Forbidden Root Brewery

 

I had been to Forbidden Root a few times before and have liked both the beer and brunch, I decided to stop in for dinner recently.  Located in a former movie theatre, the space is rustic, with exposed brick walls, and tile floors.  The U-shaped bar is in the center of the room as you walk in with the tap list on chalkboards facing the side walls above and to the center of the bar area.  The brewing area is in the back past a large communal table that sits in an alcove at the back of the restaurant and beside the kitchen.  The beers that Forbidden Root does are classic styles with a lot of botanicals added that can sometimes modify the flavor significantly.  The first beers that they started with were hard versions of Root Beer (hence the Forbidden Root name) and Ginger Ale.  Their draft list when I went did not have the Root Beer, but it did have the Ginger Ale, so that was going to be one of the choices that I was going to make for my flight.  Called Sublime Ginger, it's a Wheat Ale with a significant ginger flavor that also included Key Lime Juice, Honeybush and Lemon Myrtle.  My other choices were Money on my Rind, a Hefeweizen with Juniper Berries, Grapefruit, and Grains of Paradise that leaned toward a Gin and Tonic in flavor, Dragon Zest Belgian Tripel with Wild Lemon Zest and Thai Palm Sugar (This was a really good Tripel), Get to the Winchester Toasted Rye Mild Ale, and ME DRINK COOKIE! Oatmeal Raisin Brown Ale, which for all the world tasted like an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.  They were all very good and interesting, but my favorite for this trip was probably ME DRINK COOKIE!

The food served at Forbidden Root is largely bar food, but it all has a twist.  The menu is broken down between Snacks, Small Plates, Large Plates, Sandwiches, and Cheese & Dessert.  I decided to start things off with a dish of Lemon Almonds with Sea Salt and Olive Oil while I was trying to figure out what else I wanted to eat.  They were very good, having a nice Salty Lemon flavor with the hearty flavor flavor of fresh roasted almonds.

There was a lot of meat in both the Small and Large Plate sections of the menu, I was already getting plenty of protein with the nuts and would probably have meat for my main course, so I thought I would go with a vegetable.  While I did decide to go with a vegetable, that didn't mean it couldn't be fried.  I went with Fried Brussels Sprouts with Marinated Sprout Leaves, Bagna Cauda (an Italian dip using Garlic, Olive Oil, Anchovies, and Butter), XO Sauce (a Chines sauce using dried scallop, chili peppers, Jinhua ham, dried shrimp, garlic, and canola oil), and Lemon.  Normally, I have my brussels sprouts with bacon, and admittedly, there was a little ham used in the XO Sauce, but it wasn't enough to add texture and it was effectively without meat.  As such, it was very good, even without the bacon.

I did consider getting a burger, and I have heard that Forbidden Root's burger is very good, but getting a burger at a brewery is easy.  There was a Pork Schnitzel Sandwich that sounded good, so that's the way that I went.  While I knew that pork schnitzel was a piece of pork pounded flat, breaded and fried and they tend to be pretty broad, I was very surprised by the sandwich that arrived.  The Schnitzel was much wider than the Sesame Bun and was served with Beet Mayo and Slaw on the sandwich, with Fries and Housemade Ketchup on the side.  The schnitzel was much broader than the bun, so I did attempt to cut it around the edges before picking it up.  That didn't work out exceptionally well so I committed to Picking it up and eating it until it was gone.  It was really good, but it was also really messy and there would have been know way for me to pick it back up if I ever put it down.  The beet mayo had chunks of beets in it that were falling out as I was eating it and when I finally finished it, I had to take a time out to clean myself up.

By the time I got to dessert, I was pretty full.  I was interested in dessert, but because I was full, I was interested in something light.  My waitress told me that the chocolate pudding was pretty light.  I was a little skeptical, but I followed her recommendation.  She was correct, the pudding had the texture of a mousse.  With the pudding, it had Whipped Caramel, Quince Marmalade, Peanut Praline, and Ash Salt.  With that I had a House Shot called Cinn-Oak which had Bourbon, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Clove Buds, Orange Peel and Demerara Syrup.  After this, I was still full, but I really enjoyed everything.  The beer at Forbidden Root is very different while following standard styles, the food follows the same path.  I really enjoyed everything and will surely return for beer and/or food.