It's not unusual to come here and feel as if the crowd has devoured you. The ceiling's vaulted effect is necessary to prevent the bulbous tanks from overwhelming the room. They separate bar from dining room and set the tone of color, gray, that zigzags around the beams, gliding onto the floors and walls. The wait is often considerable, which you'll kill at the bar with a cold one and an appetizer. Ours is very rich and creamy but unpleasantly salty, and the round loaf of hot bread has a wet, spongy center.
Beer can take assertive food - strong cheeses and heavily seasoned meats.
For the godfather of flavors, the brewhaus has a wood-fired oven for pizzas and such and a pit out back for smoking Friday night marlin. Jambalaya is tame. Creole rice dishes generally aren't too spicy in and of themselves, which is where the savory meat comes in to finish the job. The pit that Van Rixel claims to have spent 18 hours digging is a handy hole indeed. We look forward to more specials from the hole.