The Bottom Line
- Fine selection of quality, homemade brews.
- Stylish and spacious design.
- Local chain with locations in Fells Point, Arundel Mills Mall, Bel Air and Bowie.
- Food is mediocre at best.
Description
- DuClaw Brewery
Arundel Mills Mall - Cuisine type: American. Brew-pub
- Dining Room Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
- Pub: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-midnight, Fri. -Sat. 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
- Price: Moderate
Recommended for kids: Kids menu available.
Guide Review - DuClaw Brewing Company
Kicking around the Arundel Mills Mall one afternoon, my family and I decided to try out this local chain of brew pubs for an early dinner. It was one of those places we'd always meant to try. Since the Fells Point location is closer to home and has such a fantastic patio, we decided that next time we'd go there. But now I'm pretty sure there won't be a next time.
You can find these two sentences on the website of the DuClaw Brewing Company: “We are very proud of our beers. We put every ounce of passion and spirit we possess into each batch, and we believe it shows.” I wholeheartedly agree … and that’s a good news/bad news kind of thing.
Beer aficionados will find few quibbles at DuClaw. The company presents lots of neat info such as each brew’s style, color, bitterness units and gravity provided on menus and other collateral material. DuClaw’s Bad Moon Porter, its signature beer, has hints of chocolate and coffee, and its 5.1 percent alcohol by volume keeps moods rising like the beer’s eponymous moon.
But my mood turned less buoyant when it came to sampling the food. The Cuban sandwich ($8.29) and its thick stack of ham and turkey more closely resembled a flattened club sandwich than the heavenly grilled creations I’ve had in the Caribbean and in Florida. All the meat is packaged in what the menu describes as “two pieces of luau bread for just a hint of Hawaiian flavor.” Huh? The accompanying potato chips were overly greasy and hard (though mysteriously not crunchy).
The spicy jambalaya ($12.99) was similarly disappointing. The red sauce—a critical ingredient in a dish like this—tasted suspiciously like the tomato sauce on my son’s spaghetti from the kids menu (i.e canned), only slightly spicier. The sausage seemed as if it had been hijacked on its way to a pizza parlor, and they scrimped on the shrimp.
