This food was made for beer. So it’s a good thing the beer at Pumphouse Brewery in Longmont is both tasty and plentiful.
Otherwise who knows if this bustling restaurant, with an attached bar called Red Zone, would be so bustling. That is to say, most diners in touch with reality and their own pretention, give a pass to fast casual bar and grills on the quality of the meals that accompany the beer, so long as the food is fresh and filling.
Pumphouse’s food checks off both requirements and then some. The most striking thing about the menu is its variety and creativeness. This is innovative bar food, elevated not by some exceptional quality, but by its clean presentation and the restaurant’s refreshing willingness to try something new.
Take the southwestern egg rolls for instance. A mix of spinach, cheddar and jack cheese, black beans, olives, corn and chilies are rolled into a thick wonton wrapper and fried. The spices within are hot and smoky, which makes for a nice kick. The roll was neatly fried, cut and presented, served alongside red salsa and a chipotle ranch dipping sauce. It was a fun appetizer, and it would’ve been stellar if it weren’t for a slightly over-salted and slightly too-thick roll, and a homogeneity of flavor that suggested the whole thing was intentionally over-spiced to blanket the ingredients.
However, that spice in the rolls was more robust than the other starter on the table: pork carnitas tacos. Avocado and pepper jack cheese covered rips of pork, with a “guajillo pepper sauce” and “poblano slaw,” at the base of the taco. They were hearty bites and tasted fine, but I was left wanting more flavor — the tacos hinted at something more interesting, but were refined to something you could stuff your face with at a bar.
Given the sheer amount of options on the menu, and the number of patrons Pumphouse serves (and has served for about 20 years), it’s no wonder that every dish felt like it had been tested to appeal to the most amount of people, while the beer, friendly service and lively atmosphere make more impassioned pleas.
The beer was excellent. First was a Red Alert American Amber. It was balanced, understated and easy-drinking. Also easy-drinking was the Long’s Fruit Lambic. It was sweet and sour, and extremely successful. The Fruit Lambic is strong in cherry and raspberry flavor, but its tartness is balanced by tropical and apple notes.
The beers were good companions to the entrees, too. First was the “flame thrower,” burger. A beef patty is covered in habanero-chipotle wing sauce (it has a very buffalo wing vinegar tang), sautéed jalapenos and gorgonzola crumbles. Once your mouth adjusts to the heat, you start to pick out the flavors in the burger. It’s a great sandwich to throw down with a tall ale, especially if you take pleasure in spiciness. Actually, only if you take pleasure in spiciness.
The “brewpub bratwurst” sandwich was a little blander by comparison: beer-boiled bratwurst with sauerkraut, banana peppers and spicy mustard. It was best when washed down with beer. The bread could’ve been better, though, and the french fries accompanying both entrees were a little flaccid. But they were salty and who am I kidding, I ate all of them.
Dessert was a mud pie that could’ve used a bit of dethawing, but it was a gloriously indulgent way to end an already indulgent meal. Coffee and vanilla ice cream with pecan crust and an Oreo cooking filling. You can’t mess that up, and Pumphouse didn’t.
Every dish was satisfying in the context of Pumphouse even if they all sounded better on the menu than they tasted in reality. The bottom line is I bought in, and I’ll return. As a bar and grill, it does the things you want it to: good service, reasonable prices and a family friendly and fun atmosphere.
