Overpriced, Underwhelming - Me Thinks Not

23rd Street Brewery
3512 Clinton Pkwy
Lawrence, KS 66047
Phone: (785) 856-2337
Website: brew23.com

Other reviews were mixed, but you cannot make everybody happy, so we decided to give 23rd Street Brewery a try when some of my wife's classmates suggested we meet there for dinner. For a Monday night, they were pretty busy, why I am not sure because the food was only "fair" and the prices rather "high". 

Five of us had to cram into a booth for four, so our meal was rather claustrophobic. The server was very nice and came quickly to take our drink orders. I tried a pint of their Bitter Professor IPA ($4.75) which, by the way, was not nearly as dark as the photo on their website indicates. It was very good with a robust hoppy, bitter taste indicative of a good IPA. I tried their More Cowbell Milk Stout (also $4.75) later in our meal. I love stouts, but this milk stout was not at all "milky" or as smooth as some I have had in the past, having a "burnt" taste as if someone had left the malt and barley unattended during roasting. I cannot imagine that it was intentional because it was not pleasant. One thumbs up, one down.

On to the food. The food is not abundant and the prices a bit high for what we got. I ordered the French Dip sandwich, advertised as 8 ounces of sliced prime rib "stuffed into a French loaf" with horseradish sauce, Swiss cheese, a side of beef au jus and seasoned fries. ($12.49). The first thing I noticed was the size of the sandwich, coming on a bread roll about the size of a hot dog bun, not a "French loaf". $12.50 for this I said to myself? I think the advertised "8 ounces" of beef was also a bit of a stretch, but it did overwhelm the diminutive bun and making it look like there was more meat than there was. The meat was flavorful and the fries crispy, hot and tasty, but the sandwich was a disappointment and the plate would have been a much better value in the $7 to $9 range.

My wife went with the Max's Mac & Cheese, advertised as "shell pasta in a creamy mozzarella, provolone, and cheddar cream sauce ... baked and topped with bread crumbs" ($12.99). Again, the portion was small for $13 considering that was all she got (a side salad is $3 extra), a plate of pasta with very little cheese sauce. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese has more flavor and I can buy a box of it for about a buck, so that tells you what a poor value this dish was. The dish was dry and flavorless.

I saw on their website that they have a "Mug Club" and their advertised Monday Night Special was a 24 ounce schooner of draft beer for $3.50 - for Mug Club members. However, I could find no information on this "Mug Club" on their website or menu nor did our server mention anything about it. So when she returned with my 16 ounce, $4.75 IPA, I enquired. She told me that for $50 a year "our regular customers" get discounts on beer. Well, I am not a regular customer and very likely will not be, so I guess $5 for a pint was not a bad price. Our bill came to a little over $38, $46 including tip, for two beers, a sandwich, and small plate of pasta, a poor value even in comparison to the routinely underwhelming and overpriced cuisine of Lawrence, Kansas.

Guess I will go to the liquor store, buy two good $1.50 to $2 bottles of beer ($9-$12 per six pack), and enjoy a couple boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese at home with my wife next time, saving $42 in the process.


CombatCritic Gives 23rd Street Brewery Four Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - "Elite '14/'15"

TripAdvisor - "Top Contributor" 

Tabelog - "Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - "Super Foodie"

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Title: Overpriced, Underwhelming - Me Thinks Not

Key Words: 23rd Street Brewery, 23rd, 23, street, brewery, beer, micro, Lawrence, Kansas, mug, club, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, TripAdvisor

Translation: BOHICA - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again

Nothing Is Free at Free State Brew Pub Where a Terrible $6 Burger Costs $9!

Nothing Is Free at Free State Brew Pub Where a Terrible $6 Burger Costs $9!

Free State Brew Pub

636 Massachusetts Street

Lawrence, Kansas 66044

(785) 843-4555

http://www.freestatebrewing.com/brewpub/

Mon-Sat: 11am-Midnight

Sun: Noon-11pm

Small Bar with Beer Barrels Behind

Free State Brewery … Free State Brewery … that is all I have heard since moving to Lawrence in August … “Free State Brewery”.  I have tasted some of their micro brews and they are excellent, but every time we wanted to try the food, the place was jam-packed.  Now I know why while at the same time wondering … WHY?

The reason WHY people are always outside the door on Mass (Massachusetts Street – Downtown Lawrence, Kansas), I now know, is because there is so little room inside.  The massive aluminum brewing barrels occupy a large percentage of the interior space, leaving room for a small bar and maybe 10-15 tables.  There appear to be more tables upstairs, but the rather large space is dominated by the massive beer making equipment, leaving much less room for patrons.

The reason WHY I wonder what makes this establishment attractive to their many customers is because our recent dining experience was UNDERwhelming!

