LOCAL Houston | The City Guide March 2018 | Page 30

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE+LEISURE PERFECT PAIR There are a lot of great things going on at the dog-, kid-, uhhh, everyone-friendly PLATYPUS BREWING and we’re about to tell you as many as we can, mate. First, the beer. They’re GRREAT! With eight standards and a number of rotat- ing seasonals, you’re gonna like drinking Platypus’s (Platapi’s?) approachable lineup. Right now, we’re partial to the Imperial Stout (Chain Rattler) and the Mexican Lager (Ole Chit). Oh, and it’s distributed to over 140 restaurants and bars in town, and cans are coming this summer, because when you’re good, you’re good. Houston is certainly beer blessed, and Platypus is right up there with all your other favorites! Next, the building. Why, yes, this was the Drake if you're familiar with the old club scene on Washington. Now it holds the brewery (including the old velvet wraparound staircase), a small but killer kitchen, a nice open taproom and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating between the taproom and front patio. There’s also an event space upstairs above the brewery where they hold pairings of their own, as well as your next event. And the food. Considering the size of the kitchen and the amount of food being served, it’s really quite good, too. And the menu offers quite the cornucopia of options! Even some fun Aussie food. There’s brunch on the weekends and they run specials all the time to keep things interesting (follow the social media to keep track). But how about that Perfect Pair? Well, first, any beer goes with this beast of a burger. The 1/2-pound ground beef patty on a brioche bun is served with spent grain mustard, caramelized onions, Fontina cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, oh, and BACON. Have it the Aussie way with pickled beetroot, or the Texan way with jalapenos, or why not both? You can even throw on an egg, avocado or pulled BBQ pork! And you’ll get fresh hand-cut daily fries with the kitchen’s blend of special seasoning with every burger order! But what we did here with this Perfect Pair, cause it looks so purdy, was mate The Ranga (a redhead), a malty red ale, with the burger. Just look at that pair! Anyway, foodies, take note: those El Dorado hops in The Ranga balance the salt of the fries and burger, and the malty/caramel flavors on the burger complement The Ranga’s candy-like notes and stone fruit aroma. But really, feel free to pair any Platypus beer with this burger, and you’ve got your own special Perfect Pair. Good on ya! 02.18.2018 2:22pm By Mike Cook | Photography by Anthony Rathbun PLATYPUS BURGER WITH HOUSE FRIES + THE RANGA 30 L O C A L | 3 . 2018 PLATYPUS BREWING 1902 Washington Ave, Suite E | Houston, TX 77007 | 832.742.5503 www.platypusbrewing.com | [email protected] twitter.com/platypusbrewing | facebook.com/platypusbrewingllc 3 . 2018 | L O C A L 31