Not only does Patina have a great patio, it has great food and beer

This is my current favorite beer right oiw, Thai Lager.

Hints of Lemongrass and ginger in a refreshing light lager. Apparently you can turn it into a raddler with a side of lemonade. I’ll try that next time. Awesome beer.

Now on to the star of the evening. The candied bacon.

The first time I had it it changed my world.

I’m not 100% sure how they do it, most likely in the smoker. But I tried making it at home. Dipped into brown sugar and baked it was pretty close.

At any rate it’s so good I had to have a second order.

I also tried the pulled pork sliders. The pulled pork was excellent however the bun could have been a little fresher. That might be the professional Baker in me being a tad too picky I’m not sure.

Finished it all off with a passion fruit cider.

Can’t say as I I’ve ever had one of those before. But it was good. Fruity and refreshing. 

The one dissapoiting thing tonight was the service. The server was friendly enough but wasn’t very attentive. There were times we were waiting more than a few minutes to order our next round. Granted it was Friday night and fairly busy but there was no shortage of servers. Not the end of the world, we weren’t in any hurry.

I really though a very pleasant evening on a beautiful Summer’s night drinking some excellent beer with great friends.

8/10

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Now what’s better than enjoying Victoria day weekend sitting on a patio drinking beer and eating good food. With the dog no less.

I started with a flight.

From left to right:

1. Strawberry Kiwi Sour.

 Apparently the kiwis are grown locally which to me I found unbelievable at first until I researched it and found that yes there are some kiwis that grow on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Who knew?

At any rate I didn’t find this beer particularly sour. It was fruit forward and it was refreshing but not my first choice.

2. Peach Passion fruut Sour.

This is my kind of beer. Here too the peaches are BC grown.

From their website; “This sour brings the perfect balance between fruity sweetness and a gentle, lingering sourness”

However to me that sourness actually kicked my ass a little. Which I like. What’s the point of a sour if it’s not sour?

3. Amber lager

This is a fairly typical dark lager to me. Didn’t quite fit with the sours unfortunately but I generally like this type of lagger a lot. It has a nutty and deep flavor.

4. Thai lager

Here we have something a little bit different. Like a lot of beers today there’s lime present but there’s an underlying savory note. I couldn’t quite pinpoint it at first thinking perhaps it was lemongrass and it turns out that’s part of it. It also has ginger and calamansi. For most of you out there (like me as well) a calamansi is a citrus hybrid, also known as a Philippine lemon.

I enjoyed it so much I brought a four pack right from the brewery. Which if you want some of this you might have to do yourself as they aren’t in many liquor stores other than in the direct area. Hopefully their brand grows and more of their great beers get recognized.

And now for the barbecue!

I had a pulled pork bun which with white Alabama barbecue sauce.

Very tender and tasty pulled pork on a super Fresh bun with the mayonnaise based white Alabama barbecue sauce. Beautiful all around. They do a really nice fry here too. The coleslaw I could do without. It’s pretty plain.

Merilynn went with the ribs.

Okay yeah the ribs could use a little work. I would say a few more hours in the smoker would make these a really good rib. They weren’t quite tender enough and there was quite a lot of gristle.

I do a good rib at home myself, so this isn’t something I’d ever order out. And I do believe in a simmering ribs as it does melt all that collagen. So ribs at my house are completely fall off the bone and nothing but tender meat.

Merilynn did enjoy them however she did say my ribs are better.

And hopefully you notice that candied bacon on that tray as well.

This is one of my favorite things ever.

I mean it’s bacon. And they candy it.

It’s absolutely phenomenal.

We definitely had three different experiences today though

My meal was great.

Merilynn’s meal was good, but ribs need a little more time in the smoker.

But unfortunately my friend John did not care for his pulled pork tacos. His main complaint was an overall lack of flavor.

