Starr Brothers Brewing ~ Albuquerque, New Mexico

First visit: Apr 2022

The original plan was to go to Thai Spice (in these very pages), but they were closed for Thai New Year (who knew?). Then we had another place we wanted to try called Craft Republic. We took a seat at a table in the bar. No one there to wait on us. Finally some 10 minutes later she came by and dropped off the menus. Craft beer? I guess Michelob and Budweiser now are considered craft. Sure, they had some New Mexico beers - all the same ones we can get in Colorado Springs. Jeez. We waited a few more minutes for the gal to return (she did not) and then decided to hang it up and leave. I'm sure the food would have disappointed as well.

As we always say: Things happen for a reason. Because that lead us to Starr Brothers Brewing. By this time I was dying for a craft beer, but we also wanted to eat dinner. Starr Brothers advertises that they provide a top notch kitchen in addition to their beers. And it was close by to where we were on the north side, so let's give it a shot shall we?

A much more welcoming and cleaner space compared to Craft Republic, we knew instantly this was going to be a better experience. This isn't the first time I'd tried a Starr Brothers beer, having had one at the now defunct Matanza Beer Kitchen, a once great place that apparently lost their way. In any case, we went about ordering some delicious beers while preparing for our meal. We did similar as the night before at Second Street and split 2 meals. In this case one was the green chile pepperoni pizza (appetizer technically) and yes... a Cuban sandwich. We both liked the pizza, especially the spicy green chiles. Probably could have stood for more chile and a little bit crispier crust (and we asked for it this way), but not to complain, it was very good. The Cuban was also delicious, maybe not quite as startling as the Second Street version, but still excellent. The winning formula here is they use pork loin instead of pulled pork, which I prefer for my Cubans. Overall an excellent experience that combines tasty beer with a well cooked meal.

4/11/22 (new entry)