I knew it as soon as my eyes adjusted from the blazing February sun to the interior of Mother Bunch Brewery — I was in my dad’s friend’s garage.
The exposed brick wall, the rock and blues music, the bare floor and giant bar reassured me I had walked into a man cave belonging to a 50-year-old. The bar was packed, as were most tables. The restaurant is a very open space, with a living room-like set up in the front, complete with brown leather couches and chairs. Tables line the north and south walls with a U-shaped bar in the middle of the space.
Columns and Features Editor Molly Bilker and I were seated quickly by an enthusiastic and charismatic hostess who also happened to be our waitress. She noted that a beer tapping would be occurring soon (if it had not already) and that we could try any of the new beers if we wanted.
Granted, I had my sights set on two of Mother Bunch’s own brews: the MB Cara Cara Wit and the MB Cherry Popper porter. Each beer was available in a 4-ounce sample for $2, which made it easy to try both without getting carried away. The Cara Cara was a traditional Belgian wit with tangy, fresh flavor, holding on to both sweetness and spice. The Cherry Popper was more of a heavy beer, with a very strong hint of — you guessed it — cherry. In fact, the cherry flavor was so strong I’d say it competes with the fruity notes of lambics I have consumed in the past.
Anyway, I doubt you’re here to read me rambling about beer. Let’s get down to business–the food.
We started off with an order of salty pork rinds ($3 during “traffic hour,” otherwise $4) which were tossed in some form of spices and served with a green salsa. The first one I bit was so hard and dense I was afraid I was going to break a tooth. But in the name of all things good and tasty, I pressed on. The majority of the pork rinds I ate after that were consistently airy and crunchy and paired surprisingly well with the salsa. It was a southwestern take on crunchy, salty bar food.
For entrees, we ordered the Western Burger ($14) and Brewhouse Chicken sandwich ($12), and upgraded one of the sides to Beer Mac ($1 extra) because I physically cannot pass up a chance to try a new type of macaroni and cheese. We tried to order the Roosevelt Reuben ($15) but they didn’t have all the ingredients for it. I’m adding that to my list for the next time I visit, because it’s made with duck pastrami and I really want to try duck.
The Western Burger was juicy and big, just as a $14 burger should be. We ordered it medium-rare and it came out with very little pink in the center, but was still impressively juicy. In fact, it was so juicy, I nearly had to take my watch off to clean up the juice that ran down my arm when I took a bite.
As for flavor, the burger’s barbecue sauce provided a powerful, zesty flavor that worked well with the ground beef and smoked tri-tip that topped the burger. The bun, a brioche roll, was large and fluffy but didn’t overpower the burger and its toppings.
The Brewhouse Chicken sandwich was wonderful, and I’m really picky about my chicken — if it’s dry, I won’t eat it. The chicken was shredded and moist, and piled up with toppings. If anything, there were too many toppings. The white cheddar paired with the MB wing sauce was incredibly pungent and covered any taste of the apples in the sandwich. Nonetheless, it was delicious, and I look forward to eating the other half of the sandwich for lunch.
And don’t get me started on the Beer Mac. It was definitely macaroni and cheese, but it didn’t taste much like beer. If there was any beer flavor to it, it was overpowered by a strong salt flavor. One noteworthy aspect was that it was topped with what seemed to be crumbled Goldfish crackers or Cheez-Its. It was tasty, and I enjoyed trying it, but I’m not sure if I’d seek out any serving size larger than a side dish.
We ended the evening with dessert, because how else do you end a food review session?! Where the entrees fall in the category of gastro pub, the desserts fall in the category of imaginative desserts at a gastro pub.
We shared two desserts — Old Fashioned S’mores ($6) and Fresh Fruit Clafouti ($8). The s’mores were quite modern for holding the label “old fashioned.” We were given a fondue pan of chocolate topped with toasted mini marshmallows, served with small graham crackers for dipping. The chocolate fondue wasn’t horrifically sugary, and the small graham crackers made for a fun and messy treat.
The clafouti, which is a French pie-pancake hybrid baked with fruit, was a more natural perspective on dessert. It was served with a scoop of vanilla gelato, and wasn’t terribly sweet, which I enjoyed. It reminded me of a modern take on the fruitcake, with far less added sugar and far more clout in the foodie world. My only dig is that the fruit (namely, strawberries and cranberries) seemed like they had been dried (not fresh) before being baked in to the clafouti.
In the end, we split the bill in half and spent approximately $25 per person, after tax. I can easily say that a three course meal at Mother Bunch Brewing can produce at least one meal’s worth of leftovers.
While Molly ate with me, she did not contribute to the writing of this review. She simply helped offset the cost of one appetizer, two entrees and two desserts.
Mother Bunch Brewing is open from Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight.
Location: 825 N 7th St Phoenix, Arizona 85006
Star rating (0-5): ★★★★
Contact the reporter at alacasse@asu.edu
