Monday, March 12, 2012

Restaurant Review - Prison Brews

I'm taking a page out of my sister's playbook today in my blog post.

There are a ton of great local restaurants in Mid-Missouri and I am going to start writing reviews of them.

This weekend, Rob, A and I went to Prison Brews in Jefferson City. I've been several times, but usually only for a drink or two ... never really for a full menu.

When we were deciding where to get lunch on our way home, I used my handy Yelp app to help me decide where we should go. I am fairly limited with Rob's undying hatred for Mexican food (when all I want sometimes is El Jimmys!) so I knew I had to find some place to accommodate both of us as well as have a decent atmosphere that would keep A entertained.

And I don't know how the weather was where you were this weekend, but here in Mid-Missouri, Saturday was gorgeous! In fact, the right side of my face got a little bit of sun during this lunch outing!

When we got there, they offered to seat us inside or out, and because it was so nice, we opted for outside. After they seated us, I wasn't sure we made the right choice because A couldn't see the Kindle Fire or the iPhone and seemed to be bored. He doesn't appreciate a nice day out like us adults if he can't run around and play in it! While the waitress was taking our drink orders, Alex made the comment that he wanted to color, which we have an APP for on the Kindle. I told him he couldn't because we couldn't see the screen outside. He wasn't particularly happy about that statement, but didn't throw the tantrum I thought he would, and in that moment, I was glad we were outside with the laid back diners.

When our server brought our drinks, though, she earned a place in our hearts. She brought a coloring book and crayons for A! He proceeded to color happily and tell everyone around us what he was coloring and that he was hungry. We were, too, and despite getting our order in after a group of six women sitting nearby who were seated after us, our order came very quickly. We were impressed.

Rob had a beer brat with the sweet potato fries. He raved for the rest of the weekend about those damn fries. I wish he raved about my cooking for days like that! He said the brat was also very good.

I had a bacon cheeseburger with cheddar cheese. It was divine. The meat was spiced just right and it had that nice grill char on it. I had regular fries, which had been seasoned with course sea salt and garlic. To be honest, I am clearly still raving about them today, so I shouldn't judge Rob for raving for two days.

Alex couldn't decide between corndogs and a cheeseburger (though I'm not always sure he understands the difference between the two) so we asked him as the waitress was taking our order. In that moment, he wanted a cheeseburger, so that's what we got him. It came with tater tots and applesauce. He seemed pleased with the choice. He ate all the applesauce, about half the tater tots and at least half the cheeseburger. That was the shocking one. He rarely eats the main part of the meal -- so much to the point that I have considered only giving him one dish at a time to make him eat more of the good stuff.

Rob also ordered a sweet tea with his lunch. He said it was good and not too sweet, which is why I usually get half sweet/half unsweetened when I get sweet tea.

I also had Prison Brew's micro-brew Honey Wheat. A lot of people say it tastes a lot like Blue Moon, and like Blue Moon, it is served with an orange slice. I think it's better than Blue Moon and one of Prison Brew's greatest asset along with the great atmosphere and creative dish names with it's proximity to the former prison (which is almost just across the intersection from the restaurant).

There many other dishes I wanted to try and if I were a true restaurant reviewer, I would have tried four or five other dishes on the menu. I didn't need to, though, to recommend everyone I know going to Prison Brews for any excuse for a good meal and a great beer. There's a reason this restaurant was named best small business in Jefferson City last year!

1 comment:

  1. Glad you got such great service and food. The last time I was there, sometime during Summer 2011, we were served moldy beer bread on the beer bread and cheese platter. Not only did we not receive a discount on the bread, there was no apology, no nothing. The beer was fine, the service was slow (and it wasn't busy), the bread was atrocious. For me it was a total restaurant fail. The beer was okay though.

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