Brewery Menus Are Significantly Evolving, SoCal’s Golden Road Is Positive Proof Of That

When you think of brewery food, the norm is that you’re gonna see a couple of food trucks parked outside or that they have a bunch of bar food classics. You know, things like burgers, fish and chips, maybe some blistered shishito peppers if they’re fancy. However, many spots are starting to push the boundaries of what brewery eats can be with curated menus that go beyond the classics.

In Foodbeast’s most recent episode of Going In, the crew came across such a diverse and gastronomic approach to “beer food” at GoldenRoad Brewing’s location in Anaheim, California. As the Foodbeast squad ate their way through the entire menu, they came across the expected standard fare, but also found quite a few interesting dishes you wouldn’t expect from the standard brewpub.

One of the things that stood out with GoldenRoad was the selection of vegan food available. They have a plant-based calamari made out of braised young coconut that had Foodbeast’s publisher, Elie Ayrouth, in utter shock. “I have never seen anything like it,” he gushed, as the texture of the coconut mimicked a perfectly cooked ring of squid. “It retains the consistency and the texture of calamari, and the panko breading on the outside crushed it.”

GoldenRoad’s impressive selection of meat-free items doesn’t stop there. They also have a roasted beet carpaccio, an Impossible burger, and fried avocado tacos that Foodbeast Evan Lancaster loved despite having a slight allergy to the trendy fruit.

They’re not just curating their vegan items, though. There’s also a duck confit poutine made with tater tots, “beer can chicken” that’s flash fried and rubbed in achiote, and a twist on the classic shrimp and grits that brings sambal, a Southeast Asian chili paste, into the mix.

Every item sampled was given the same TLC that you would expect from an upscale restaurant. Combine that with the breadth of beers on tap, and you’re in for a unique and extensive beer tasting session highlighted by a menu of top-notch eats.

GoldenRoad isn’t the only place doing this, as other breweries like 3 Floyds Brewing Co. in Indiana, Brewery Vivant in Michigan, and Karbach Brewing Co. in Texas have similar concepts. Together, though, they and others are all indicative of a movement to merge gourmet restaurants and breweries into an unprecedented dining and drinking experience.