July 27, 2008
Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant
Taipei would seem to be a curious choice as the first foreign outpost of the venerable American brewpub chain. Apparently some corporate scion with more money than sense fell in love with the idea and threw enough money at GB to convince them to let him set up shop, complete with local microbrewery. It's not a new thing in Taipei, but the existing offerings are hardly impregnable, and hopefully Gordon Biersch name is still worth something even in the unfamiliar environment across the Pacific.
They carved out a corner in the Mitsukoshi Dept. Store XinYi A11 to make it into your standard brewpub, slightly miniaturized. For drinks, there was a sampler of the Gordon Biersch beer selection for me, and a strawberry lemonade for her. Started with a big plate of soy-glazed chicken wings which went nicely with both our drink selections.
SO wasn't too excited about the prospect of garlic-breath, but I insisted on the signature side-dish to go with my burger. The garlic was definitely strong with these fries, raw and pungent. They asked how I wanted my burger and surprisingly they actually meant it when I asked for medium-rare. The burger managed to hold together nicely on their custom bun, but still-pink meat was almost too juicy and moist for a burger.
The beers were fine, offering a wide variety of colors and tastes and me not being as picky about it as some. We sat right by the open kitchen and some of the other entrees going out looked appealing, too, and appropriately American-sized. It's probably a step up from Chilis, but enough to justify the price difference? Still, variety is good, and hopefully they'll be more active in offering sports viewing options in the future, to bring it really up to par to the American version.
Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant
GB鮮釀
台北市松壽路11號2F
02-8786-7588