ABC, as our local brewing company is affectionately known, is a great all-American restaurant and bar. They have an array of home-brewed beers, great appetizers, sandwiches, salads and of course burgers. I went with a group of friends all in the mood for a burger, but we split some starters first.
We decided on sharing an order of the mozzarella bread sticks and a German Monster Pretzel. The bread sticks had the cheese baked inside of them and were served with marinara dipping sauce. The cheese was gooey and melted throughout the doughy bread sticks. I wouldn’t compare it to a mozzarella stick, because their signature feature is the crispy fried coating. A more accurate analogy would be to the crust of a stuffed crust pizza.
The pretzel was absolutely delicious; it had a crunchy, salty outside with a warm, soft inside. The pretzel is served with two dipping sauces: a homemade Dijon called “Massatucky Brown Ale mustard” that was among the best I’ve ever had, and creamy sweet honey mustard. I’m from Philadelphia; I know soft pretzels. Try this soft pretzel.
Depending on your mood, the page of the menu with the options for burgers can either be intimidating or extremely exciting. Either way, everyone’s palate will be pleased. Hamburgers, grilled chicken, buffalo burgers, portabella mushroom burgers, sautéed onions, guacamole, roasted red peppers, jalapeno cheese, provolone cheese; everything is covered. I ordered a burger pan-blackened in Cajun seasoning with smoked mozzarella and a cilantro mayo. The burger itself was juicy and an excellent medium-rare, and the smoky cheese was a perfect complement to the crusty blackened meat. I chose to have sweet potato fries instead of the regular (because I absolutely love and actually prefer them to the classic) and they were spot on. Even the pickle was significantly above average (trust me, I’m Jewish — I know pickles.) Salty, sweet and crunchy, this incredible pickle made me regret not trying the fried pickle appetizer that I wasn’t feeling brave enough for at the time. For $8.75, I had myself a hearty, fantastic quality and stereotypical college-aged male’s quantity meal that I would recommend to anyone who appreciates good burgers.
If you haven’t tried the Amherst Brewing Company, you really should. It is great food at a great price, and it will probably remind you of your favorite all-American style place back home. If you’re over 21 of course, you should also really try the amazing variety of beers. According to their website, they make 29 of their own award-winning beers. Check out www.amherstbrewing.com to read about all of them yourself, and you can even buy the high-quality homemade beer at a price rivaling some of its mass-produced counterparts.