the identity of the vegetables until their identity is revealed by biting them. The ranch dip gives the beets a bright, fresh taste.

The onion and potato pasty is a flaky delight. A cheese sauce is incorporated with sauteed onions and soft potato cubes. It was served with a side of steamed veggies and circle cut roasted potatoes.

The mushroom veggie burger was soft and loaded with 'shroom flavor. It is served with a choice of side dishes. Interestingly, this is one of two veggie burgers on the menu.

Seasonal desserts included popsicles in flavors like mixed fruit, ginger and black cherry. Specials at the Broad Ripple Brewpub that change regularly.

Bodega

Bodega is a beer bar whose kitchen is very accommodating to vegetarians. Pizza, sandwiches and comfort food staples make up the kitchen accompaniments to Bodega's brewed beverages.

There is a striking contrast at Bodega between the Dine Originals lunch I experienced and the more popular Bodega happy hours. When Bodega is slow (as my visit was), service is brisk and personable. Busier times like happy hour and the $1 grilled cheese Mondays with increased savings, hipsters and pretty people can sometimes see decreased levels of service.

Consider this caveat emptor. Some people enjoy the busier atmosphere and cash savings, yet are willing to wait for these benefits. Others hate fighting the crowds and are willing to pay full price for improved bartender access. Pick your battles based upon personal preference.

The house salad was romaine, red onion, cucumber, tomato and feta in a Champagne vinaigrette. The sweetness of the dressing provides a great contrast to the white pepper notes in the lettuce. In lieu of croutons, the salad was served with toasted bread.

The crispy thin crust pizza was topped with garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, spinach, toasted pine nuts and shredded Manchego cheese. The nutty cheese was melted by the heat of the pizza Steubenville style.

As usual, the draft menu at Bodega was fantastic. Seasonal selections included Troegs Nugget Nectar, Rogue Kells Irish, Stone Sublimely Self Righteous and CBC Arnold IPA.

Bodega

Matt the Miller's Tavern

Matt the Miller's is a Dublin gastropub located in the old Burgundy Room space. The menu consists of high quality sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and comfort-driven staples that are perfectly at home next to something from the nice list of draft and bottled beers.

Since I get to Dublin, Ohio only slightly more often than I visit Dublin, Ireland, I was somewhat oblivious to the number of vegetarian and vegan offerings on the menu at Matt the Miller's. It seems like a vast selection for a pub. Matt the Miller's is as vegetarian friendly as city spots like Tip Top, meaning that diners can visit repeatedly and never repeat a meal or a seasonal beer.

The bar at Matt the Miller's is casual with flat screens tuned to sports programming. The dining room is more upscale but hardly formal.

The Bavarian pretzel bites were delightful. The puffy bites are served with ample portions of sweet mustard and roasted garlic aioli. The garlic aioli is a rich burst of flavor. Chasing pretzel bites with beer in a continuous loop sounds like a simple way to bring a smile to your face.

The house made black bean vegan burger is smoky with a hint of spiciness. It's topped with mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomato, red pepper and pesto on a whole wheat bun. The veggie burger occupied the upper end of the price spectrum, but it's competitive with any other veggie burger in Central Ohio restaurants including Northstar. The sandwich is topped with a thick cut pickle, and comes with a choice of salad, fries or sweet potato fries.

The flatbread pizzas look fantastic. Meatless options include Margherita, wild mushroom and pear and gorgonzola.

Lunch service was prompt if slightly imperfect. Despite a few drink miscues, lunch was served in a brisk, capable fashion.

Matt the Miller's is worth a trip. The vegetarian friendly pub will make me strongly reconsider my limited visitation policy to Dublin.

Matt the Miller's Tavern

Barley's Smokehouse

For years, I have avoided Barley's Smokehouse, instead frequenting the Brewing Company location based upon the scenario created in my head in which a barbecue joint would be biased against vegetarians. In certain instances, though, it's safest to expect the unexpected (or at least expect that my prejudiced decision making would again be proven flawed).

Barley's flagship operation in the Short North has always been successful because the menu features comfort food classics accompanied by craft brews with a ton of character. The Smokehouse keeps the same formula, but offers more pit-cooked carnivore fare. Despite the ribs and brisket focus, Barley's Smokehouse does have a vegetarian burger, a veggie wrap, a quesadilla and a couple of side dishes including French fries and onion straws for vegetarian diners.

