The Pickled Pig Pub is advertised on their website as a "gastro pub" which is a British term for a pub that has a higher quality of food than the average pub fare. They feature 14 taps of mostly craft & import beer, along with Miller Lite. I take it as a pretty good sign that under Miller Lite on the tap list, they say "A lot of us cut our teeth on this one. Don't act like you've never ordered it." I think it shows a decent sense of humor while allowing them to pander to the unwashed masses. They also have an impressive bottle list with offerings from larger craft brewers like Dogfish and Stone, to local smaller breweries like Evolution and Dominion. The prices can be a little steep when you compare it to picking them up at a bottle shop, but that's just to be expected when eating out.
The food menu was good, with a decent selection of mostly normal pub food, many with interesting spins, like the Bacon Jam and Blue Burger which features blue cheese and bacon shallot jam (whatever that is). They also have a "Build Your Own Cheese Board" option, where you can select 2 cheeses from a pretty interesting sounding list, served with jam, pears, sliced meats, and bread. I really wanted to try it, but we were so stuffed after our meal that we just couldn't. The service here was great, with a staff that seemed very knowledgeable about the beer. I was especially impressed that when Julia ordered a Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout and they kicked they keg halfway through the pour, they brought the half-glass of beer out to her free of charge so that she could still try it if she wanted to. I started off with a glass of Evolution Menagerie #2, a limited mix offering from a local craft brewer that is a blend of their flagship porter and a brown ale. It was a smokey, roasted, coffee-flavored drink that I enjoyed quite a lot. We also got an Epic Mayhem to split, which at $10 for a 1 pint .9 oz bottle was cheaper than I remember it being at State Line. I guess that's one of the few exceptions to the pub beer is more expensive rule.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the Pickled Pig, and definitely plan on going back again and recommending it to other people.
The flip side of this coin was the Rehoboth Ale House. With "Ale House" in the name, I expected it to be an establishment that has a variety of good craft beer, and at least a semi-knowledgeable staff. When we got there, we were greeted by a somewhat small sports-bar, complete with Coors Light banners and a plethora of televisions around the room. I wasn't too daunted at first, after all their website had a rather extensive list of beers available. Even though none of the beers listed were particularly exciting or adventurous to me, I figured I would at least be able to get a serviceable beer on tap. After we were seated, the same person who seated us came back to take our order. From the look of it, he was the only person running the bar, hosting, and taking orders. I looked over their tap list, and was somewhat shocked to find out that of their 11 taps, most were occupied by domestic and foreign light lagers, and their "craft beer" selection was rounded out by Sam Adams Oktoberfest, and a rather unadventurous amber ale from 16 Mile. The bottle list was equally unimpressive, with a large number of wheat beers, pale, and amber ales from various craft brewers, a few Belgian blondes, and some imported pilsners and lagers. I ended up retrying Victory Hop Devil since it was the only IPA I saw on the list, along with a North Coast Red Seal Pale Ale, since I hadn't tried it and know I generally like North Coast's beers. Still, it wasn't anything I couldn't just pick up from ANY local liquor store with a halfway decent selection. Julia had an Allagash White. To whoever selects the beers at the Alehouse I would say "Come on." If you're going to bother with a 90+ beer list to entice the craft beer drinker, at least put some variety on it. We don't want 15 renditions of the same style of beer from different brewers. And at least throw something special on tap. I couldn't believe when I asked what the 3 "featured kegs" that weren't listed on their normal list were, and one of them was Labatt Blue! You seriously didn't have enough adjunct lagers with Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, and Michelob Ultra on tap? I'm making myself mad just thinking about it.
On to the food. They had a normal variety of pub food, Julia ordered their chicken & shrimp over rice, while I had a chicken cheese steak. They had decently large portions, so that neither of us could finish it all, but at best it was just average quality. Julia said that her dish was one dimensional, with the pineapple sauce completely overpowering all the other flavors in the dish. My cheese steak was normally flavored if a little bland, the fries were not great. It was certainly edible but underwhelming.
So if you're in the Rehoboth area and looking for a good place to eat and have a beer, go to Dogfish Head or the Pickled Pig, but stay far, far away from the Rehoboth Ale House.
- Adam
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