![]() ![]() The house-made duck ham-grilled pineapple-pickled chiles pizza has stuck around from the beginning for a reason. The flatbreads are a staple of the place, and are true to the shape, thinness, light sauce and cheesiness of the North African way. The smoked mussels in a curry-toasted grain broth and the pork belly poutine - a cheese curd-fries-gravy mess - stand out among the introductory plates, the beer-melon-salami-frisee number among the salads. The food menu goes minimal and shareable, with six small bites, five salads, five flatbreads, six entrees and five sides. The house creations go with a selection of rotating guest taps like Firestone Walker, Green Flash and collaborators-down-the-street Peter B’s. “We have a road map on what we’d like to do,” he says, with watchwords that include “seasonal” and “approachable.” Growlers and flights appeared last month. When new beers like the recent crazy skunky Double Cone aren’t debuting, cask beers are known to flow, as are whiskey- and wine-barrel-aged beers. One brew combines Duane’s World IPA - named for the home-brew supplier who secured its rare hops - with Fresno chiles. Hill has a nose for hops like Citra and Chinook, and downtown Tuesday’s farmers’ market finds like honey, cherries and exotic citrus. ![]() Mosaic hops and lychee accents in the Mai Tai PA American pale earned it a surprise best-beer nod at the California Beer Festival in Aptos in August. House IPAs like the tropical-pine Minesweeper don’t last more than two weeks. “I like to bring out the finesse of some dynamic craft beers while including traditional styles as well,” he says. After discovering his craft at Amplified Ale Works in San Diego, he has already created 30 house beers - old-school pilsners, cream ales and black IPAs among them. Hill, designed the formidable beers, and in so doing earns points for intuition and industriousness. An upstairs landing holds beers aging in whiskey and port barrels and various bags of malt. Vintage beers cans found on eBay and photographed in large format by Winston Swift Boyer of Carmel hang like banners. ![]() Beyond the bar, an open kitchen faces a cavernous 110-seat dining room. A dozen metal stools front the long bar and its 20 taps. Black-and-white micro-tile floors date back to the Regency theater days, setting off the entryway. The hardworking brewing room is surrounded by windows. ![]()
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