How can you follow up a visit to the Culinary Institute? Since 3 out of 4 of us are really beer drinkers not wine drinkers this was a great second choice. It is a very typical brew pub , with a hopping bar area which is smoking and 2 large non-smoking dining rooms. We felt lucky to get a table, this is a very popular place.

I had the beer sampler, which is 6 small glasses of their different brews, Sob (Special Old Bitter), Rough Rider (a red ale), Winkle Lager (a Bohemian Pilsner), Chaos (a dry Stout), Big Easy Blond (an European Pilsner) and one other that I don't remember. The place mats are cute, they have a spot for each of the samples so you know which one your drinking.

The dining room has a lot going on. There are posters, large windows and a really different fan light that looks like it was made from a vat. The food was really quite good and my port tenderloin roasted with a bourbon glaze was just this side of spectacular. It came with a huge mound of mashed potatoes and a nice salad. My only complaint was that the salad was room temperate and I prefer it cold. The breadbasket had a nice crispy rosemary bread in it but only offered country crock, no butter. These were small problems in an otherwise very good meal.

Al had a rib eye steak with mushrooms and luckily he got the last one they had. He is a real steak lover and he rated it very good. I never even got to ask our waitress her name, she was just too busy. They had a interesting array of desserts presented on a tray. Apple crisp, chocolate torte, bourbon pecan pie, peanut butter pie, cheesecake and brownie with ice cream. I was too full but Irene and Jim got a piece pecan pie to go and the next day rated it excellent.

They serve lunch and dinner daily. This is not gourmet dining but the portions were generous and the food tasty and the beer worth the price of admission.