Whether it’s two of a kind or opposites that attract, these 38 items at brewpubs and winery restaurants are perfectly paired.
Tylar Sutton
Tylar Sutton
High & Low Winery & Bistro: Yin & Yang
Dining out is often preceded by a similar question: What are you in the mood for?
It can quickly turn into a debate since our moods and appetites change, so choosing between casual, classy and scenic restaurants can sometimes feel like a compromise.
Matt and Kate Snyder had done that dance when planning dates and leaned into the concept when they opened High & Low Winery & Bistro in 2015 on a 35-acre Medina farm owned by Matt’s family. “Why not create a place that can cater to all of those moods in one space,” he says, “and just have fun with it?”
Whether you want elegant charcuterie or homestyle chicken noodle soup, dishes cover myriad cravings, and pop culture-inspired names add delight. You won’t go hungry at this winery, with filling fare including the Good Golly, Miss Molly panini ($11.50), a fave among yogis who attend classes the winery hosts. Similar to California-style sandwiches, it has turkey and avocado, but creamy mozzarella and zingy pesto, especially, add a yummy contrast.
“What makes it pop is the avocado and pesto, which surprisingly works well together,” Matt says. This kind of sandwich is often served cold, but High & Low’s is warmed on a specialty press, marrying the ingredients together for one toasty, gooey bite.
That big taste is offset well by the Windows Open and the Stars Bright (bottle $22), a clean sauvignon blanc fancifully named after an Ernest Hemingway quote. Although the winery grows grapes visible from the beautiful patio, deck and balconies, California grapes make up this dry white with subtle peach notes that don’t overpower the panini.
“It’s got crisp acidity, which tempers the fatty juiciness from the turkey and avocado,” Matt says. “With pairing, it’s not so much to double down on the flavor profiles but to create balance. It’s a yin and yang.”
Enjoy your meal in the lower rustic tasting area with a reclaimed barnwood fireplace and a light-up “Get Low” sign or the upper tasting room that boasts dramatic cathedral ceilings and to-the-nines crystal chandeliers — or stop by both. High & Low is a place where you can have it all.
Craving more? Chocolate mousse bomb, $6.50, and King of the Heavies cabernet franc, bottle $26, wine delivery available, 844-466-4456, 588 Medina Road, Medina, highandlowwinery.com
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Tylar Sutton
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Tylar Sutton
Royal Docks Brewing Co.: Mix & Mingle
Nothing connects us quite like food. Royal Docks Brewing Co. is a place where you can bring a few friends, knock back some beers and split unique share plates.
Royal Docks offers a twist on a traditional Mexican street corn salad — a chilled version ($10). Dig in for mouthfuls of corn and chopped red peppers, red onions, green onions and jalapenos. It’s mixed with sour cream, mayonnaise and crumbly Mexican cotija cheese. Expect flavors of cumin, paprika and black pepper, which are tossed in, and an avocado topping that cools it all down. Order it with tortilla chips to divide out the bright, spicy salad and scoop it up with friends.
“It’s a crispy, crunchy bite, and you have a bit of spice because of the heat of the jalapenos,” says Heather Reahm, kitchen manager for both of Royal Docks’ Canton-area locations. “You can taste every single ingredient when you’re eating it.”
Pair the flavor-packed dish with the Hödfellow German-style Pilsner ($5.50), one of Royal Docks’ lightest beers, which “drinks crisp.”
If you bring a date, the lamb lollipops ($19.50) are the way to go. Four bones are covered in seasoned panko breadcrumbs, baked, seared to medium rare on the grill and cut into sets of two bones. Goat cheese atop the lollipops is melted until golden brown. “It’s very tender, and that cheese gives it a good flavor that matches with the lamb,” Reahm says. “We wanted something different and a little more high-end, a bit more fancy.”
It gets an artful presentation with a bed of spinach and heirloom tomatoes sauteed in garlic butter displaying the lamb lollipops with bones interlocked. Enjoy that paired with the Dare India pale ale ($6.50), an “aggressively hopped” citrusy beer, inside the Foeder House & Kitchen location, which opened in June, or outside on its year-round patio with two fire pits.
“As long as it’s not raining or snowing, we’ll have the fire pit on,” Reahm says. “People like to go out there with their hoodies and sit around the fire.”
