Restaurant #10-The Pike Place Brewing Company

Having packed the entire Woodland Park Zoo, a mis-directional adventure, and a sushi stop for Ty it was around three o'clock when we sat down to eat at the Pike Place Brewing Company. This was one of the Seattle restaurants that I was really excited about. I'd read great things in numerous guidebooks about their tasty on-site brews and down-to-earth American pub food. Since I hadn't eaten yet that day I was even more excited to get down to business.

Ty and Matt ordered the Dungeness Crab and Artichoke Dip as an appetizer and bothered me about trying it the whole time we were waiting for it to arrive to our table. When it finally got there I had a little taste and would have liked the dip just fine had the creamy cheesiness not degenerated into a fish taste. High marks from the guys, but as I've said numerous times, fish is just not for me.

For his meal Ty ordered the Son of Reuben sandwich, which claimed to be a half of their regular Reuben but came out being the biggest Reuben sandwich I had ever seen! It was served with organic potato chips and a pickle. Matt and I had the Cheddar Bacon Burger which might sound like standard fare, but was in fact juicy, delicious and hit the spot!

The thing that I was most excited about trying at the Pike Place Brewing Company was the Pike Sampler. The Pike Sampler is six, four ounce samples of their different brews. They come with a beer list that tells a little about each brew and gives a recommended tasting order. I'd read about this and I was thrilled. I ordered one the minute we got there, assuming that, because Matt hates beer as much as I hate fish, Ty and I would just share it. Then I heard Ty say, "That sounds great. I'll have one also." I shrugged to myself, it wouldn't matter, there definitely was not enough alcohol there to get me tipsy.

What I hadn't been considering was that I hadn't eaten yet at all that day, and as my alcohol arrived before my food I was drinking on a completely empty stomach. By the end of the meal, when I went to stand up, I realized that I had gone way beyond tipsy and entered the completely smashed zone. Our next stop was the Seattle Art Museum to see an exhibit on Roman art on loan from the Louvre. How I held it all together there is actually a quite comedic story, which I'll post later.

More about the Pike Sampler. There are the brews and their descriptions in the recommended tasting order:

Pike Naughty Nellie-Golden artisan ale
This was probably my favorite of all the brews we tasted at the Pike Brewing Company. It was light, had a good flavor and went down really smooth. If only I could find it here in Great Falls I would drink it all the time!!

Pike Pale Ale-Classic full-bodied ale with copper color and nutty malt flavor
The Pale Ale was also really good. The nutty flavor was really a good touch.

Pike IPA-Deep golden amber color with an assertive hops character and a delicate floral bouquet
I'd never had any kind of IPA, so this was an unexpected hit with me. This ties with the Naughty Nellie for being my favorite beer on the sampler. It was easy to drink and I could actually taste the "floral bouquet". I don't know, there's just something awesome about having your beer taste like flowers!!

Pike Kilt Lifter-Scotch style ruby ale, medium hopped with a powerful, sweet malt character
The Kilt Lifter was one of Ty's favorite beers on the sampler. I had had the Kilt Lifter previously at a restaurant in Bozeman, Montana. It's good, but it wasn't my favorite and I probably wouldn't drink it all the time.

Pike XXXXX Stout-Gorgeous reddish-black color, great head, a deep dark-roasted flavor with tones of chocolate, coffee and a satisfying aftertaste
Their description really says it all. The Pike XXXXX was great.

Pike Tandem-Dark brown ale brewed with barley and 10% wheat plus candy sugar for a complex rich flavor and a finish of tobacco and molasses
The Pike Tandem was another of Ty's favorites. It was really quite tasty and kind of tasted like what might happen if they sweetened Guinness a bit.

We all had such an amazing time at the Pike Place Brewing Company. It was good service, great food, awesome beer and tons of good times!