483146 Fri Jan 25 18:20:25 -0800 2008 3 6 Southwest 0 3333925 I can't believe no one has reviewed this place yet! My fiance and I had dinner at Santan Brewing Company in downtown Chandler last week. We had high hopes, because as I read in a comment from the owner of Four Peaks Brewery that was posted to an AZ Central review of Four Peaks, the owner of Santan used to be an assistant brewmaster at Four Peaks. We went for dinner after the inaugural "DoCha Vida Wedding Walk" (which was another story altogether). My fiance and I are HUGE Four Peaks fans and have been since we started dating in 2002, but we were a little put off a few weeks ago by the almost-hour long wait for a table there on a Saturday night. Combine that with our increased distance from Tempe, and we were ready for a new favorite brewery. We were not disappointed. The restaurant was busy on a Thursday night, but not overly crowded. There was some trivia going on in the area closer to the bar, including an announcer, but it wasn't too intrusive. I inquired about a beer sampler, which was not listed on any menu, and our server told me that although they did have a sampler, it wouldn't be worth getting because they had tapped their SanTan Pale and their HopShock IPA wasn't ready yet. I ordered the Oscuro and my fiance ordered the Sunspot Gold. The beers arrived in custom hand-blown glasses (see their website for more info). Both were wonderful. The Sunspot Gold had a more complex flavor than your average light ale, and the Oscuro was very rich and flavorful. The shape of the glasses made for great head on the beer. For a starter, we ordered the Raspberry Stuffed Mushrooms. They arrived and were beautifully presented in a large deep dish. I was somewhat disappointed that there were only a few mushroom caps (maybe 6?), which seemed a little light considering the price ($8). The mushroom caps were wonderful though - the pine nuts really set off the flavor of the stuffing, and they were accompanied by a few whole raspberries. One interesting thing to note - the plate was scalding hot to the point where I literally burnt myself when I accidentally brushed up against it. Prior to dinner, we each ordered a Hefeweizen. The beers were very good, with more of an orange-y flavor than most Hefeweizens, so that it was more of a mix between a White Ale and a Hefeweizen than anything. About halfway through the Hefeweizen I realized how EXTREMELY strong the beers were and that I was feeling a little tipsy, which is fairly uncommon for me after two beers spaced out over the course of 45 minutes or so. For our main courses, I ordered the San Marcos pizza, but substituted chicken for the andouille sausage, and my fiance ordered a Philly beer bread sandwich (which I don't see listed on their online menu for some reason). I didn't try his Philly, but he really seemed to enjoy it. He got a Caesar salad on the side instead of fries. My pizza was wonderful - the Chipotle BBQ sauce was perfectly sweet and tangy, and the other flavors mixed together perfectly. We have definitely found our new local hangout - my fiance even went there with one of his buddies the following Saturday for lunch! www.santanbrewing.com Fri Jan 25 18:20:25 -0800 2008 78130 asu2usc 1 3333992 I have never been to Santan Brewing, but I did have some HopShock IPA last weekend with a fellow hop-head - not impressed. Their hoppy brews will suffer in the future as they do not have long-term contracts for hops, and it was pretty clear from our sampling that it was inferior product; IMO, it was barely IPA, and quite low on the bitterness scale. Hopefully the place does well, but it really is a bad time to be in the beer business for a less-established brewer. Fri Jan 25 18:45:24 -0800 2008 3333925 67548 azhotdish 1 3334667 Have been there for beer and meaning to try the food... the stout was pretty good as I recall. Sat Jan 26 05:34:36 -0800 2008 3333925 95577 yamalam 1 3634022 Not wanting to cook combined with not wanting to drive far or spend a lot of money but try something new...we had dinner here last night. It's a pleasant spot...big and open feeling. Big outdoor patio that was crowded last night...the outside comes indoors wtih slide away walls giving the space a nice feel. Basic pub menu with some interesting choices. My husband immediately zereoed in on the lamb burger stuffed with dates, pistachios and smoked gouda. I was torn between a salad with chicken, oranges, pistachios, feta and a burged stuffed with artichokes, olives, spinach and feta. Decided on the burger. Both burgers tasted good but were overcooked. My husband correctly pointed out we didn't ask them to cook to a preferred temp. Don't know if they will accomodate a medium rare request or not but definitely worth asking. My burger was too heavy on the feta topping but did appreciate them being generous as I pushed some aside. I had a pub salad alongside which was a basic green salad with a few tomato slices, some red onion and some cheddar. The Balsamic Dressing had nice flavor but was thick and kind of gooey. Husband really liked his Caesar salad alongside his burger. I ordered a Hefeweisen. I am far from a beer connosieur so not a good judge. It was refreshing but different from other similar styled beers I've had in the past(sweeter maybe?) Service was efficient and very friendly. The meal was inexpensive coming in at $30. San Tan is close to home and had a nice feel to it. The food didn't knock our socks off but it seems like it's the kind of place that would be great to hang out at once you zero in on what they do well. We'll try a few more times to find those items(and to be honest the burgers would have been quite good if they weren't overcooked). They seemed to be quite busy last night so adds a little more oomph to the Downtown Chandler redevelopment. We hadn't been down to San Marcos in a couple months and it's always nice to see more and more people down there. I wouldn't recommend making a trip across town but if you're in the area might be worth trying. Sun Apr 27 11:51:44 -0700 2008 3333925 16406 ziggylu