Oh Bridge, how far you have come.
I remember when I used to visit your nano operation on Old Dollarton Highway, with your roll-up garage door entrance, miniscule tasting roo . . . er, nook and Friday specialty cask releases.
Now I see your beer everywhere I go, on tap and in stores, and, a stone’s throw from friends Sons of Vancouver and Tour de Feast, in your newish space down on Charlotte Road, which now seems positively enormous, relatively speaking, with its rustic indoor seating and fun patio.
Many a time have I dropped by for a Canpedo, bomber or growler fill, your Bourbon Blood Orange Ale solidifying its status as a staple in my fridge, and a stick of spicy pepperoni or contorted slab of the cheesiest of cheese breads, both available at your order counter.
When I learned of your plan to introduce full-on food service into your operation I nodded knowingly; it was a logical progression and just a matter of time before it happened. All seemed right with the world.
But then I read you had opted to serve tacos as your first foray into food service. Tacos? Look, I love tacos. They’re ace. I make them at home with my own slow-braised carnitas. I eat them in hip East Van venues that dole them out alongside premium margaritas and mezcal-based cocktails.
I also eat them from food trucks, pop-up restaurants and beachside stalls, in casual chain franchises where fish is the preferred filling and even in all-day breakfast joints where eggs and chorizo prevail. More tacos, I thought. Well, OK then. Let’s see what you got.
I visited you recently, on a gloriously sunny Sunday afternoon with The Boy, my nine-year-old prodigy and specialist in calling things as they are. We sat on the partially shaded patio.
“Dad?” he began.
“Yes, son?” I asked, eager to hear his candid take.
“These are really, really good tacos, aren’t they?” Nodding, with a mouthful of beautifully braised chicken with lime and coconut, I concurred. “Yes. Indeed they are.”
Bridge’s recent addition, chef Krissy Seymour, has her taco game dialed and the brewery was right to lead with this culinary play. Priced at a reasonable three for $9, these are hearty, generous, thoughtfully assembled tacos, bursting with filling and flavour. We ordered a trio and then an additional pork taco (they’re $4 ordered individually), thinking four between us would likely be adequate.
They were far more than adequate; three make for a big lunch, but manageable with an appetite. The taco selection included: Jerk Pulled Pork with pineapple salsa, avocado cream and pickled red cabbage; Lime and Coconut Braised Chicken with sprouts, crushed peanuts and sweet chilli; and Buffalo Paneer with yam and black beans, chipotle and cilantro yogurt.
They were all good and all radically different from one another. The chicken was probably my favourite, the tender meat packed with a sort of tropical Asian flavour profile, nicely lifted by the peanuts and sweet heat of the chilies.
That said, the jerk pork was no slouch either and the pickled red cabbage was excellent, its savoury acidity playing off the pineapple’s sweet acidity to lift the spicy shredded pork, tempered slightly by the avocado cream.
Surprisingly, I found the paneer to be the spiciest of the lot and enjoyed the taco thoroughly, though I remain steadfast in my distaste for chipotle. I noticed a neighbouring table eating a “snack” of housemade sausage roll with grainy stout mustard and had to procure one for myself.
Priced at just $3.50, I found the snack to be great value relative to its size. It was like a giant juicy meatball surrounded by a flaky golden crust, quite possibly the ideal pairing for an ale or two. I opted for a pint of clean and citrusy, dry-hopped Oat ISA to accompany lunch.
Tacos, recipes for which will change seasonally, are available all day. Sauces and salsas are made in house, and all the meat used in the tacos is sourced locally from sustainable producer Two Rivers Specialty Meats.
Our tacos (four in total), sausage roll and a pint were $25. Bridge Brewing is located at 1448 Charlotte Rd., North Vancouver. 604-770-2739 bridgebrewing.com
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I was recently privileged to be the recipient of a complimentary bottle of Central City Brewers and Distillers’ brand new, limited release Lohin McKinnon Single Malt Whisky, the first such issue from the popular Surrey-based purveyor of local beers and spirits.
The bottle was dropped off to the North Shore News as part of a promotional campaign to generate chatter about the whisky. I have stated in these pages several times that the burgeoning craft brewing and distilling movement in B.C. is one of the most exciting things to happen to the food and beverage culture in this province since the explosion of high-quality Okanagan wineries in the 1990s and early 2000s.
It has added a vibrant new layer to the “source local” phenomenon and has introduced countless new palates to the pleasures of top-tier, small batch products that provide a welcome alternative to routine mass market goods that have attempted to normalize consumer tastes for too long.
The Lohin McKinnon whisky is the third spirit to be produced by Central City, following award-winning releases of gin and vodka. Lohin McKinnon (named after North Shore native brewmaster Gary Lohin and Scottish-born head distiller Stuart McKinnon) is made with malted Canadian barley and is aged in oak bourbon casks, imparting heady, fragrant vanilla and buttered toast notes to an otherwise subtle, restrained nose.
On the palate, the young acorn-hued single malt (coming in at a very manageable 43 per cent alcohol by volume) reveals round flavours of crème brulee, roasted, salted almonds and sultanas macerated in rum, with a faint hint of candied ginger on the finish.
This is a good pre-dinner whisky, accessible and welcoming, stylistically in the family of an Aberlour 10 or Balvenie 12, though with a ways to go in cask before it matches the complexity of these latter. centralcitybrewing.com
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.
