Oaken Barrel Brewing Company

Chris Rowland : There was a lot of corned beef and sauerkraut on this sandwich, and the Swiss cheese was pretty good. We could not discern any thousand island dressing on the sandwich at all, even though it was advertised on the menu. This was somewhat disappointing. The bottom of the sandwich was very soggy, and the kraut taste was so strong that I thought it gave it a rather briny taste. This was a good place to take our boys, because they were given free "Wikki Stix" to play with while we waited, and to take home afterwards. I was somewhat disappointed that their unorthodox ingredient of "roasted red peppers" were added in such a small quantity that they didn't seem to affect the Reuben taste of the sandwich at all--I was hoping to at least taste a difference. The restaurant itself was like a crowded cave--very loud and very dark. (2003-06-06)

Katherine Rowland : When I go out, I want to see and be seen. Neither of those happened at the Oaken Barrel, where the darkness enfolded our booth and made me wonder why the heck I'd bothered with pantyhose and high heels. I immediately ordered a Snake Pit Porter to salve my disappointment, and that was the highlight of the evening. I mean, obviously a brewing house is going to have good beer, but it was nice to drink beer that really proved the point. It was excellent, rich and full without too much bitterness, and it was an excellent companion to the reuben sandwich when it came. I was mildly disappointed in the reuben, having eaten at the Oaken Barrel before and thus having fond memories of the food. Maybe they got cocky and thought, "Hey, a sandwich, we can do that with our eyes closed." Whatever it was, there was NO thousand island dressing, which was irritating when it had been billed as being part of the meal. I hate getting partway through and then having to make that decision about whether to finish without or wait for the waitress to fetch me some dressing. I opted for the latter, and it helped. I didn't notice the briny taste Chris mentioned, but that could just be the Porter talking. I found that the amount of red pepper on the sandwich was so miniscule as to be pointless, and I felt that there was perhaps too large a portion of sauerkraut, which ended up making the bottom of the reuben a soggy mess that got all over my hands. Halfway through the reuben my (very good) Porter ran out and I asked for the Razz-Wheat, which they were out of. Instead I wound up with the King Rudi Heifeweizen, a light pilsner/ale type thing. It was good, with a light, clean taste and a haunting lemony twist, but it was far too wimpy to stand up to the reuben. The fries were excellent. I finished my meal with the Chocolate Ambassadeur Cake, which was advertised by the server as being composed of chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate. It lived up to its reputation, and, since it was almost my birthday, I washed it down with another helping of Porter. End result? I left the Oaken Barrel enamoured of their beer, but entirely indifferent to their reuben. (2003-06-06)