San Luis Valley Brewing ~ Alamosa, Colorado

First visit: Jun 2022

As noted on the Jan's Restaurant (Buena Vista) review, the end destination of this trip was to go to Crestone. The town itself sits right at the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. It's exactly what I thought it would be - something of a hippie enclave. It looks more like a commune than an Old West town. It's current fame is that apparently it's a vortex/energy area for those looking for spiritual enlightenment. And there's a large amount interfaith entities represented here. Mrs. RJG and I didn't get the vibe I guess, but after walking most of the town and environs, we did stop in for a beer at a new brewery that hasn't yet started brewing their own beers (T Road) and enjoyed a couple of beers from nearby Three Barrel Brewing (hey - 6 uses of beer and brew in the same sentence - wow!). Maybe after our first beer we became a little more spiritual....

We knew Crestone wasn't going to be our hospitality stop so we continued down south to Alamosa. For dinner I had circled San Luis Brewing. Local brewpubs are usually a destination for me, and Mrs. RJG agreed and off we went.

After enjoying a couple of beers (cataloged in the Bier Reise), I ordered the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich with a side of green chili. I found this to be a nice variation of the classic recipe, with a crispy chicken patty, ham slice, and Swiss cheese on a tasted buttery roll. The green chili was entirely white and way too starchy. However I found it to be flavorful with a nice kick. It seemed like I was eating clam chowder. Weird but good.

But Mrs. RJG... sigh. Oh boy, this particular evening did not go well at all. She couldn't figure out what to eat, and when an order of the Philly Cheesesteak walked by she stated that looked good. And she also went for the green chili. As soon as the food arrived, she made a huge frown and said "I'm full". And refused to eat any of it. Ay-yi-yi. She wouldn't trade with me either - it was going to be that kind of night. I already described the chili, but she had 2 bites and said "yuck". The Philly Cheesesteak is definitely not standard. It's not chopped and grilled but rather they use slabs of what seem like gyro meat (or roast beef more likely) with cheese, and the hoagie roll wasn't toasted. It came out a bit wet. I ended up eating that sandwich too. I thought it was good! Haha - I probably didn't help my cause much by saying that. So there you have it - one thumbs up - one HUGE thumbs down. 

I also like the setting - the restaurant itself is cavernous and there's streetside cafe seating as well. Probably won't be going back anytime soon though.

6/28/22 (new entry)