When Heavy Riff Brewing Co., opened earlier this fall, the Dogtown microbrewery appeared to be following in the direction of watering holes like iTAP and Crafty Chameleon that welcomed food from the outside instead of having a nosh menu available to hungry drinkers. But now, Heavy Riff co-owners, brothers Jerid and Justin Saffell, have teamed up with the ‘cue crew at Vernon’s BBQ to add a food menu.
Vernon’s will supply Heavy Riff primarily with hot and cold sandwiches, as well as chili and other side dishes. “I’ve been drinking Jarid’s beer since he was at Buffalo [Brewing Co.],” said Vernon’s co-owner Matt Stiffelman. And Stiffelman likes it so much that he plans to incorporate Heavy Riff’s brews into what he described as “simple pub grub.” Examples include a smoky barbecue sauce featuring Velvet Underbrown Ale, beer chili, a beer brine for smoked turkey, and even spent grains for a wild rice dish.
“Those are things we are discussing,” Justin Saffell said. “We haven’t ironed out the whole menu yet.” Saffell also said he would like to offer Vernon’s smoked tofu and have vegetarian side dishes available on a regular basis.
While the majority of food will be cooked at Vernon’s, the Saffells are putting in a small kitchen at Heavy Riff for holding and plating food. Look for Vernon’s fare to make it way to Heavy Riff in January 2014.
This article appears in December 2013.