Brewpub Grub: Alehouse Fish & Chips, McMenamins Spar Cafe, Olympia, WA

Returning home after a pleasant baseball day in Seattle, two friends and I stopped for a nostalgic visit to the Spar Cafe in Olympia. My two friends had been long time residents of the city and had started immediately to reminisce of their younger days in Olympia and at the Spar. I was here for the food and a pint:

The food was fish and chips and the pint was a pleasant porter.

Alehouse Fish and Chips

The Spar's fish and chips is wild Alaskan cod, coming at you crispy and crunchy. Sprinkling a dash of lemon onto the fish and spearing a forkful of meat, you get a sweet and moist chunk of fish embraced with a golden fried coat. The dish also comes with fresh cut fries, tartar sauce, and buttermilk coleslaw to even out your experience. I also sprinkled a nice dash of malt vinegar over my fries just because I could. The portion of fish is enough to satisfy the fish-n-chips lover that I am and I walked away happy and satiated.

For my brew, I chose the Paeter's Porter, an alluringly dark ale with a fine chocolate malt character. I suppose that with the fried fish and chips, a citrusy IPA or hefeweisen would have been more appropriate. Instead, I chose the more sippin' porter with my meal. No regrets.

The Spar Cafe was family owned for 60 of its 70 years in town, until the McMenamin brothers bought it. It has been the hang out for loggers and dockworkers to students and politicos...and to my two baseball friends reminiscing about their younger days at the Spar.