Bottoms Up

Quick hits… Amy Gutierrez, the beer buyer at Beverages & More says the Sam Adams beer glasses are on their way to BevMo stores.

Bad news: They’ll list for $7.99 each (the same price as the Sam Adams Web site.) Good news: She’s putting the on sale immediately. Don’t know what price, but I said how about $5. She’ thinking about it.

Also…the six-packs of Maui Brewing’s excellent beers have arrived and should be in BevMo stores this week. There;s Coconut Porter****, Big Swell IPA*** and Bikini Blonde Lager***. The Coconut Porter is unusual, special, a gold medal winner at the GABF. Find a backgrounder on Maui’s beers here. Note. if you follow the link, ignore the suggestion to go to my other blog. Long story, but the filed got trashed and the site is still not fixed.

And furthermore…Magnolia Pub & Restaurant on Haight Street in San Francisco has re-opened. Proprietor Dave McLean now calls it a “gastro-pub.” That’s an English expression for a pub that emphasizes food.

I went in there Friday everning. The place was, as usual, jammed. Only difference I saw was new black padding on the booths and the Dead-head murals that adorned the walls and the back of each booth were gone. Haven’t talked to Dave McLean yet, but in an e-mail he said there were big changes to the kitchen, the bathrooms. There’s a new bar, plus new table tops, made from lumber salvaged from the original Levi Stauss building.

Dave recently hired a new chef. Here’s what Dave said in his e-mail:

He is Brandon Jew. Most recently seen hiding out in the Richmond at the tiny but amazing Pizzetta 211, where he was responsible for their wonderful Monday night specials, Brandon has previously worked at Quince and Zuni. All three restaurants, in very different ways, are standard-bearers for the passionate sourcing and ingredient-driven philosophy that we revere here at Magnolia.

The new menu will be full of beer-friendly snacks. charcuterie, and re-invented classics like our local catch & chips or a fun riff on shepherds pie. Brandon has reached out to the producers whose philosophy aligns most closely with our own, bringing Marin Sun, Cattail Creek, Devils Gulch, Wolf Ranch, Liberty and other farms into Magnolia for the first time.

The menu has never felt more seasonal, nor more full of delightful hooks for food and beer pairing. Even the Prather Ranch hamburger has improved in recent weeks with the new bun from Cake Box Bakery that fits it like a glove. The most exciting addition, however, is the unveiling of our new sausage program(!), with a selection of five different house-made sausages (including a veggie one). These sausages will change with some degree of regularity and can be had on their own or with a choice of any two of our new seasonal sides.

OK Dave, I’m convinced. See ya’ on Haight.