Barrelhouse 101 - Ventura, CA

Scott and I have been anticipating this restaurant opening for quite sometime now. The owner is affiliated with the Ojai Beverage Company so there was so hope as to when the place would be ready for service. The name is catchy - they hope to have 101 beers on tap, only 100 as of now and it parallels the 101 Highway so I thought it was very cute.

We asked for a random sample of the menu. And, it here it was... All I remember was the the dark was a Blueberry brew. It was like a thick, syrup dessert - with alcohol!

We decided instead of separate meals, we would share a bunch of appetizers and it served us quite well. This was the Halibut Ceviche and it was so good. Light, refreshing and just what you wanted to drink with some of the lighter beers. Vey good choice.

We settled on our two favorites on the next round of samples: Scott - Alaskan Summer Ale and Melissa - Moose Drool. I am on a dark beer kick and have no idea why. Maybe because the weather has been cool, as it heats up you are going to see me running for the Victoria's...

Chile Relleno with Queso Cotija, Cilantro Creme and pomergrantes. Oh. My. God. This was so good. I would return to eat this, with or without the beer. We split this but I could have easily ordered and finished one of these all on my own. I will be back for many of these, I can promise you that.

Short Rib Sliders on a house made brioche roll, blue cheese creme, arugula, pickled red onion. Sounds simple enough, although it did lack some moisture. Maybe some more blue cheese creme? Otherwise, the short ribs were totally tender.

I have a very good feeling about the success of this establishment. It is new, so it will be crowded in the beginning due to the curiosity of the locals. But, I feel like it will remain strong because of the quality of the food it is serving. Beer will always taste good, just serve it cold and you will be fine. Keep the food excellent, service ready and they will be around a long time!