Though Karl Strauss Brewery is mainly known for its wide variety of beers, its diverse menu offerings are noteworthy as well. I’m typically in the habit of being “safe” at restaurants and ordering the same thing each time so I know I’ll like it, but Karl Strauss (which I will lovingly and lazily abbreviate “KS”) in Metro Pointe is actually one of the places where I have sampled various menu items, pending what I was in the mood for. And because of the array of items they offer, I’ve been able to satisfy numerous different cravings despite how different they may seem.
Being an avid pasta lover, the Cajun Chicken pasta was the first meal I ever tried at KS. I’m a fan of chicken pastas in general and have tried many different kinds, but I wouldn’t have expected pasta from a brewery to contain such distinct and stimulating flavors. It had a very unique taste to it that I can still recall and distinguish from more “typical” chicken-pasta flavors at Italian Restaurants.
I’ve also tried the turkey burger which is quite good, and I somewhat recently had my first “beer-pairing” experience, one which KS is particularly noted for. Their menu itself contains recommended food and beer pairings, and they also offer specialty pairings which change monthly. The one I tried paired the BBQ cheeseburger with the Red Trolley Ale. Needless to say, it was quite memorable — both of those, individually, are quire tasty; so, obviously, those subtle aspects of their individual flavors which compliment the others’ also provided extraordinary results (apparently, the beer’s caramel tints pick up the sweetness of the meat and sauce). I hadn’t previously the considered the ways in which what I eat and what I drink can affect each other, but this was a perfect depiction.
Last week I was at KS with a group of friends for dinner, and while I first pondered the aforementioned pasta or burgers, I decided I was actually in a pizza mood. Low and behold, KS offers pizza as well. I chose the BBQ chicken one, and it was fantastic. This is the option I often choose at CPK, and I honestly think I enjoyed KS’s better. It was thick, the sauce was distinct and delicious, and though I was skeptical about deciding to order the pizza, I ultimately ended up being quite glad I did. Plus, though it fell into the individual meal-sized price-range, the pizza itself was huge, so my friends got to enjoy some too and I also had leftovers in which to indulge the following morning.
On another note, I’ve always had remarkably efficient and friendly service here, and the staff really seems to know what they’re talking about. Several of my friends asked our super-friendly and personable waitress specific questions about certain beers, and she was able to effortlessly answer any and all them. I felt like we were talking to a beer professional. It was really quite impressive that, beyond her typical waitress duties, she was able to remember such succinct details of the various beers and/or combinations for which we inquired.
I actually asked about pairing my pizza with a beer other than its suggested pairing, as it happened to be Cask Night and their specialty Scottish Ail from the “beer engine” was sounding mighty appealing (I don’t know what a “beer engine” is precisely, but any beer coming from one must be pretty legit, I imagined), and the waitress stopped to analyze this possibility (whether the Scottish Ail would work well with the potential pizza choice, as my BBQ pizza had the same sauce as the aforementioned cheeseburger, and thus called for the Red Trolley, which I’d already previously sampled – always best to try as many new beers as possibly, I always say) and then explained that the combination could actually work quite well. Rather than just giving some no-brainer answer, which would have been an easy-out for her, she legitimately tried to rationalize through it; it was kind of her and immensely entertaining to watch her stop and ponder the various qualities of the beer and the pizza to asses whether it’d work out well. Ultimately, it did, and I was glad that I tried it.
If you’re just craving a beer, or a beer and food, or random beer knowledge of some sort, I’d definitely recommend Karl Strauss.
