Sunday, September 7, 2008

Roots Brewing

After Table Mountain, Loni and I wanted to refuel. I suggested Roots, because they had just tapped some of their Calypso ale. This beer is brewed with Scotch Bonnet (habaneros) peppers and was a fantastic find at a recent brewers festival.

There was a century bicycle ride/race ending just as we grabbed a seat outside. Three teams of sweaty cyclists and their families were milling around on the sidewalk. I understand the biking gear, but jesus, people! Tuck that package to the back, my lumpy friend...

They apparently don't really offer table service outside, but the lady was nice enough to do it anyway. She might have been sympathetic to how badly we were limping from the hike, though.

The beer was all over the place. The taster tray didn't provide enough information on the selections, neither did the waitress introduce the seasonals. Oh well. The Calypso was fairly good, but somehow not nearly as spicy as the last time. The "Youngers Nightmare" was a 9% ABV monster that reminded me of Jaegermeister. I liked their red so much I got another pint of it.

I had a BBQ chicken burrito that was quite tasty. It had lots of delicious chicken flesh with a nicely toasted tortilla wrapped around it. The best part was the sauce itself. Spicy and interesting, and it went very well with my beer. This came with two sides: some decent black beans, and some very good coleslaw. Neither were fantastic, but I ate every last bite with no complaint.

Loni elected to go for a smoked pork wrap. Her meal arrived looking very similar to mine except her side was just a bag of chips. Really tasty chips, but still... Oh, and she got a peppercini, which made me a little jealous. Hers had the same BBQ sauce, but also got some horseradish, which added a little bit more zing to the meal.

Overall, this place was very good. I think I will probably go back to try more of their beer as well as alternate menu selections. I don't feel that starving and exhausted provides the proper mindset for evaluating a venue, so it's all subjective this time...

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