The veggie burger at both Barley's locations is excellent. It's a house-made black bean, mushroom, and rice patty with a smoky, savory character that lingers. The patty crumbles easily, and it's somewhat delicate structure is the biggest fault in an otherwise excellent veggie burger. Toppings include cheddar, pepper jack and blue cheeses, and mushrooms.

The side of pickles is very good. Two big, crispy pickle chips come with the sandwiches. The fries are bland and somewhat one-dimensional.

The mixed veggie quesadilla is also nice. Grilled zucchini, squash, peppers and onions are stuffed into a flour tortilla and served with a mild salsa and sour cream. The portion is large enough to make the dish a virtual entree even though it is billed as an appetizer.

The Smokehouse restaurant has a sports bar setup. When combined with the brewed brewpub offerings, it's an accommodating spot for meatless diners.

Barley's Smokehouse

Hal and Al's vegan sushi

Every Tuesday night, Hal & Al's in Merion Village features a different tasting. Typically, it offers a full line of beers from a particular brewer, and participants get to take home a glass. Instead of focusing on beer this week, the tasting debuted vegan sushi from the Hal & Al's kitchen.

The kitchen at Hal & Al's has been reviewed here before. They feature a wide variety of vegan comfort food, including fried avocados, vegan hot dogs, Luna burgers, tacos and burritos. Sushi is a change of pace. The kitchen is considering whether or not to feature sushi as a permanent menu item or a semi-regular special.

For $10, the tasting offered four different maki roll pairs, sushi accoutrements, a glass of Tiger beer from Singapore and an excellent "Parsons Avenue: The gateway to Hal & Al's" pint glass. There were three pairs of uramaki (rice on the outside) rolls and one pair of hosomaki (seaweed on the outside) rolls.

The rolls were a fairly simple cucumber roll, a pepper and scallion roll dotted with toasted sesame seeds, an avocado roll drizzled with red pepper Veganaise and a fried avocado roll. The cucumber roll was fairly pedestrian, but the other three were well made and delicious.

Tiger is a complement to the sushi. The continental pilsner adds a clean, bracing finish to the sushi rolls.

The other benefit to trying the tasting at Hal & Al's is that after the tasting is finished, the night can continue by tasting the rest of the smaller batch beer selections. The new Saison du BUFF project beers are amazing and worth a try. Saison du BUFF is a collaboration between the unholy trinity of American craft brewing, Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory. The three brewmasters collaborated on a recipe, and then brewed the beer separately at their own breweries.

Saison du BUFF is a Belgian saison-style ale flavored with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. The layers of herbal flavor in the Dogfish beer were deeper and more complex than the Stone beer, which was slightly more understated. The brews were more similar than different, but it was interesting to compare the two takes on the same recipe. Hal & Al's didn't carry the Victory version, but it's probably worth searching out based upon its pedigree and the quality of the other two brews.

Hal and Al's vegan sushi

Hopjacks

Hopjacks in Downtown Mobile is the second pizza and microbrew spot for this Pensacola operation. I didn't get to try the pizza, but I did approve of their 36 draft selections.

The draft list was heavy on local winners like Nola Hopitoulas (an Imperial IPA), Abita Jockamo and Restoration, Sweetwater pale ales from Georgia and Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan from Mississippi.

There are also many domestic options from Stone and Dogfish Head, and international brews from Belgium and the U.K.

There is an extensive list of bottled beers and beer-based cocktails. The bar in Mobile seats about 20, and the restaurant seats another 40 diners. It is located across the street from where the now-defunct Hurricane Brewing was.

Hopjack's

Bernard's Tavern

Bernard's Tavern opened in the Short North about five days ago. It is a bar with a good selection of craft beer alongside a full-service kitchen that offers a melange of vegetarian options on its menu.

The interior of Bernard's is brick and dark wood. There are six or eight flat screen televisions tuned to sports. The staff is friendly and attentive. Bernard's is open from lunch through 10 pm.

My starter was the Kentucky classic, fried banana peppers. The stem and seeds were removed from the peppers, which were then beer battered and served with a side of Thousand Island Dressing. The dressing adds a sweet note to the mild peppers. Although they were tasty, the peppers were slightly greasy and could have used a pinch more breading. Overall, they weren't perfect, but they were still pretty good.