Craving more? Mussels, $15-28, and Docktoberfest märzen, $5.50, delivery available, 330-353-9103, Foeder House & Kitchen, 2668 Easton St. NE, Plain Township, docks.beer
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Tylar Sutton
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Tylar Sutton
Blue Heron Brewery: Bright Lights
Heavy bar foods are the go-to companion for beer, but Blue Heron Brewery in Medina makes the case that eating and drinking light enhances flavors all around.
Brewmaster and co-owner Mike Piazza tweaks the brewing process to lighten up his Hazy Wife, Hazy Life IPA ($6.50). Whereas typical hazies and India pale ales are bitter and made by putting in a lot of hops early in the boil, Piazza adds citrusy Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo hops toward the end of the boil and after fermentation. This preserves the sweet and sour flavors of the hops, while eliminating the heavy bitter taste.
“It has a soft mouthfeel, and it gives you these bright citrus flavors that appeal to your taste buds,” he says. “It leaves you with a taste of orange rind and lemon rind [and] cleans your palate to get you ready for your next sip.”
The beer’s refreshing taste amplifies the bright snap of the jalapeno lime agave vinaigrette drizzled atop the Southwestern orzo shrimp salad ($15).
Fresh-off-the-grill Parmesan garlic-roasted shrimp topping a cold mix of orzo, charred corn, black beans, cilantro, lime and cotija cheese make eating this dish a vivid experience.
“It’s truly an orchestration of textures and temperatures,” Piazza says. “You’ve got your hot and cold, and you’ve got your acidic.”
The pairing is the perfect pick to savor in the dining room that has gorgeous views or on one of the three expansive patios that are open year-round.
“It’s a very light dish to mesh with a light beer,” says executive chef and co-owner Ben Erjazec. “It’s great to enjoy while sitting on the patio where it’s peaceful — like dining in a park.”
Craving More? Mediterranean ahi tuna salad, $14, and Matrimony cream ale, $6.50, curbside pickup available, 3227 Blue Heron Trace, Medina, 330-870-2583, blueheronmedina.com
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Garrett’s Mill & Brewing Co.: Wheel Deal
Garrettsville started with a single water-powered grist mill in 1804, and over two centuries later, you can dine and drink inside its olden building at Garrett’s Mill & Brewing Co.
The brewpub ties into local history with the Ma Barker birch beer ($5-$6), named after the mother of a notorious mob that did a train heist in Garrettsville — when she was gunned down, she apparently had a recipe for hard birch beer on her. It’s made with birch extract, as well as lactose and local maple syrup, and it often fools customers.
“Most people say, Oh my gosh, this tastes like root beer, and, Is this really beer? Yes, it is,” says co-owner Shelli Buchanan.
The beer makes a reappearance in the barbecue chicken Gouda mac ($16.99) that’s served with a side salad. The dish has Gouda, cavatappi, bacon bits, fried onions and fried chicken breast covered in house-made barbecue sauce infused with the Ma Barker birch beer. The barbecue flavor is subtle, so the focus is on the creamy mac ‘n’ cheese and how, along with the birch extract of the Ma Barker, it conjures a nostalgic treat. “Just like you would like ice cream sodas with creaminess and root beer to make a float, it’s the same with Gouda mac ‘n’ cheese,” says Buchanan. “It pairs the caramels and everything so well with the mac,” adds manager and bartender Linda “Lulu” Marquard.
The dessert’s inspiration is fitting for the restaurant that was recently featured on the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible,” during which celebrity chef Robert Irvine helped them launch a hot dog and ice cream counter and a canned beer line.
Enjoy your meal from the revamped dining room or patio with a view of Eagle Creek and the mill wheel that produced so fast it was dubbed a “mega mill,” drawing farmers from a 20-mile radius to purchase grain. Now the brewpub is reeling in people for another reason.
“It’s very historic,” Buchanan says. “You have the wheel underneath, and then you have the waterfall. You have a very scenic place to sit.”
