Rhombus Guys (Grand Forks, MN)

Tall New Belgium Hoptoberfest and my
brother-in-laws Bud Lite with the pizza menu

10/20/12

We headed to NoDak to see our nephew Ben and watch UND versus Montana: amazing game.  UND won in the closing seconds 40-34 with a touchdown.  Very fun and my nephew chose to take us to Rhombus Guys.

The place was packed after the game, so we ended up walking around downtown Grand Forks (just as fun as it sounds) until a table opened about 45 min later.  The Blue Moose had an hour and a half wait, so this was the good deal.

Rhombus Guys downstairs

From the dozen or so taps, I tried the Hoptoberfest from New Belgium, but the draft was a little warm.  My nephew's Deschutes Inversion IPA was off, though I'm not sure if it was the draft line, the age of the keg or something else: just not 100%.

But, the pizza--spectacular.  We had the roasted garlic and nibbled on the remainder during the drive on the way home today.  Great hot and cold.  The crust is somewhere between pita and flatbread--delicious.  I'd go back from the pizza in a heartbeat, but the beer isn't up to par, unfortunately.

Rhombus Guys is a great name with a story on the botton of the menu online.  The focus on pizza and lack of beer knowledge can be read between the lines.  I love the story of Matt and Aaron, and lust after the great pizza.  Hopefully, some day, they will learn to serve beer as well as they make pizza.

Note: Adam of Rhombus Guys contacted me after a repost to TripAdvisor.  He says that they take great pride in their beer selection (which is very good) and that they are installing an upgraded cooler in the near future to address beer issues.  I was very impressed with the response and look forward to returning to Rhombus Guys again for some great beer to go with their fabulous pizza.

JL Beers (Grand Forks, ND)

JL postcard with The Abyss

1/14/12

On our last trip to visit my nephew, our plan for the night was to spend the evening at JL Beers to watch the Gophers/UND hockey game because the beer list is clearly the best in Grand Forks. Since it's a burger joint without vegetarian options, we had dinner at The Blue Moose instead so we could spend more beer time at JL.The beer stop started off well.  It's a small, narrow bar that's dimly lit, but we were seated quickly at a table opposite of the bar.  Actually, all tables are opposite of the bar because of the long, narrow design of the building.

I started off with Fargo Brewing's Woodchipper IPA that my nephew had recommended.  Nice beer and I like the support of the local breweries. Between the three of us, we also shared Deschutes The Abyss, Empyrean Winter Tilt FestivAle, and Widmer Brother's Nelson Imperial IPA.  Too my surprise, the Widmer draft was the best of the night, even over a draft of the legendary The Abyss that didn't live up to my memory of having it in a bottle.We even had fun filling out the free JL Beers postcards.  But, then the evening was soured by a simple request.  My wife asked for a glass of water and was told that they don't serve water, but they would sell us bottled water.  In an email response from co-owner Lance Thorson, he explained that there wasn't enough room for ice machines and water faucets in their small bar, and that bottled water is a better and more consistent product than local tap water for their multiple JL locations.  As a result, they can have room for more taps, cans and bottles of beer.

As for us, we finished our beers and brought our business to Happy Harry's Bottle Shop for some beer to watch the game in the hotel room.  While I don't doubt JL's reasons for not serving water, we saw it as inconvenient at best and irresponsible at worst to not have free water in a drinking establishment to help control for the effects of alcohol.  On a different bar stop a few weeks later, I noticed that I drink water pint for pint with the beer I sampled.  It's a part of the process to drinking responsibly, a process that should be taught and encouraged in all establishments, especially one in a college town.  To me the staff, while friendly, we're clearly frustrated by customers repeatedly asking the same incredulous questions about having to buy water.  While I understand the reasoning, I sharply disagree with it.  

JL Beers from front--as narrow inside
as it looks on the outside, but comfortable
and cozy when you get a table.  

As for the beer, the range of beers is worth the trip, and each beer we drank was well served in an appropriate glass for the style.  Nothing to complain about for the beer.  Since we're vegetarians, we didn't try a burger but my nephew reports that they are quite good and have a good reputation.  I also asked about serving a veggie burger option like Fitger's, Town Hall or Whistle Binkies; however, all of their burgers are never frozen and cooked with an "automatic top-side cooker that is setup and designed for our hamburger patties thickness."  A frozen veggie burger is a square peg that doesn't fit into their one size fits all approach. Before the water issue when getting our initial beers, I also got the vibe that sitting and drinking on a Saturday night was not appreciated unless we were going to eat, drink and get out of the way for the next customers.  While I will readily admit and applaud their dedication to craft brew, JL Beers is a one trick pony with limited appeal for me. 

Happy Harry's Bottle Shop (Grand Forks, ND)

After a disappointing stop at JL beers, we headed over to Happy Harry's Bottle Shop for some barley refreshments to watch with the rest of the hockey game between the Gophers vs the team formerly known as Sioux.

Like many high end beer stores that aren't the Four Firkins, they are a wine store that also has an above average selection of beer.  The back wall of coolers in this photo is loaded with a good range of micros and to the left was a cooler of bigger bottles.

We were there for a fast stop, so didn't survey it all, but left with plenty of beer and felt like I had to make a choice.  So, at least, there was enough beer to get me to think a bit.  Not a bad sign.  Left with almost the entire range of Leech Lake beers that I've written about recently, a bottle of Shipyard Barleywine, two bottles of Sam Adams Infinium and a six of New Belgium 1554.  At this point, I've samples all of the bottles except the second Infinium and didn't hit a bad one in the bunch.  Seems like Happy Harry's handles its beer well and moves enough of it to keep it fresh.  I'll definitely stop at this bottle shop again the next time I find myself in Grand Forks.

The Parrot's Cay Tavern & Grill (Grand Forks, ND)

11/26/10

Parrot's Cay is a very interesting little place that my nephew and I stopped at after a UND hockey game. Not the standard beer bar that I visit while travelling--very much a local joint that has a mixed bag of clientele.  

Evidently, they have very good wings--pictures all over the wall. Didn't investigate--being a vegetarian. Beer battered onion rings we had were good. Pull tabs in the corner weren't too weird, but the blackjack table beside the pull tabs was a new feature for me in a pub. Whole place has a grungy bowling alley feel--but no alley. 

For the beers that were there--30 or 40 taps--they were very well served.  I had a New Belgium Skinny Dip on draft special, which was good. For a committed beer geek, odds are low that you'll find something new here since the range is on the lighter, low key end of the beer spectrum. Service was by whichever bartender/waitress was available, so fast and friendly.  

Checking out the facebook page, evidently they do Firkin Fridays.  Perusing deeper, there seems to be a pretty rabid wing following and a Wingfest. A pretty cool--if odd--local place for a well served craft beer.