The veggie burger, on the other hand, was a success on all levels. It was topped with red peppers, chopped portabella mushrooms, crumbled goat cheese, garlic chili aioli, lettuce, tomato and onion on a whole grain bun. The burger patty from local outfit Luna Burger showed nice griddle marks and was cooked very well. The side of Cajun fries was a spicy complement to the sandwich. They were redolent of both black and red pepper.

Other veggie options on the menu include a house salad, vegan black bean soup, hummus, soft pretzels with dips, baked macaroni and cheese, and a variety of other side dishes. They have French fries in plain, ranch, Cajun and sweet potato varieties. Dessert is a giant cookie served hot with ice cream.

The bar looks very nice. Beer options include Goose Island Matilda, a Belgian-style pale ale, Allagash White (which kicks the snot out of Blue Moon), Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale, Rogue Dead Guy and Bluegrass Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Ale. Bernard's also has a solid selection of bottled beer and high-proof options. The happy hour specials are similar to Bodega (half priced beer from 4-8 pm).

Bernard's is a cool neighborhood spot that has the extra bonus of a decent selection of vegetarian items. I'll have to return to check the place out at game time.

Bernard's Tavern

Tuesday Tastings with Thirsty Dog

Before I get started here, I'll have to lay my biases on the table: when I first started college education, had to find a way to pay for beer.

Obviously, I needed to be educated, pay for books and gain insight from social interactions while in school. These were very important things as well. But in college, ultimately the most important thing was to figure out an effective method to pay for beer.

I killed two birds with one stone by getting a job at the original Thirsty Dog Brew Pub.

Fast forward many years into the future (namely last night) at Tuesday Tastings at Hal & Al's. The brew pubs have closed, but the operation has morphed into a regional microbrewery available in 11 states.

The initial Tuesday Tasting event saw Thirst Dog owner John Najeway bring a litter of samples to the tasting at Hal & Al's, my favorite neighborhood bar. I also worked with Mr. Najeway at the original (now defunct) Canton location (and now my preexisting biases have been laid bare for all to see).

The event cost $5. For a bill with Lincoln on the front, you get a pint of the 12 Dogs of Christmas, a Thirsty Dog pint glass, and samples of six different brews.

The 12 Dogs of Christmas is available on draft at Hal & Al's. The beer is a spiced winter brew that is redolent of cloves, cinnamon, ginger and honey, balanced by a medium dark maltiness. It's in the same family as the Great Lakes Christmas Ale, although the flavor is different enough to make both worth trying.

The Labrador Lager is a golden lager with clean malt character and a faintly aggressive hop presence. It is a continental pilsner that is ready-made for drinkers who prefer Bud and Miller to Samuel Adams and Samuel Smith.

The Raspberry Ale is a fruit bomb. The blonde color hides a bounty of berry fruit that coats the palate in a sticky sweet melange of malt and berries. This is not my favorite style of beer, but the Raspberry Ale would be appreciated by those who prefer sweetness to hoppiness in their craft brew.

The Irish Setter Red is a ruby brew with a medium body, aromas of caramel and barley, and a great finish. It is a beer naturally made for celebrating St. Patrick's Day (or the other 364 days, for that matter).

The Stud Service Stout is the Thirsty Dog's take on Guinness. Although it isn't nitrogenated, the beer has the opaque black color, roasted malt notes and low alcohol of the Irish favorite. It is a fantastic stout.

The Old Leghumper is a more robust porter. It has a brown color, and sweet aromas of chocolate, coffee and smoke jump out of the glass.

Cerberus is a Belgian triple-style ale named after the mythological canine guardian of Hades. Like the gatekeeper to the underworld, Cerberus is a brute with 10 percent alcohol by volume. Cerberus seemed to possess a greater clarity than a traditional Belgian triple, although I was assured that the beer was not fined or filtered. The yeast esters are pronounced on the flavor and aroma profiles. The beer is very well made.

Of course I have some biases that make the Thirsty Dog and Hal & Al's hold a special place in my heart. Thirsty Dog started my long romance with craft beer, and Hal & Al's sells me craft beer and vegan hot dogs within a three minute walk from my house. Despite my prejudices, however, both Thirsty Dog and the Tuesday Tastings are worth checking out.