8/10

Bring River out for some beer and BBQ

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So we’re driving through downtown POCO on our way home. I’m starving but we have the mutt with us. It suddenly occurs to me we’re within spitting distance of a dog friendly patio at Patina.

I was here last year with a buddy and the food was very good.n

Read that post here

I have some pretty fond memories of that last visit. The candied bacon changed my world. Everything is all ready better with bacon. Candy it, and it will change your world.

It was just as good this time. I got more maple flavour from tonight versus last time. I’m guessing they candy it with some brown sugar and maple syrup. Astoundingly good.

We also had the cornbread. Remember last time here I wasn’t all that impressed with it but today I much more enjoyed it. The blackberry honey butter that comes with it is particularly good. My only complaint would be that it served stone cold. I’ve always found cornbread better fresh and hot out of the oven. Oh well can’t have everything can I?

We also tried the pulled pork tacos and the smoky brussel sprouts.

The brussel sprouts are Juno approved.

They were beautiful. Crispy with a great char on the outside.

They are smoked for 2 hours and then deep fried. I don’t know if brussels sprouts can get any better. We had the sweet chili sauce. The flavor from the smoke and a char was incredible. And the sweet chili gives it an amazing overall flavor. Who said brussel sprouts tasted bad?

On that plate is also the pulled pork tacos.

That’s as good as any Taco I’ve had in Mexico.

The pulled pork is amazing. So tender. With coleslaw and a sweet Memphis barbecue sauce the smashing together of Southern food and Mexican food is incredible. Honestly I’m beginning to think I have a little of the South in my genes the way I love barbecue so much.

And no we’re not done yet. Bring on the meatwich.

We went with the brisket.

I mean come on why not?

Tender, juicy, smoky brisket on a bun with barbecue sauce. Doesn’t really get much better than that. The bun was super fresh and the fries were super crispy. Yum!

We couldn’t actually finish all this food at the restaurant so we took the meatwich home. It was just as good, if not better, cold.

I had one of their in-house dry Irish stouts. It was super cold and really dark. It’s good as it’s not as heavy as a Guinness but it looks like one. Love the caramel elements that come through. Probably my favorite kind of beer.

So, if you’re looking for a dog friendly patio and some fantastic barbecue and you’re anywhere near Shaunrssy Street in POCO a stop at Patina Brewing Co. would be a great choice.

Food 8/10

Candied bacon 10/10

Dog friendly patio 10/10

Overall 9/10

I highly recommend Patina Brewing Co

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Just off Shaunessy in Downtown POCO you will find Patina, a Micro-brewery and BBQ spot.

Good BBQ is truly a work of art. The effort that goes into making pulled pork, brisket, ribs and sausage is extensive.

So when I find good BBQ I get quite excited.

Well let me just say I am quite excited about Patina.

This is some good BBQ.

I had the pulled pork.

The pulled pork was excellent. Tender, moist, and full of flavor.

That bacon at the back of the plate we will get to later.

For a side I tried the cornbread with Blackberry honey butter.

The cornbread was the only disappointing aspect of my meal. It was not corn-y. The blackberry honey butter was fantastic though. Going to be making that myself.

I had their in-house Juicy IPA. Lots of fruit flavours in this beer. I got mostly peach and mango. And for an IPA not very bitter, the reason I usually avoid IPAs.

Now to the star of the show.

The candied bacon.

Mind blown!

The caramelly crispy goodness was incredible. This is actually the second order of the evening as the first was so good. I could probably eat a whole plate of this stuff.

They have a great patio which we enjoyed. And I was surprised to learn that rover is welcome on the patio too! We will definitely be bringing Juno for a visit.

So let’s sum up.

Pros –

* Great beer

* Great BBQ

* Mind blowing bacon

* Dog friendly patio

Cons –

Sub par cornbread

Overall we had a great time. My food was   excellent. The patio has great ambiance. And you can bring your dog. Doesn’t get much better on a sunny afternoon.

9/10 for Patina!

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