Visit the Vintage Brewing Company website for location and hours. Don’t pay attention to the front page if it still says they’re under construction. They’re open!
Pat says: Tried the new Vintage, in the space previously occupied by JT Whitney on Whitney Way & Odana Road. What a nice surprise. I’ve dragged everyone to a few supper clubs, trying to relive my youth, with no success at all. Vintage, with it’s Mad Men decor, pre-dinner baskets of assorted rolls, and stuffed sofa waiting area, is the modern version of the places I remember. A bowlful of radish roses and crinkle cut carrots, and it’d be the 1960′s all over again. The menu is thoughtful – not so many choices that nothing is really well done, but enough that there’s a nice variety. Had a hard time deciding between the caesar salad and the pulled pork sandwich, went with the pork. The waitress mentioned that the pulled pork was spicy, and it was, but just the right amount. Fresh, chewy roll, tangy bbq sauce, and slaw to top it off – everything that’s good about a pulled pork sandwich. I’d like to try something different on our next visit, but might just go back to what I know is good. Except for the Sylvester Stallone movie playing on the television mounted above the fireplace, with people being chased through the sewers by rats, Vintage offers pretty much everything needed for a nice evening with friends – warm, well planned out surroundings, a menu with something for just about everyone, and really good food served by people who seem to care whether or not you’re enjoying yourself. I’d recommend that they take a note from Cafe Porta Alba and run an Italian love story (preferably with Sophia Loren) in an endless loop on the television…………other than that, couldn’t think of a thing that I’d change. I’ll give Vintage a 9.5.
erin says: We were excited to see what moved into the old JT Whitney’s location. The Vintage decor is still pub-like with dark wood booths, but retro with the lamps that Kevin said reminded him of his parents and retro objects like record players and fans and chairs with chrome plated legs. I like the fish tanks. We were kind of surprised to see a whole dining area with a combo lock on the door marked something like “staff access only”. Maybe they’ll open that up when the hordes arrive or maybe they’re reserving it for private parties or something. Last night, a Monday, almost every seat in the bar was taken and a little less than half of the dining area was occupied. We all had trouble deciding on what to eat. Everything on the menu sounded good. Pat described her choice above. I settled on chicken pot pie, Brian chose the Creole ravioli, and Kevin chose the gnocchi with shrimp. We were served two baskets of rolls while we waited a short time for our dinners. The rolls were an assortment, including a dark bread with raisins and a light bread with rosemary. I liked all the ones I sampled. The chicken pot pie was quite large with a huge biscuit topping and a spiced apple sliced on top. The interior was rich and dark colored with chicken, corn, pearl onions, peas, and other veggies. The biscuit topping was probably the equivalent of four biscuits. After eating a couple of rolls, it was more than I could handle. Even after all of that, we decided to share desserts. Brian and I got a cookie sundae. The cookie was hard, but the rest of the sundae was good. Pat didn’t mention that she and Kevin shared some of the peach rhubarb cobbler served with ice cream. They seemed to enjoy it. I’m sure we will be back. I am a sucker for chicken pot pie, but the rest of the menu sounded so good that we’ll have to go back to try the rest. Our server and the other staff were nice and friendly. We look forward to trying their beer in the near future. 9 out of 10.
