Cocktail Corner: Beer and (Big) Bites in Buellton

Executive Chef Brian Champlin and General Manager Jeff Hawxhurst from The Kitchen @ FigMtnBrew, courtesy photo.

Executive Chef Brian Champlin and General Manager Jeff Hawxhurst from The Kitchen @ FigMtnBrew, courtesy photo.

A Spirited Toast to All Things Alcoholic! By Leslie Dinaberg  

The kitchen is now open at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company (45 Industrial Way, Buellton) and as Executive Chef Brian Champlin vowed, this place definitely has, as he modestly states, “under-promised and over-delivered!”

Boy does Fig Mountain ever deliver, both in terms of high quality food that pairs perfectly with beer and in terms of huge portions at small prices as well.

Named “The Kitchen” at FigMtnBrew, the new restaurant offers a full menu featuring gastropub fare such as creative burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, tacos, salads and more.  Our group particularly loved the “21+ and Over Grilled Cheese” (with three kinds of cheese, avocado, tomato, caramelized onion, apple smoked bacon and Edna’s Bakery sourdough), Davy Brown Nachos and Chorizo Cheese Fries—but honestly, everything that came out of the kitchen was delicious, especially paired with craft beers like Fig Mtn Mosaic, I Dunkeled in my Pants and and Paradise Rd Pilsner.

“We wanted to provide top-notch food with great prices,” says General Manager Jeff Hawxhurst, a longtime local chef who started his career as teenager working at the original Habit in Goleta and most recently worked with the Chumash Casino Resort before coming on board with the ever-growing Fig operation.  “The casual environment helps us keep prices affordable while offering fresh, farm-to-table cuisine,” he says.

Champlin also has impressive foodie credentials, most recently as co-owner and Executive Chef of Succulent Café in Solvang. Taking the farm-to-table concept up a notch,  “Our brewery actually gives our spent grain to a local farm who then feeds it to their cattle. We are then able to serve the local beef on our menu. It’s a sustainable cycle that ensures we know what’s in our food and where it is coming from. We call it ‘brewery-to-farm-to-table’ cuisine,” he says.

Just a few snippets from the menu at The Kitchen at FigMtnBrewCo., photos by Leslie Dinaberg.

Just a few snippets from the menu at The Kitchen at FigMtnBrewCo., photos by Leslie Dinaberg.

In addition to opening the new onsite restaurant, Figueroa Mountain is also in the process of an impressive expansion of its brewing capacity, featuring state-of-the-art production equipment from Germany which will be on view to guests through a large picture window when complete.  Meanwhile The Kitchen is definitely worth the drive!

For more information, visit www.FigMtnBrew.com.

Cheers! Click here for more cocktail corner columns.

Leslie Dinaberg

When she’s not busy working as the editor ofSanta Barbara SEASONS, Cocktail Corner author Leslie Dinaberg writes magazine articles, newspaper columns and grocery lists. When it comes to cocktails, Leslie considers herself a “goal-oriented drinker.”

 Originally published on March 3, 2017 in Santa Barbara Seasons.