WFLBC

Big Ridge Brewing Company recently moved to new location due to a long-standing dispute over parking with their former landlord. The old Big Ridge was a semi regular hangout for my friends and I  and was the place I watched Canada win Gold in Mens Hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. The new and improved Big Ridge recently opened up across the street and I thought I should give it a try to see what was new. Located at  5580 152nd Street in Surrey Big Ridge is part of the Mark James Group. MJG operates  other notable brewery restaurants like Taylors Crossing in North Vancouver, The Yaletown Brewing Company, The Brewhouse in Whistler and The Flying Beaver in Richmond.

The new location is nice with warm lighting, exposed wood beams in the ceiling and a rustic/modern feel very similar to their original location. The menu is basically the same with a few new items, one of which is a pulled pork sandwich that came highly recommended by my friend Kevin. After ordering a pitcher of their house brewed Harvest Lager I decided that pulled pork sounded like a good idea.

Sorry about the picture quality, I think it’s time to invest in a pocket-sized camera. Back to the sandwich. I have spewed the virtues of Memphis Blues on these very pages in the past and they remain at the top of my list when it comes to BBQ, however there is a new king of pulled pork in town. This sandwich is incredible and it is a surprising ingredient that makes it so good, the bun. The pork is great with a spicy BBQ sauce, the coleslaw is crisp and fresh which is an excellent contrast to the savory pork but the bun is a revelation. It is a pretzel bun…!!! What is a pretzel bun you ask? It is a bun made like a soft pretzel  with a shiny glaze on the outside and coarse salt sprinkled on it just like a pretzel you would get at a fair or the PNE. Whoever thought this up deserves some kind of culinary award because it was brilliant. You need to try this, it’s that good, better than Memphis Blues.

The french fries are unchanged from the old location which was just fine with me as there was nothing wrong with them. They taste like they are double fried, not positive about that though, and are very good. The second beer we tried was the Clover Ale. If you like a hoppy IPA then you will like this beer, I do not like a hoppy IPA so this pitcher took a little longer to finish off but somehow we managed.

I guess I will have to make new memories at the new location. At least now I won’t have to worry about my truck being towed away if I stay there longer than 2 hours. I wonder if the old landlord feels stupid for being so militant about parking because they’ve lost a key tenant and I personally have no reason to go to any store in that complex anymore. The old Big Ridge is the place where we figured out that blue food coloring makes better green beer on St. Patrick’s day, it’s where Canada defeated America (for me at least) and it’s where I discovered that beer is more than the mass-produced stuff you buy at the Liquor Store.

Time to start making new memories!

Scott.