Brew Ha Ha

OK, it's 95 degrees in April. You're going to have to forgive the bad pun.

R Street between 14th & 15th is quite the bustling block these days! What was a vacant strip not to long ago, is now full of new businesses. It's virtually buzzing with life.

And it's really hard to find parking at lunchtime.

But I digress, and for fear of being the victim of hate mail like the Bee's new food critic, I will get right to the point.

Stacy and I visited the new Burgers and Brew today. There's one in Davis, but I've never been there so I can't make a comparison to the original. There are 13 burgers on the menu, ranging from plain ol' hamburger to a buffalo burger to three vegetarian options (garden burger, smoked tofu & portobello). They range from $6.75 to $9.75 and are served with either fries or green salad. Stacy and I both opted for the turkey burger. I "upgraded" to curly fries, while Stacy opted for the garlic variety (75-cents more).

I think they've only been open a few weeks so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The woman at the counter had a really hard time with my order. You know what I ordered (it's above), but when she read it back to me she said "so you have the bacon & jalapeno burger to go, right?" No. Not even close. In her defense, I did order mayo on the side so that might have made it really complicated. Stacy got her burger pretty quickly. Mine took forever. We both felt the burgers were really dry. The garlic fries weren't as garlicky as we had hoped. The curly fries were pretty good.

In addition to burgers, there are the brews. There's a great selection on tap including, Wood Chuck Pear Cider, Blue Moon, Arrogant Bastard Ale, Boont Amber and Chimay White. There are also plenty of choices by the bottle. There's a lot of wine too, but alas, I had to go back to work.

If burgers aren't your thing, there are also sandwiches - like a BLT, Philly Cheese Steak and Grilled Cheese - three hot dog varieties, fish & chips, salads and soups.

I would definitely give it another shot and would definitely go for a real burger next time. Oh yeah... and I'd have a brew with said burger.

I'll be heading to the Shady Lady this week and plan to blog about it soon. It's a 20's style saloon that sits at the end of the block. In between sits the Magpie Caterer & Cafe and coming soon is a new yogurt shop. The R in R Street doesn't stand for Recession!

Burgers and Brew is open from 11am to midnight, Sunday through Wednesday and till 3am, Thursday through Saturday.