Next week's tasting is not yet defined, but two weeks from today, there is a Bell's tasting. I will definitely be there with bells on!

Carabar

Carabar is a cool independent music venue/bar/restaurant in Downtown Columbus. The kitchen (called the Helen Killer) features a great deal of vegetarian comfort food options that pair well with the great draft beers and the entertainment.

The backbone of the menu is hot dogs. There are vegetarian hot dogs available with toppings including vegan chili, sauerkraut, onions and condiments including ketchup, mustard and a stadium full of hot sauces. I actually ordered the vegan chili sans hot dog.

The chalk board menu doesn't list everything that the kitchen offers. It was recommended that I order a falafel hummus wrap. It might not have been on the Hellen Killer chalk board, but it was delicious enough to keep on the little chalk board menu in my head. Flattened falafel patties are pressed into a pita slathered in hummus on top of a bed of lettuce and tomatoes in a perfect base of tahini and hot sauce. It is as good of a falafel sandwich I've had outside of On the Fly.

There is a full service bar at Carabar. If you're drinking, however, Carabar definitely specializes in the brewing arts. The draft beer selection included Great Lakes Blackout Stout and Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Prices are low, and they offer some steep discounts during Happy Hour.

The bad news about Carabar is that the current location will be kaput when the 70/71 reconstruction begins. The local community supports the place and hopes that it takes up root elsewhere. Luckily the move has been pushed back until about 2012, so enjoy there's a little more time to enjoy the Carabar experience.

Carabar

Great Lakes Brewing Company

I can't believe that I have been writing about restaurants for about three years on this blog, and during this stretch, I've managed to avoid writing about one of my absolute favorite lakeside attractions: The Great Lakes Brew Pub. Luckily, I can draw on a wealth of back experience to craft a nuanced piece in which I explain the little details that make Great Lakes one of the Buckeye state's, if not the nation's finest brewing operations.

In many instances, brew pubs are an apparition or an illusion. Something that appears to be an on-site operation is actually nothing more than a contract brewing ruse. Lesser outfits than Great Lakes show off shimmering brew kettles that sparkle because they harbor a darker secret: they've never actually been used.

Great Lakes takes this problematic issue and blows it to pieces. The brew pub is located adjacent to the actual brewery, and patrons can follow the pipes overhead that carry the beer directly from the brewery to the brew pub into the frosty glassware on the table. There are few illusions at play in the Great Lakes Brewing Company.

What they deliver at Great Lakes is real beer with a real flavor. Cleveland is a city with a long brewing history, and Great Lakes and its staff have been a part of that history for some time. Brothers Patrick and Daniel Conway established Great Lakes in Cleveland in 1988, and they put Cleveland Master Brewer Thaine Johnson at the helm to create beer in the European tradition with just a hint of Cleveland's rock n' roll roots.

Although Johnson has moved on to the great fermentation tank in the sky, the brewery continues to feature some of the finest brews in the nation, many crafted with Johnson's careful guidance. And there is nothing that pairs better with one of the finest beers in the U.S.A. than the brew pub fare of Great Lakes.

There are not a many vegetarian choices on Great Lakes' menu. However, in my experience, there is always a vegan burger, a pasta dish and a couple of appetizers on each menu for those who believe that meat is not a component of the food pyramid. Some of the vegetarian appetizers include the Brewer's Pretzels with Liptauer cheese dip, the artichoke crock, the sweet potato fries, and a number of salads,

The mushroom bruschetta was made with spent brewer's barley bread topped with garlic butter, Killbuck valley mushrooms, roasted red peppers and melted mozzarella. Although the dish was flavorful, the large slices of bread made the dish somewhat difficult to eat. If the slices of bread were cut in half, the whole process would have been far less messy.

My main entree was a vegetable alfredo pasta. The alfredo sauce was actually made with a splash of Dortmunder Gold beer, a mild white cheese and cream. The vegetables were zucchini, carrots and chives. The dish actually occupies some sort of middle ground between macaroni and cheese and Pasta Primavera.

Of course, the food at Great Lakes is like a great opening act. It's an added bonus, but you're at the concert to see the headliner. In this case, the headliner is beer.

