Brunch for us has been a streak of disappointments lately. It was only natural to be skeptical of a new experience. Bombers isn't known for any culinary feats unless you count bbq tofu fries. But brunch at its sister restaurant, The Olde English Pub, more than surprised us. J has been looking forward to trying The Albany Distilling Co.'s barrel-aged rum since our tour back in December. We saw a Facebook post for a drink special at OE and had to stop by. We're big fans of Crabbie's ginger beer so a Dark 'n Stormy was right up our alley. It did not disappoint. J picked up on some smoky notes but we both loved how smooth the rum was and it really is a perfect pairing with spicy ginger beer.
We're late risers so lucky for us brunch hours are from 11am to 3pm. The menu is small but covers your basic sweet and savory classics and some unique twists like a sweet potato and black bean breakfast burrito and Banana Bread Ale whipped cream on french toast. But how could we pass on something like the Breakfast Burger. You all know how much we love The Hollow Burger, so naturally we had high expectations for OE's version made with chuck and short rib meat, avocado, and fried egg. Even though the burger came out more toward the medium side rather than rare, the meat still tasted delicious. The burger was well- seasoned and the creaminess from the avocado and richness from the runny egg yolk made everything come together. They even seasoned the egg! Even the shoe string fries were delicious; perfectly crispy and salted. If it weren't for the The Hollow Burger's habanero ketchup, we'd say this burger is a pretty good contender for our top 518 favorites.
As for me, the specials board was calling my name. My go to brunch item is usually eggs benedict but housemade pastrami hash with hollandaise sauce with an over easy egg sounded just as good. It was a combination of my favorite benedict elements with another breakfast favorite. The potatoes had a nice crisp and the hollandaise was tangy and creamy, just the way it's suppose to be. I can't tell you how much I appreciate a well-seasoned dish. The pastrami was remeniscent of Montreal smoked meat and while a bit tough, had great flavor. Plus I finally got toast that wasn't stale nor heavily buttered! What a bonus that it was rye toast too, one of my favorites.
The brunch fairies have finally smiled down upon us. The Olde English Pub is more than the little house with beer in it. We've got to get down here more often.
This visit was slightly different than our normal outings, inasmuch as food wasn't really involved and there was a cat.
We
visited the Albany Distilling Co., which bills itself the first legal
distillery in Albany since the prohibition era. Currently, they offer 3
types of whiskey and a rum batch. We were informed that the next batch
of rum was being aged in whiskey barrels, which sounds delicious so keep
an eye out for that some time this January.
The
Albany Distilling Co. is a small business that opened not too long ago in 2011. It's located next to The Albany Pump Station, perfect for grabbing a beer while waiting for a tour. There were only 3 people there
when we dropped by, and as far as I gathered that was the entire staff.
The equipment and ingredients, however, were top notch and the
distiller knew his field. Our entire tour took place in a single room,
as well as the sampling, where we were shown the ingredients going into
the mash (all of the whiskey grains were grown within New York State), different
batches in stages of fermentation or aging, and took a couple shots of
the finished products.
