I had to have a first........

and this is that first. So a few weeks ago I went to the Stone Brewing Company in northern San Diego county, Escondido to be exact. Stone is known for there big strong beers, not for wussies.

So I went up there for lunch and had a good time, the beer was tasty of course and the restaurant was amazing, it was like an industrial zen garden. The food on the other hand was mediocre, very nice presentation but some items were lacking in flavor.

Well, lets get to it. To start with I ordered the beer sampler which had Stone Pale, Smoked Porter, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard.


Ill talk more about the beer at a later date so lets get to the food. I started with Tilapia Ceviche it contained tilapia, onions, cilantro, cucumber, jalapenos, tomato and a special Mazatlan seasoning served with chili lime corn chips.


The flavor was okay, nothing really memorable about it. At best it would be described as Baja coastal seafood with a southwestern flair. It was a good portion for two at $11, light and kind of refreshing, not spicy at all. The corn chips were mild as well.

The next menu item I wanted to try was the Garlic Beer Cheese soup, it was a must for me. I love beer and I love cheese so put them together and you have something great.... well sometimes. This soup was loaded with garlic, a little to much if you ask me and I like garlic. The soup had the consistency of nacho cheese and there was a little bitterness in it which I imagine comes from the beer. I would have liked to know what beer they use, I would think they used the IPA or maybe the smoked porter. It had a nice little crustini in the middle , but was still missing something. It had also been sitting under the heat lamp for a little since it had a chance to build up a little skin.

Ok for the main course, it was Mac and Beer Cheese.....
On to the ingredients, macaroni noodles, basil, sausage, sun dried tomato, beer cheese cream sauce, and a bread crumb or panko crust on top. The presentation was awesome, nice big portion for the price $15.50. The cheese sauce was made from the Stone Smoked Porter which has some very nice flavors. This was a nice hearty dish and I wasn't unhappy with it but... there is always a but. I could have made this at home with Mac and Cheese and added Spicy Italian Sausage. The dish was very bland not a lot of flavor, the beer cheese sauce helped out a little but when you throw fresh garlic in once you have already mixed the ingredients together you are going to over power it and make it bitter. If they would have sauteed the garlic first then added the other ingredients the outcome might be a bit better. I know it was just Mac and cheese but if you are going to make it, then step it up a little.

So that was it, that was my meal at Stone Brewing Company World Bistro and Gardens. I would go back and try some other items from the menu but I wouldn't make it a point to drive up to Escondido just to go there. Try it and see what you think, then let me know.

Until next time... Eat Drink and be Rudy

Stone Brewing Company
1999 Citracado Parkway, Esc. Ca. 92029
www.stonebrew.com
www.stoneworldbistro.com