We’ve tended to focus on recently opened restaurants lately so, for a change, we thought we’d focus on an old favorite, Great Lakes Brewing Company. We arrived pretty early, around 6pm and the place was already crowded. We got a patio seat in perfect weather, mid 70s with a light breeze. Our menus included the beer selection, food, and a kid’s menu. The kid’s items were perfectly selected and included a peanut butter and Ohio honey sandwich (I should order that sometime), grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese, fish bites and chicken fingers.
We started our meal with the pretzels — which we dove into before we were able to take a pic. They were good, and had a unique malted barley flavor. Jonathan ordered mac and cheese, which was very cheesy and creamy*; he gave it a thumbs up.
fries. The steak was perfectly grilled to medium rare, and the fries were nicely seasoned with salt and pepper. Strangely, the steak itself didn’t appear to contain salt. Perhaps the stated “pinch of cayenne” on the menu for this item is an intentional stand-in for other seasoning, but, being a purist, I added liberal amounts of salt and black pepper. Other than this, the dish was outstanding, and the cucumber cream and peppers went well with the nicely grilled flatbread.
Sarah ordered the Bratwurst and Pierogi:
The sausage was juicy and flavorful, and the pierogies were crispy and loaded with cheese:
cial was berry shortcake, and it was the best Sarah and I have ever had. The shortcake was crisp and sweet on the outside and perfectly crumbly. The cream was light and intensely flavored with vanilla. The best part of course were the berries, which, according to our server, Stephanie, were simply fresh Ohio berries left to sit for a while in sugar. Their flavor infused everything else and made for an unbelievably good dish (and I’m not even a big shortcake fan). Jonathan ordered the vanilla ice cream, which Stephanie was kind enough to top with a cherry and chocolate sauce.
I couldn’t write a review of Great Lakes without mentioning the beer. I had a Commodore Perry IPA, which paired well with everything I ordered. In fact, I wish I’d saved a little more to go with dessert! (I just had a sip or two along with the shortcake)
We were very happy with our visit and look forward to our next one!
nice to see the food at GLBC get a good review; its been so inconsistent the past few years. mac & cheese ALWAYS works for me!
This is Ben at a restaurant:
http://www.marriedtothesea.com/082008/no-free-refills.gif
–dave
Hello, I work at Ron Foth Advertising and I’m interested to know who the photographer is who shoot the picture of the steak flatbread sandwich with fries at the Great Lakes Brewing Company. We are creating ads for Ohio Tourism and would like to use this photo. You would be a great deal of help, thanks.
Patricia