Great Lakes has beers that are offered all year long, and others that are seasonally available. The regular brews are available throughout the region. However, the most interesting brews are always the seasonal offerings.

The one seasonal that is currently available in bottles is the Grassroots Ale, a saison brewed in the Belgian tradition as a summer brew for farm workers. It showcases the herbal elements that compose the refreshing, high-alcohol brew. Grassroots used to be called the Hale Ale. It is the only seasonal selection currently available at retail, unlike the other seasonals that can only be purchased at the brew pub.

The Lake Erie Monster looks like it may no longer be on tap since I tasted it, which is too bad, because that is an absolute pleasure to behold. The extreme hop presence of the beer makes itself known in the aroma, and even more so on the palate with its 92 i.b.u.s. However, the beautiful richness of the malt offsets the orgasmic bitterness of the beer.

Since the brew also possesses 9% alcohol by volume, it is served in a smaller Belgian-style tulip glass, making it a delight to savor slowly. I originally tasted this in a bottle years ago, but as of now, there is no plan to bottle the Lake Erie Monster again, so mark your calendar for next year if you want to taste the next batch.

The York Street Bitter is also an excellent example of brewing style. The ESB is a classic British-style golden bitter ale. The alcohol and hop content of York Street ESB is lower than any of the Great Lakes Pale Ales. However, the less is more approach has created a beer with a beautifully refined sense of elegance that is sometimes lacking in American ales.

The final seasonal I sampled was the Bailout Brew. This offering was made in the style of a Maibock, a blonde German-style lager typically consumed at spring festivals in the Fatherland. A grassy hops character peaks out between a bread and citrus aroma in the Bailout Brew. The 7.5% alcohol content is sneaky, because the beer has a weight like a lower alcohol brew and seems like it would be an easy quaff.

If tasting the beer from the source isn't a fun enough proposition, Great Lakes has other bells and whistles to keep your rapt attention. There are brewery tours on Friday and Saturdays. It's a fun way to spend about an hour, and you can see the guts of the Great Lakes operation. The attraction of free beer is tough to pass up, too.

Another form of entertainment with the Cavs in the playoffs and Indians season starting their season is to take advantage of Great Lakes' Fatty Wagon. Great Lakes makes biodiesel out of spent oil from the deep frying stations. The recycled lipids power patrons to Cavs, Indians and weekday Browns games for the low cost of $1 (tickets not included). It also includes a return trip.

Great Lakes Brewery

Crescent City Brewhouse

Let me fire the first warning shot across the bow: Crescent City Brewhouse hates vegetarians. Posts on this blog always address places that are vegetarian-friendly. And Crescent City Brewing is just about the opposite of that. The meatless menu is limited to baked brie and a salad.

Also, the ground floor is virtually a seafood raw bar that smells as such. If you can get past these issues, however, Crescent City makes some tasty brews.

The easiest places to escape the veggie prejudice at the brewpub are the open air balcony on the second floor, and of course with the convenient New Orleans vehicle called the Go-Cup. Plan accordingly.

The best of the regular brews is the Red Stallion. This Viennese-style, red lager possesses a medium carbonation, a surprisingly rich malt character offset by a clean alpha hop note. The finish is grassy and malt-driven.

Other regular brews include a weiss, a Schwarzbier-like black beer and a classic pilsner. The seasonal offering was a dunkelweiss. If you're following the theme, all of the beers are rooted in a Teutonic tradition.

Crescent City Brew Pub

Hurricane Brewing

Hurricane Brewing is a brew pup in Downtown Mobile with six or seven brews on tap. Five of them are produced by the on-site brewing facilities.

Hurricane features typical pub grub with a requisite number of vegetarian options including pizza, macaroni and cheese, cheese sticks, chips and salsa, and quesadillas.

The Storm Surge Stout is coal black. The carbonation is full. The aroma is a complex blend of maple, coffee and chocolate with a hint of smokiness. The finish is medium long, and the hop character evidences itself on the back end.

Some of the other regular brews include the Insurance Adjuster Pale Ale, Projected Path Amber Ale, and the Floating Car Amber Ale. The seasonal offerings are the Flying Debris Mardi Gras Ale, Category Four Leaf Irish Ale, an ever-changing wheat beer and an Octoberfest. The guest taps were Brooklyn Brown and Woodchuck Cider.

Hurricane Brewing