Granville Island Brewing

Here at last!  Granville Island Brewing. The final restaurant participating in the Poutine Challenge.  I gotta admit, as much as I enjoy poutine, this was a bit too much.  However, it was much less painful than the quest to find the best Water-Boiled Szechuan Fish for the Chinese Restaurant Awards!  I don't think my stomach has forgiven me yet... This time around, Grace and Sean joined me in not only trying their poutine, but some brews as well.

Getting right down to things, we tried their Merguez Sausage Poutine which featured fries that were okay, but I would've liked to see the twice-fried variety.  I thought the lamb sausage was a nice addition as it added both body and a noticeable spice to the poutine.  There was ample cheese curds to go with the aromatic confit gravy.  We also ordered a bunch of other items including their Charbroiled BBQ Wings.  Featuring the entire wing that was grilled rather than fried, it was a nice departure from the regular.  However, there were some really burnt portions while some others the skin wasn't all that rendered.  Although the meat itself was juicy and moist, the flavours really didn't penetrate.

As much as their Charcuterie Board consisted of some quality Granville Island products like Oyama salami and soppressata as well as Benton Brothers brie and gouda, the board looked sparse.  We did like the sweet bacon jam though, but what was up with the sad looking grapes?  All was good with the Island Burger though as it was as tasty as it appeared.  Sandwiched in between 2 well-toasted buns, there was a lean meat patty that was charred until crispy on the outside.  It wasn't particularly moist, but it wasn't overly dry either.  The maple bacon was on point being crispy as well as the onion tangler.

Our last item was the Braised Pork Tacos.  We found the flavours a bit too mild despite the salsa and the pickled onion.  The meat was also rather dry.  With that being said, I didn't mind eating them.  Of course we didn't visit a brewery without trying out some bevvies...  So... Grace and I combined to get all the choices for their 4 x 5oz Taster Round.  Being quite familiar with all the beers on the table, there were no surprises except for the chocolate ale (on the bottom right).  Reasonably-priced at $7.00 for 4, it was a good way to try more than one beer to go with our food.  About that food...  well, it was hit and miss, but the burger was a definitely a winner.  That would go well with any of the available brews on tap.

*Poutine was complimentary*

The Good:
- Taster round is a good value
- Burger is solid

The Bad:
- Rest of the eats are hit and miss