Forget Candyland, Canland AKA Golden Road Brewery Is Open

Golden Road Brewery debuted two new ventures this month: The Pub at Golden Road Brewery and the launch of their beer in cans.  The brewery is located just north of Atwater Village alongside the train tracks on San Fernando Road.  The pub is now open 7 days a week from 11 am - 11 pm and features 10-12 proprietary beers as well as 10-12 guest taps from other brewers that Golden Road respects.  The project is the latest venture from Tony Yanow, who is well known in the Los Angeles craft beer community for his other ventures Tony's Dart's Away and Mohawk Bend.  For Golden Road, he partnered with Meg Gill, who at 26 is already a veteran of the craft beer movement.

Both of Golden Road's two flagship beers are available in cans: Point the Way IPA and Golden Road Hefeweizen.  The six packs are $12.  At the brewery, several limited releases are available on tap.  These include Burning Bush IPA, EL Hefe Anejo (tequila barrel aged Hefeweizen infused with agave and mesquite honey), Festivus Cinnamon Bitter and Rye on the Palate.  On the day I visited they were already out of the Hefe Anejo and the Lost its Way IPA.  I was able to try the Rye on the Palate, which is pictured at the top of this page.  The Rye on the Palate was delicious; it is lightly hoppy, and the rye gives it that wonderful bready smell (though it can't substitute for a load from Langer's.

The menu at the pub is gastropub meets vegan, as Yanow is well known for his vegan offerings at Tony's Dart's Away and Mohawk Bend.  Customers order at the bar and are given a buzzer that goes off when their food is ready.  I tried the Sloppy Joseph, a grown-up take on the classic Sloppy Joe, which is made with stout braised beef short-ribs, fried shallots and house-made bbq sauce.  The sandwich appeared on the small side but it turned out to be quite filling as well as well seasoned.  The flavorful short ribs were overflowing the bun and I opted for the addition of the coleslaw ($3) which was light and a good companion to the sandwich as it was mayonnaise free (and vegan).  I saw several pretzels go out and they are huge.



The setting is comfortable in casual as the interior seating and bar itself are located in a warehouse style building that has been built out.  Concrete floors and a ceiling high enough to play basketball in are signature elements of the space.  Simple dark wood chairs and tables, including several communal tables fill out the interior.  There is also a retail area selling six packs of the beer cans and other assorted merchandise.

On my visit the Golden Road Brews beer menu was as follows:

Burning Bush IPA - $6
Either Side of the Hill - American Strong Ale - $6
El Hefe Anejo - tequila barrel aged Hefeweizen - $6
Festivus Cinnamon Bitter - $6
Golden Road Hefeweizen - $4/$5
Get Up Offa that Brown - $5/$6
Lost its Way IPA - $5
Point the Way IPA - $4/$5
Rye on the Palate - $6
Schwartz Stout - $5/$6

Several of the beers are available in small and large sizes.

On a warm day, the patio is the place to be as you can relax outdoors without being too far from the bar for the inevitable refill of liquid refreshment and with no waiters, you don't have to worry about getting anyone's attention.

I recommend heading over to Atwater Village and hoisting a pint yourself to check it out.  The craft beer movement in Los Angeles is truly coming into its own and it is exciting to have another solid brewery right in our own backyard.  I feel sorry for the folks who go by on the trains alongside Golden Road as they have to watch happy customers enjoying beers outside while they are trapped in slow moving tin cans with mass market brews, if they are fortunate to have any beer at all.

Golden Road Brewery & Pub: 5410 West San Fernando Road.  | 213.373.4677 | goldenroad.la

Closed on Mondays: Open for Business

Closed on Mondays, the brainchild of Aliza Miner, Savita Ostendorf and Marjory Garrison, is a recurring dinner series designed to support local food initiatives.  The dinners, which to date have taken place at Atwater Village mainstay Canele, take place on Monday evenings, when the host restaurant would otherwise be closed.  The dinners are a 3 course prix fixe with choices for each course and benefit a different local cause each time.

The most recent dinner took place on Monday April 4th and I attended for the first time, joined by my friend James and Jessica of TasterTotsLA.  The first course offered a choice of an escarole salad with anchovy-garlic dressing, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese or chilled fat asparagus salad.  I couldn't resist the asparagus, which were if anything even fatter than I was expecting.  This (above) was a simple and well executed dish, which depended on the quality of the local produce to rise or fall.  Spring is definitely here.

The second course was a choice of house-made English pea ravioli or house-made ricotta gnocchi with lamb ragu.  Again, the choice was easy for me, for although I do like peas a lot, lamb is practically irresistible to me.  The ricotta gnocchi were light and the lamb ragu also included a healthy serving of olives.  The meat was tender and well seasoned.  Not as mind-blowing as the version I had last year at the Tasting Kitchen, which is etched in my mind, but very satisfying.

We all finished with the burnt sugar budino, which had a silky consistency.  The burnt sugar on top was as thin as glass.  Each spoonful of the budino with the whipped cream was smile inducing and the glass did not stay full for long.

The beneficiary of the money raised from the dinner is the Garden School Foundation, which focuses on garden-based school learning in parts of Los Angeles where children do not get exposure to growing vegetables.  The cost of the dinner was $35, excluding tip and beverage and is cash only.

Check out the Closed on Mondays website at www.closedonmondays.com to learn about upcoming dinners.

Canele: 3219 Glendale Blvd, Atwater Village. Phone: (323) 666-7133.  Closed on Mondays does not take reservations.