We were walking down Mass last Saturday night looking at the Christmas lights and considering stopping for a bite to eat.  As we made our way north to the 700 block, I noticed that there was an absence of humans outside of Free State Brew Pub, so we went in.  We were quickly seated at a small table next to the bar and a four-top occupied by two attractive young lovebirds.  Let me digress for a moment …

What I am about to say is a generalization, but it is an observation that has become more and more frequent of late.  This lovely couple was sitting next to each other, he with his legs propped up on the chair across from him as if he were lounging in his apartment, not a restaurant full of people.  When they did not have their tongues in each other’s ears, they were both simultaneously buried in their cell phones, eagerly texting away, probably to each other!  I call it “social dystrophy”, the inability of many people, particularly the younger generation, but not exclusively, to communicate effectively with fellow human beings.  If interested, you can read more in my article “Social Dystrophy: Are Technology or Values to Blame”.

Brewery Burger with Cheddar and Fries - $8.80

Back to Free State Brew Pub.  The place was full, but not packed, yet the noise-level was high.  After 20 years in the Air Force working around very loud jet engines, my hearing is not great and I had a hard time hearing my wife from across the small table.  Wood and glass dominate the large open room, the lighting not too bright and not dim, making the setting comfortable except for the decibel-level.

Our server, a nice young man who never mentioned his name, arrived promptly to take our drink order.  I decided to go with one of two stouts ($4 for an American pint) on the menu, I tried the other later, a flavorful thick, rich chocolaty concoction that was complex, yet smooth.  The second, an oatmeal stout, was also very tasty and smooth with less complexity than the first, but it was delicious.

I ordered the Brewery Burger medium-well with cheddar cheese, figuring a brew pub would have a top-notch burger, especially at $8.25 “without cheese”.  The menu states that it is a “1/3-pound patty of Kansas pride, Creekstone Farms seasoned premium charbroiled ground beef on an onion bun, slice of onion, leaf of lettuce and a pickle spear. Hot fries stand ready to complete the feast.” Adding Provolone, Blue, Swiss, Jack or Cheddar cheese is an extra 55¢, bringing the price to nearly $9. 

When our order arrived, I was shocked by the size of the hamburger and not in a good way.  The plate was dominated by overcooked French fries that sat upon a single flaccid piece of wilted lettuce, NO ONION, and a small dill pickle spear hidden under the fries, leaving the small onion roll containing the meat and cheese.  That was it, a beef patty the size of a McDonalds ¼-pounder and cheese, no mayo, no catsup, no tomato, NO TASTE!  First of all, the beef patty was medium or medium-rare, pink throughout and NOT medium-well as I had ordered.  I added some catsup out of the bottle and rather than ask for some tomato or onion, deciding to eat it as is and thinking that maybe they knew something I did not … that it should be eaten this way, it should not!

Based on value, this was one o

f the worst hamburgers I have ever eaten … and people wait outside in the rain and cold for this?  Five Guy’s burgers, at less than $6, are eons better than this sad excuse for a hamburger and even (dare I say it?) Burger King’s Whopper is tastier, cheaper, and COMES WITH ONION AND TOMATO!

Gorgonzola and Mushrrom Gnocchi - $9.99

My wife had the Gorgonzola and Mushroom Gnocchi - $9.95 – consisting of Shiitake and button mushrooms sautéed with julienne red onions, then simmered in a creamy Gorgonzola white wine sauce with fresh made potato gnocchi and finished with sliced black mission figs, local micro greens and toasted rosemary focaccia.  Her dish was attractive and flavorful enough, except for the fact that the red onions had not only been caramelized, they had been burnt.  The burnt onion flavor overwhelmed the otherwise tasty, creamy Gorgonzola and white wine sauce which had just the right amount of the strong cheese which can be overpowering if not done correctly.  The gnocchi were cooked perfectly, not too soft and not too firm, making the dish a decent value except for the fact that the burnt onions ruined it.  For $10, a side salad would be nice considering the fact that sandwiches come with a choice of potato or salad, but that is not the case.

I honestly have no idea why this place is so popular other than the fact that it may have become “the place to be seen” by the local college crowd, the same folks that give Chipotle 4 out of 5 stars on Yelp.  The beer was very good, the food extremely disappointing.  Based on our experience and the few available options on the menu, I doubt if we will be back except to have a beer, but based on the size of the bar and the usual crowds, I also doubt if it will be worth the wait.

CombatCritic Gives Free State Brew Pub 5 Out of 10 Bombs … BOMBS ARE GOOD!

Key Words: free, state, brew, pub, brewery, beer, food, hamburger, stout, pasta, gnocchi, cheese, French, eat, drink, Lawrence, Kansas, Massachusetts, downtown, CombatCritic