Taproom/Dark Horse Brewery

Taproom/Dark Horse Brewery

Located on

South Kalamazoo St.

in Marshall, MI, The Taproom is easily located right next to the Dark Horse Brewery.  First of all, I must say I am a little bias as this is not my first time to this establishment.

On this occasion, the place was very busy, and the servers reflected the chaos in the establishment, but in a good way.  They were focused and task oriented, but their hospitality lacked.  But in previous reviews I have had issues with servers goofing off and joking around, and that was not the issue.  They were just extremely focused and frankly did not have the time to socialize or greet customers.  I will say that when things slowed down (and yes we stayed long enough for things to slow down) they were very friendly and enjoyed or jokes about Opie Taylor having an allergic reaction, and yes the Fat Red Head does have s striking resemblance to Opie Taylor.  In the end it was refreshing to see servers stay focused on the task at hand. Service 4 stars.

The food as always was delicious.  On this occasion I had the ta Tanka which is their version of a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich $9.59.  It was an eight inches fresh French bread sub that was served toasted.  It had Buffalo chicken, banana peppers, red onions, mozzarella cheese and blue cheese dressing, and it was amazing.  This was the first time I have ever had a sub at this establishment and I must says I was presently surprised.  The freshness of the bread was amazing, and the ingredients melted together to form one of the best buffalo chicken sandwiches I have ever tasted.  The crazy thing about this establishment is that their menu is pretty decent, and I would go as far to say that it is above average bar food that is made in one of the smallest kitchens I have ever seen.  Their main downfall in my humble opinion is the size of their kitchen.  Serving some of the best sandwiches in the county with ruffles potato chips is a bit of a turn off.  This place needs a deep fryer (surprise!! The fat guy wants fried food) and could go a long way to putting the Taproom on the map.  Don’t get me wrong, I have never had a bad thing off the menu, but do feel they could do some work to improve. Food 4 stars.

On this day I also tried Sapient Trip Ale, and Fore Smoked Stout.  Both were good, and had their own positives and negatives, but that is a whole other blogJ  I will say, that if you have never tried Dark Horse Beer, and are unsure of what to try, always go with the Amber.  It is still my favorite beer there.

My overall experience at the Taproom was good (as always), and would return not only for the food, but also to see what happens as this place continues to grow and put Marshall, MI on the map.  Overall 4 stars

~The Fat Mexican~

Our latest foray into the local restaurant realm was lunch at The Taproom, the restaurant connected to and affiliated with the Dark Horse Brewery.  Much like Arcadia Brewing in Battle Creek, they are known for wood-fired pizza, but unlike Arcadia, it appears while not very expansive, the Taproom provides slightly more meal choices. 

I ended up ordering the 9 inch (cue Beavis and Butthead "he said 9 inches" comments) Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.  Toppings were bacon (of course), nacho cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, hamburger, and red onion.  The pizza was good.  I'm not sure how I felt about having the processed nacho cheese on a pizza (and I, unlike the other fat guys, actually like processed cheese, hence why I'm fat), especially mixed with the other cheeses.  The overall taste wasn't bad, but I think I'd pass next time and try a different set of toppings. 

I also tried several of the beers, only was a fan of the amber and the raspberry. The atmosphere in the place was interesting, sort of cramped; no frills but certainly not dirty.  Service was slow at first when only 1 waitress was in sight, but was much better when 2 more serving wenches appeared on the scene.  Overall, I would give them 3.5 out of 5 stars.  Had my food been a little better and had I liked the vibe of the place a little more, I would have rated them higher. 

The Fat Redhead

So here we go way down the road to The Tap Room at The Dark Horse Brewing Company at 511 South Kalamazoo, Marshall, MI 49068 .  Upon pulling into the parking lot you immediately notice the bike shop and tattoo parlor adjacent to the brewery.  It did not look like they sold bikes with training wheels and who needs another mother tattoo, so we went ahead and entered The Tap Room.  It was a decent sized establishment with pretty cool décor.  We found our door (actually a table made out of a door) and had a seat.  Service was fairly quick to and from the table as the place appears to get that standard lunch rush.  Since we did not have to go back to work I ordered a couple of their micro brews which I will not get into at this time.  I also ordered the Oh No! Bourbon pepper turkey, bacon, guacamole, pepper flake & pepper jack w/jalapeno relish on ciabatta 8.99.   I have to say that the sandwich did take a little long to come out of the kitchen but when it did Oh Boy!,  this was a good sandwich, great flavor, they use quality meat and bread. Attention:  This is a spicy sandwich so those who can’t stand the heat, well order something else.  Also, the sandwich came with Asian slaw and chips.  Chips were chips nothing special and the slaw well…. It was not good, not a soy fan.

 Overall: 4 Stars

 Service: Gets four stars, 

 Food:  Gets four stars (keep in mind this is a brewery and sandwich shop not a five star restaurant.)

********Fat Bald And Beautiful*********