Craving more? Brew pretzels, $7.99, and Dizzy Deer India pale ale, $6, carryout available, 8148 Main St., Garrettsville, 330-527-8080, garrettsmillbrewing.com
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Hans’ Place: Cheese Please
Wine and cheese is perhaps the most classic pairing out there. But rarely is there a winery and cheese shop in one place. Outside of Little Switzerland in Amish Country, find a Swiss chalet-inspired complex with Broad Run Cheesehouse and Swiss Heritage Winery, and a restaurant, Hans’ Place, where you can enjoy the best of both.
The setup allows you to experiment with pairings, but president and winemaker Chad Schindler recommends distinctive Gorgonzola and riesling. Start by ordering a pizza ($13) with Italian-imported Gorgonzola, bacon crumbles and caramelized onions topping a nan flatbread slathered in house-made fig jam. A honey drizzle makes the pie dynamic since the sweet honey mellows the salty, sharp blue variety.
“We call it bite with sharper cheeses. There is a lot of fat in those cheeses, which brings out a lot of different flavors [in it],” Schindler says. Another interplay comes when you pair it with Sweet Thunder (bottle $13.95), a semisweet riesling made with Northwest Ohio grapes. The sweetness of the light wine balances the funky cheese to punch up its creaminess. “Because it’s a creamy cheese, it goes well with riesling,” he says.
The fruity riesling also has honey, apricot and peach notes that boost the honey and jam even more. “When you drink the riesling without any food, you’ll pick up honey in the riesling, so when it pairs with the honey in the pizza, it enhances the flavor,” Schindler says. Dine on the picturesque patio or decks nestled at the bottom of a hill amongst woods and a small waterfall.
Honoring veterans, the label for Sweet Thunder has a photo of Schindler’s great aunt, who married a member of the Army’s 53rd artillery battalion. Schindler’s dad, Hans, the tavern’s namesake, was a veteran. Schindler learned winemaking tips from his parents, who launched the winery, and now he is carrying it on while helping others find fresh ways to enjoy the classic pairing of wine and cheese.
“The more you are eating cheese with wine,” he says, “you learn what wines go well with cheeses.”
Craving more? Hans’ Favorite Bites cheese plate, $20, and Cornerstone red blend, bottle $19.95, carryout available, 6011 Old Route 39 NW, Dover, 330-343-3884, broadruncheese.com
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Tylar Sutton
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Tylar Sutton
Lockport Brewery: Traditional Spin
Alex Horn knows tacos. The Lockport Brewery chef previously worked at Canton taco shop Street Side, which closed last year, and he brought the chorizo taco recipe with him.
While the Bolivar brewery offers a plate of three mix-and-match beef, grilled chicken with chipotle crema or spicy chorizo tacos ($9), Horn recommends the latter. “The one a lot of people step out of their element to try is the chorizo,” he says.
Horn adapted his chorizo taco recipe for the brewpub while maintaining signature Mexican flavors. He swapped out a corn salsa for fajita-style red onions and green peppers cooked on the flattop with the Mexican sausage, which delivers a medium heat. “It comes across with all these Mexican spices of different chili peppers,” Horn says. “You get a lot of chili powder, a little ancho or cayenne. … Then with the fresh veggies sauteed right on it — so good.”
In place of a Mexican Chihuahua cheese, his Lockport version includes a spin on classic Monterey Jack, a bold habanero jack cheese — an Amish-made cheese with diced habaneros. “It has a great flavor and a good amount of heat while still being approachable,” Horn says. He serves it in a flour tortilla topped with cilantro.
Though it may not seem like the obvious choice, he suggests ordering it with the Big Debbie chocolate stout ($6.25), made with dark chocolate malt and lactose. “[It’s] reminiscent of Little Debbie snacks from childhood but a fun, flavorful adult version,” Horn says. He explains the pork and dark beer mingle nicely, and the sweet-and-spicy creates a taste similar to mole, a spicy Mexican chocolate sauce. “Those two things harmonize with each other well,” he says.
Dine on the surprising pair inside the industrial yet cozy brewery or out on the wooden patio, complete with warm lighting and heaters.
“People have that familiarity,” Horn says, “but they get to try something new, maybe get a little out of their element.”
Craving more? Buffalo cauliflower wings, $10, and Tart at Heart blackberry sour, $6, carryout and curbside pickup available, 330-874-6037, 10748 Wilkshire Blvd. NE, Bolivar, lockportbeer.com
