Braindead Brewing

Braindead is bringing the micro-​brew culture of Portland to a little slice of heaven in Texas. Rarely do you get a combination of tasty food and knock-​out beer, but they’ve got it here.
The flagship location features a hip but laid-​back atmosphere, a large variety of beers on draft and in bottles, and really excellent food (especially for a place with such good beer). I had their take on Belgian and I have to say, it was superb, one of those beers you can drink and drink and never get tired of.
It’s not often that visiting one restaurant in one neighborhood makes me want to move, but this place did just that. Seriously-it’s that good.

I will recommend this place with the caveat that you avoid the food. Harsh yes, but I really do enjoy it as a bar and will return despite the three star rating.
The location and the patio are great, the inside has several options (bar, tables, booths, communal tables where you can make new friends) and while the beer selection isn’t huge, it’s pretty thoughtful. And, props to Braindead for making their own brews as well! The one I like best so far is the dry-​hopped wheat.
However, on two visits, I don’t think we’ve had any food that has been good. Coma burger, chicharrones, steak salad, and brisket tacos were all pretty awful. And by awful I mainly mean i don’t think they own any salt, pepper, or other seasonings for that matter. The burger may have been an anomaly, my main beef with it was that it was brought to me cold and soggy but they were so slammed that it would have taken another hour to get it replaced. Chicharrones were really stale with a weird flavor. The steak on the steak salad was overcooked and (way) underseasoned. Same with the brisket, and the rice tasted like it was boiled 10 minutes too long as it was super mushy and watery. And oh yeah, no salt. The service, as mentioned, is pretty slow but as long as my glass isn’t empty I’m doing ok.
So, just pretend that they don’t have any food (or maybe stick to something like queso) and you’ll have an A-​ok time!