Eating and drinking with the dead...The Grateful Dead

Review of Magnolia Pub and Brewery

On a Sunday evening we headed to Magnolia Pub and Brewery. A place with charm and character at every turn. The plot of land has some rich history as it used to be a pharmacy in the 1970s and then a famous ice cream parlor. In 1997 it was re-opened by Dave Mclean who is a big fan of the Grateful dead, and you see this theme througout the restaurant from the the beers named after Grateful dead songs, to the the coasters with funny color creatures as if you were tripping on acid. Even the menus maintain the theme with Grateful Dead performance venues written into the menu and menu items taped inside like playbills.

Start

Apparently the glazed D U C K W I N G S with julienned celery root salad were a signature dish. I had pretty high expectations and these wings did not reach them. They had a pretty nice flavor but there was not a lot of meat on the wings. The caramel glaze was also bit chewy and got stuck in your teeth.


The B U T T E R M I L K - F R I E D S P R I N G O N I O N S in traditional rouille were delicious. A nice crispy batter outside with juicy onion inside. But what made the dish was the accompaniment sauce which was zesty and added a some amazing flavor to the dish. The sweet potato was also quite nice.

Sausages

The LAMB MERGUEZ piquillo peppers, coriander, cumin was the best dish of the night. Although it make not look as appetizing the meat was tender and delicious. A great set of spice and seasonings.

The BRATWURST kolsch, ground mace, lemon zest was decent. I felt the meat was not cooked properly. The meat was really mushy and fell apart as you cut it. It had some nice flavor but nothing like the lamb.

Overall not a bad place. The beers are great, appetizers are solid and there is a nice ambiance. If you are Grateful dead aficionado or just in the mood for something a bit quirkier I recommend checking out Magnolia Pub and Brewery


Ambiance: 4 bites
Service 4 bites
Starters: 3.5 bites
Entrees: 3.5 bites
Overall: 3.7 bites
http://www.magnoliapub.com/