Ever since Sarah Pederson opened Saraveza in October 2008, it has been a spot for three things: hop heads, cheese heads (Pederson is a Wisconsin native; itās a Packers bar) and pasties. Not the kind of pasties you find at strip clubs of yore but the Cornish inspiration for the bane of Jim Gaffiganās existence, Hot Pockets. Eight years later, much is the same in the awesomest sense, but now Saraveza boasts a proper kitchen. Oh, the hearty pasties remain in order to aptly soak up a few frosted mugs of Breakside Wisco, the hoppier than thine cream ales, but now... now there are fried cheese curds.
Iāve only been to Wisconsin once in my life, but you betcha I feasted on cheese curds both fresh and fried. And the ones Saraveza chef Dustin Gettmann fries up in the pubās new deep fryer are the gut-bomb. Tender. Melty. Golden. Salty. And while the spicy ketchup theyāre served with offends my West Coast sensibilities, they would go great with a spicy beer, such as the kind thatāll be tapped at the upcoming return of Fire and Brimstone (Sat Nov 12), a fiesta of smoked and/or chili cervezas.
Gettmann worked at Saraveza back when it opened. Then he went on something of a walkabout, or rather a ride-about, having pedaled his way through lands and kitchens coast to coast and overseas. But the Pacific Northwest beckoned, and when he returned, he manned the kitchen at pFriem Family Brewers in Hood Riverāone of the finest brewpub menus in Oregon anywhere. When memories of veggie bowls haunt you, you know itās good.
And now there are veggies at Saraveza. I mean, perhaps not super healthy onesāthe butter lettuce saladās topped with bacon bits, the radicchio saladās calorically dressed, and the cauliflower makes like the curds in that itās fried, tooābut when aficionados tell themselves beer is salad ābecause hops,ā itās all well and good.
When asked to describe the approach to his menu, Gettmann said, āHumble food.ā Heās not vying for a James Beard Award with his fried chicken, yummy though it may be. Small plates like the lamb ānā pork meatballs go with whatever the IPA on tap is (especially when itās Russian River Blind Pig). In short, when we demand that restaurants have a good beer menu to go with the food, itās nice to see a beer spot not just have a truck parked outside but usher in a meal-worthy kitchen. And yeah, thereās an array of sandos from smoked brisket to fried oyster poāboys now, but itās still nice to be comforted by the calzone of the Midwestāa pasty.
Saraveza
1004 N Killingsworth
Open 11am-midnight daily