Is the quality of food in Maine watering holes indirectly proportional to the quality of the beer?
I strayed off the peninsula yesterday. This is generally a mistake but I was in search of underwear. I swap out my panties once a year. So, I was in Freeport, and after a grueling half hour at the Jockey store I was mighty hungry and thirsty.
The Gritty's in Freeport features draught 21 IPA and Cask 21 IPA and both are terrific! I am a huge fan of this beer and I hope they continue to offer it. The cask beer poured perfectly and even though I love rough edges and lack of balance (in favor of hops) the smoother cask gets my vote, ever so slightly, as the better of the two beers.
But I was hungry. I ordered the special: a burrito fajita or a fajita burrito; ignoring the fact that Gritty's is a brew pub, not a Tex-Mex place and the fact that these items (burrito and fajita) are two different things. The combination might've worked, actually, had there been any discernible flavor in the food at all. And had the meat (steak, purportedly) not been reminiscent of LL Bean boot factory seconds. And had the wrap (tortilla? pita? wonder bread?) been fresh this week.
But the beer is great, and worth the trip.
I got to thinking though, at Ebenezer's I had a wonderful beer experience and a lunch (the house special burger which features cooler than room temperature coagulated tomato paste) that I still have the occasional nightmare about. At the GLB, enjoy the beer and be very, very careful when ordering the food. At Novare Res, the food is fine but how many olive plates does it take to make a meal?
Does great beer have to mean bad food?
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