Review #37
You know when your kid won’t let you take their picture? It starts at an early age where they run away from you or stick their tongue out. But as they get older, it doesn’t get better like you thought it would. Sure you have friends who have beautifully framed family photos in their homes. Pictures of their kids smiling away in the snow, at the beach, or on a boat. Uh uh, not you. Your kids sees the camera and throws hateful laser beams out of their eyes, spewing annoyance and disgust. The look on their face so vile, you don’t even want a picture now because you never want to remember this moment ever again. So you offer to take them for a burger in exchange for just one good picture. But that’s not good enough for him, so you strike a bargain and agree to take him AND his buddies for dinner in exchange for just one picture. Well, here’s what I got.
Earlier that night…..
The Encinitas Ale House is really small. In fact, it should more properly be called The Encinitas Ale Cottage. Or The Encinitas Ale Shack. The Encinitas Ale Closet would also work. There was no way our group of 13 was going to sit together. My teens were more than happy to take a table as far away from the stodgy adults as possible. So considerate.
Taps are hanging everywhere. This is a true watering hole and they mean business.
They have 32 beers on tap and over 400 different bottles of beer. They rotate the taps every few days so if you like something you taste, drink up! It’s unlikely to be there next time!
Only one beer stays on tap, and that’s the Pink Elephant Beer, properly named “Delirium”.
Since this is what Kelly was drinking, and I always trust Kelly when it comes to something as important as beer, I ordered one too.
By the time you finish one, two, or six of these, it’s really fun to try and pronounce all of the German signs on the walls.
I know you just read that in your horrible German accent. You can’t read it with your American accent even if you try, right? Try this one.
Clearly, this game is way more fun after you’ve had some Delirium, you gotta try it.
The menu offers both Munchies and Starters. Starters are like appetizers. You want a little nosh before your meal to help whet your appetite, so you order some crab cakes, nachos or stuffed mushrooms. Munchies, on the other hand, are needed after you’ve been drinking. It’s the time when you need to ingest large quantities of fried things immediately. They’ve got both covered for you here.
Hubby went with a flight and some fish tacos. He thought his beers were outstanding but the tacos were just “good”.
Fish Tacos
Since The Encinitas Ale Closet, I mean HOUSE, is known for their locally world famous burgers…
…a lot of us ordered them. My youngest ordered a Patty Melt which came on thick, buttered sourdough with caramelized onions, cheese, and lots of meat. This entire plate was inhaled within minutes. This kid stopped eating off the Kid’s Menu when he was three. It’s like we don’t feed him. Watching him, you would think it’s the first meal he’s had in weeks. He would have eaten a second one.
The Encinitas Ale House is known for their unusual types of meat including rabbit, alligator, elk, bison, goose, wild boar and anything else they can hunt and skin. I’ll leave the more adventurous meats for someone else. I ordered a Trio burger made with brisket, short rib and chuck. I like my meat to be lots of things, dead mostly, but not adventurous.
Trio Burger
Of course it was great! Could have used a pinch more salt, but otherwise, it was quite enjoyable. Honestly, the little side salad it came with was just as good! It was a spring mix with feta, corn and lots of other chopped up yummy things. Not just your standard side salad at all.
Joyce ordered the Oven Baked Mac and Cheese. Only three words: OH MY GOD!!!!
There’s really only one way to make this better, and Shoshana ordered it. Prepare to have your mind blown….LOCALLY WORLD FAMOUS MAC AND CHEESE PIZZA! Yes, this exists! They had it topped with Sriracha sauce. I gained five pounds just looking at it.
The Mushroom Marsala Burger was stuffed to the gills with mushrooms.
Mushroom Marsala Burger
Time to check on those teens getting their free meal, for the cost of one good picture. Two of them sure look pleasant. The other shooed me away.
You will probably want to order the Parmesan Garlic Fries.
Parmesan Garlic Fries
I asked the bartender about this wall of plaques. He let me know it’s for the “80 beers in 80 days club”.
It’s pretty simple. You just need to drink 80 beers within 80 days and you win!
Now, you don’t have to drink one beer a day for 80 days. You can do what Zack does. He comes often and drinks a lot of beers, and the bartender just keeps adding them up. As long as he hits 80 beers within 80 days, he wins! Zack is on beer number 30-something, but I think it’s only been 3 days. He’s good.
He will get his name on the plaque, a sweatshirt with this logo, and the number to his nearest AA meeting.
Bottom Line:
The Encinitas Ale House is a cozy place for beer and high end bar food. If I weren’t in the mom stage of my life, the 80 beers in 80 days would definitely be something I would do. It’s the kind of bar where everyone knows your name. All 13 in our group loved their food. Our waitress was nice and worked hard going from table to table. She was the only one working there taking orders. My point is, you may need to wait a while so don’t be in a rush. Drink beer while you wait. It’s locally world famous after all.
Next week’s blog will be on Sunday, March 4th at 9:00am
Philz Coffee
1060 Coast Hwy 101
Dining on the 101 