Name:
Park Distillery and Store
Location:
Google Maps
Website:
http://www.parkdistillery.com/
Summary:
This was a really cool place to stop for lunch. There is a huge glassed off room toward the back where you can see a giant still at work creating their custom in house spirits. The Restaurant was open to the street, but could be closed off by lowered two large garage style glass doors.
The serving staff was friendly and anxious to talk about the restaurant, and the spirits in particular. They were a great source of information, friendly and mostly attentive.
The food was decent, not amazing, but different and unique, which is almost as good. I would have appreciated a description of the “cheesy fries” somewhere, because they weren’t what I was expecting when they arrived. Good, but again a surprise and a bit unique.
Overall a good experience, somewhere I would recommend and visit again, probably for dinner when I could enjoy some of the local liquor.
The Story:
I got a recommendation from a colleague to try this place, and it was worth the trip. First, the atmosphere is really cool. There is a small attached shop where they sell their flavoured vodkas – and they are working on a local rye, which I will be more interested in sampling.
I was fascinated by the large glass garage style doors that could be lowered to close the restaurant to the street, but were opened while I was there to give a more open feeling to the place. It was a beautiful day and being able to sit inside and still enjoy the breeze was a bonus.
I asked some questions about the distillery and such – being a big fan of liquor in general this was a nice treat for me. I would have asked for a tour, no idea if they offered them, but I was on the clock and didn’t have a bunch of extra time. I was also about to drive back to Strathmore, so couldn’t sample the local liquors. I’m still disappointed.
The menu is interesting, it has some unique dishes, and is somewhere I’d like to return to try a few more things. The mesquite sandwich I ordered was so-so, but it’s hard to judge a place by one meal. I’d like to try some of the entrees to really put it to the test.
The fries were interesting, I ordered gravy on the side, which was unnecessary and wasn’t the kind of gravy you’d expect anyway. I’d recommend trying them, just to experience something a bit different.
Overall I had a good meal, may waitress was new, and I think she did her best, even if it was a somewhat lackluster performance in my book. Either way, I’m planning to go back, and looking forward to it