Elm City Brewery Review

Elm City Brewing Company, located on 222 West Street, in Keene, caters to locals and travelers alike. The restaurant and pub are located inside the Colony Mills Shopping Center, which gives it old world charm. The large metal brew tanks are seen through the windows as patrons first weave their way to the entrance. The atmosphere is one of merriment and the crowd is a mixture of college students, small children, and older diners catching up over good food and conversation. The establishment also hosts Happy Hour Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., boasting 35 cent chicken wings with choices of barbecue, honey mustard, or buffalo, and $2 pints of Elm City Brews. If you get a pint, you can also take the glass home for an addition $2.50. Now, I was not interested in the chicken wings when I went, so I scanned their online menu at www.elmcitybrewing.com. I have heard good reviews about both the dining fare and the drinks at Elm City and wanted to try it out for myself. I was debating over the Vermont Spinach Salad Spinach, which includes romaine lettuce, walnuts, raisins, sliced sharp Vermont cheddar cheese with maple vinaigrette dressing, for $7.99, minus the cheddar, or the Veggie Salad Wrap, with lettuce, tomato, red onions, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms and your choice of Caesar, bleu cheese, or roasted red pepper ranch dressing, for $5.99. I was really drawn to the maple vinaigrette dressing because its fall and I thoroughly enjoy hearty vinaigrette dressing. So, the waitress was more than happy to merge the two together and I settled on the Veggie Salad Wrap with a side of the maple vinaigrette dressing, which ended up being superb. The entre looked minuscule at first, but it was surprisingly fulfilling, and came with a pickle spear, and kettle cooked chips. My fellow diners indulged themselves with buffalo and barbecue wings, celery, and blue cheese, and we all agreed to go again on another Sunday evening. Aside from the food, Elm City will permanently be in my memories as the place I ordered my first legal beer. I was more than excited to try in-house brews for $2. I opted for the Old Castle, which was described as having a nutty taste on the menu, and held true to form. The No Name, an India Pale Ale, was described as "copper in color, medium body with intense hop aroma and bitterness." It was good, but I was disappointed they were out of their Oatmeal Pale Ale, because oatmeal is good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Elm City is definitely friendly to a college student's budget during happy hour, whether you drink, or not. Their main dinner courses run a little steep, but based on the wrap I had, I would be more than happy to try the Vegetable & Pasta Pomodoro with sautéed vegetables, basil, black olives, garlic and roma tomatoes finished with red sauce served over linguine with garlic bread, for $11.99. Elm City is a unique eatery and pub in an array of delicious restaurants, that aren't chains, in the Keene area, with healthy and hearty vegan-friendly belly fillers. Plus, their next round of brews included a description about kilts, so I will be there to give that one a try, if it doesn't run out before I arrive.