I had heard mixed reviews of one of our local watering holes, Hopcat. Several people complained of various grievances regarding everything from service to the kitchen to the price of beer. Looking at the menu, however, convinced me to give it a try of my own.
I’m the type of person who finds many things that the critics dislike on my list of more enjoyable. Typically, because of this, I find myself not bothering with others’ opinions except to set a baseline or to compare notes to afterwards. I still like to make my own opinion. This is one of those situations.
When I arrived, my party hadn’t shown up yet, so I made my way to bar after locating the requisite chalkboard with the current offerings. After flagging down a barkeep, the evening was started with a well-drawn Fuller’s London Porter. The beer was as is to be expected but served a little too cold; a problem that soon rectifies itself. Beer served too cold is an American thing. It’s hard to find a place that doesn’t.
The room is nice; the interior design is contemporary with alcohol advertisements on raised board on the ceiling, providing both decoration and acoustic management for the high-ceiling narrow room. The bar is beautiful, seating is comfortable and there is room for large parties. There is a typical beer hall table near the front door.
It was the middle of the week, but there were still a fair number of people there, showing that it is a rather popular hang-out. Situated along a row of other bars and clubs, they have the advantage of being one of a number of drinking holes in a very small area.
Hopcat has glass wash stations underneath each tap and give their glasses a good rinse before the beer hits them. This is a nice touch as it ensures there no dust in the glass. Not many bars have this attention to detail.
The beer selection was global, showing a huge number of styles, types, and breweries ranging from local Michigan brew to the UK selections to German beverages. The board was organized by type, which helps with picking from the nearly 50 beers that they have on tap. If for some reason you can’t find something in this crop, they also feature a number of bottles. On this trip, I did not even peruse the bottle selection.
After our party arrived, we ordered dinner. Everyone was impressed with their dish, and it seems the Macaroni and Cheese was a large hit. I didn’t have it, but rather had a cup of tomato bisque with a veggie burrito.
The tomato bisque was extremely tasty, but could have used a run in the blender for a little longer to make it smoother. It was served with bleu cheese, which was something wonderfully different. I really don’t want to have tomato bisque without it now. It -was- that good.
The veggie burrito was your run-of-the-mill “wet” burrito, with what was likely a canned burrito sauce. It was only remarkable by the plethora of veggies and the beans which were cooked in some kind of chipotle sauce. This made the burrito something a little different, and it was tasty. I would order it again… eventually, but there are a number of other selections on the menu to try first.
What is most impressive to me is the knowledge that the barkeeps and waitstaff have on the beer. I usually don’t take suggestions from people I don’t know on beer, but on one of the beers I tried, I took a barkeeps suggestion; Stone 12 year Anniversary brew. It was one of the best beers I’ve had in a while. The barkeep’s “nom nom” eyes-rolling-back suggestion was correct. It was a very good beer.
The person who waited our table was also very knowledgeable about all sorts of beer, even things they didn’t have. It’s always good to talk to someone else who is passionate about beer, and I can’t say I was any kind of disappointed with the evening.
Overall, if Ashley’s in Ann Arbor were used as the 5 star reference, Hopcat would easily walk away with 3 ½ stars, if not 4 (this remains to be seen on another visit though). Prices are typical for a downtown “trendy” watering hole; a bit more than you will pay at your neighborhood bar. I didn’t feel an instant “this is home” vibe from the place because of its distinctly upscale atmosphere, but the selection of beers is good, the waitstaff is nice and knowledgeable, and the food is good enough for a night out with friends.
We will be returning on the Friday after Thanksgiving for an acoustic show with some of the guys from Domestic Problems.
Violent
In case you can’t read it, it says “Slasher Sale BERGER $88″. Do you know what it means ’cause I don’t have a freakin’ clue. Berger is a local car lot, so I suspect that it has something to do with cars, but who the hell knows? A good length of 28th St was lined with these signs which did nothing to tell me the message they were trying to convey.
Alarmed
Mischievous
