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Dinner and a Movie Teri Bayus

Dinner And A Movie: ‘Good Food, Not Bar Food’ at Figueroa Mountain

teri useBy Teri Bayus

The family that brews together succeeds together. Jim and Jaime Dietenhofer are a father-son team with a passion for quality beer and food and recently opened a Figueroa Mountain Brewing Taproom in Arroyo Grande.
They have focused on producing top-tier beer from day one back in 2010, when their first brewery opened in Buellton. They attribute their success, with now six taprooms and many more in the works, by using only the highest quality ingredients and having an exceptional staff.
Jim said, “We believe that success in this business like other Figeuroa Mountainindustries starts with building a culture that is focused on always improving and never feeling complacent with mediocrity, always striving to better yourself and your business every day.”
At our media luncheon, we got to sample everything on the menu and it was an expansive gastro-pub experience. With the mantra of “Good food, not bar food” they have set up a fantastic menu with some delightful new offerings.
We started with a flight of beer tastings including Lizard’s Mouth Imperial India Pale Ale, Dark Vador and Hoppy Poppy India Pale Ale. Each menu item, both beer and food is named for a local hotspot, giving homage to the area.
The Hurricane Deck Double IPA is named for Hurricane Deck, one of the most challenging hikes in the Los Padres National Forest. This double IPA blends four hops — Columbus, Centennial, Chinook and Cascade – to recreate the ruggedness and intFig sweet potatoensity of the trail.
We moved on to the appetizer menu, and the first hit with those who write about food for a living was the hand cut sweet potato fries that were battered and deep-fried and served with a spicy arugula aioli.
The next item was the Parmesan tots. A tribute to the Tater Tots we all grew up on, these were slathered with garlic butter, Parmesan cheese and dipped in Sriracha ketchup. They were delightful not one was left after it was passed around the table.
My personal favorite was the bacon wrapped prawns and scallops. Big diver scallops and Mexican prawns are wrapped in thick bacon and served with a pesto citrus dressing. But then came a surprise that was so delectable, I returned that night to have another.
Fig pretzlesThe Dietenhofer baked, beer pretzel was a thick, soft and hot, brown pretzel sprinkled with grains of salt and served with a Davy Brown Ale mustard and beer cheese. That beer cheese was inspiring and I find myself craving one every night around 9 p.m. This was a virtuous menu item to take-on the Dietenhofer namesake.
We moved on to tacos. There were three offered and I tried them all, with the Avila fish tacos — with crispy battered cod, cabbage, green onions, cilantro and a cilantro crema — being my favorite.
The “Grand Ave” street tacos with either tri-tip or carnitas were tasty, but I love fish tacos when done decorously. I also ventured to try something new in my liquid repartee and loved the Hopped-Mosa.
This is their version of a mimosa with the ingredients coming together for a nice, palate-cleansing and refreshing drink. It was made with Hoppy Poppy IPA, orange juice, lemon juice, organic agave, orange bitters and dried apricot.
We progressed on to the main dishes. The best thing about eating with other food writers is everyone is comfortable sharing a bite with all involved. Some wonder how we eat so much, what they don’t realize is we usually take three bites of each dish — unless it’s really good and then we stick a fork in the hand of everyone trying to taste it.
This was the case with the “Palisades” seared Ahi salad. Large pieces of perfectly-cooked fish was floating on top of shredded romaine lettuce with cucumbers, carrots, cilantro, tomato slices, crispy wontons, and a sesame soy dressing.
Another hit was “The Pike” carnitas nachos that boasted Coca-Cola spiked pork, black beans, tomato, charred salsa, and a cilantro creme. I enjoyed the seared steak bites that were served with basil butter, pomegranate balsamic, and whole charred vegetables. Anna’s grilled salmon with a ginger-soy glaze, tropical salsa, and quinoa-risotto, was an example of how delectable their main dishes tasted.
We moved on to dessert, which found us all moaning with pleasure and was the reason why Mr. Bayus returned with me that evening. The “tres leches berry shortcake” comprised of a not-so-traditional shortcake with blackberries and raspberries topped with a cinnamon cream.
For the beer lovers this place will become paradise and a regular stop. Give the beer guy (or girl) in your life a membership to “The Mug Club.” Here they get a personalized 25-ounce mug that you can fill with Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company beer every time you come into the taproom. It includes special excursions and a proper welcome with a ringing of the bell when you arrive.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing Taproom is located at 1462 East Grand Ave., in Arroyo Grande. Follow them at: @FigMtnBrewAG on Facebook and Instagram. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 11 to 11 Thursdays-Saturdays and 11-9 Sundays.

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