- Root Stock – fantastic little bakery with amazing breakfast sandwiches (and pretty fantastic lunch ones too). They do em all on housemade biscuits (buttermilk, peppercorn and chive, sweet potato, even chocolate!) and they’re gooey, oozy messes – I liked their version of ham and cheese (city ham, pimento cheese, pickles, and egg) and their biscuits and gravy. The chicken ranch (chicken salad, peppers, onions, ranch dressing) and pulled pork BBQ (pork, cheddar, tomatoes, peppers, and Doritos) both sounded great, too. Don’t forget the sweets! I tried the Oreo peanut butter pie and the bread pudding (and eyed the maple coffeecake and other pies) and both were tasty…
- Beer – there’s almost too many to get to in a weekend now, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from trying. Our group got to seven in two days, trying over a hundred beers and taking a good chunk back for the stockpile. (#ballinwithbobby) If you get to six you get a free trucker hat — just make sure you get stamps on a piece of paper if they don’t have the passport brochure. Last one will give you the hat! The queen of them all is Veil – fantastic outdoor space, and the best beers in town top to bottom (their IPAs and sours are exceptional – they’re actually the ones who got me to like sours). The Answer is across town and has some mind-blowing smoothie style sours (they honestly taste just like fruit juice – which will kick your butt by the time you remember they’re not) that are DELICIOUS – the food was underwhelming, though, so eat somewhere else. Final Gravity was the weekend’s biggest surprise, with some outstanding IPAs and solid other offerings (nice saison and pale ale) – also has a good outdoor seating area that’s dog friendly. Ardent has a great outdoor space and nice wits and saisons, Bingo has a great indoor space (it’s a barcade, full of skeeball, arcade games, and other fun) and has a good range of styles (I liked the IPAs, porter, and Rauchbier), while Vasen and Triple Crossing have nice space inside and out — some good IPAs at both.
- Metzger Bar and Butchery – a tiny place down in Church Hill that does nice seasonal fare with really good cocktails and wine options. Super cozy little spot – staff were great too.
Musical musings from the mind of Sunshine