Where I come from, microbreweries are known to have good food. But, as I have learned, many parts of the country (perhaps all except Oregon?) are much newer to the micro or craft brewery concept and have focused much more on the beer than the food. Arizona, though, while new to the union and pretty new to brewing seems to have struck the right chord. Perhaps it’s because there are so many damn people here from Michigan, but whatever the case I was eager to get myself a non-media meal at SanTan Brewing Company ( you can check out the media one here).
I snagged myself a pint of beer (Hazy Horse for those of you who care) and quickly moved on to ordering a meal. I went with the Chipotle Bacon Cheeseburger because it was topped with delicious-sounding foodstuffs like house-smoked chipotle bacon, pepper jack cheese, aged white cheddar, chile lime mayo and LTO. I ordered medium rare, without the LTO and with fries on the side.
It came out looking picture-perfect and as soon as I took a perfect picture I plopped that bun on top and went to work. It was everything I had hoped it would be and more. The bacon was nicely crisped, the burger was cooked exactly as it should have been and the flavorings just worked beautifully with each other. And the decision to go with double cheese should be applauded.
While the burger exceeded expectations, perhaps the fries were the most surprising thing about the meal. SanTan was not willing to simply roll with ordinary fries, but sliced them thick and battered them with ale before deep-frying them. It gave them a nice golden-brown crisp and soft, supple interior.
SanTan Brewing Company has definitely embraced the idea that not all people go to a brewery for a beer and it would be hard to find that more exemplified than in the Chipotle Bacon Cheeseburger.