Why Wood Boat Brewery?
The Wood Boat Brewery neighbors the St. Lawrence River and French Creek Bay nestled in the town of Clayton, NY on Mary Street. The beautiful covered deck and peaceful surroundings creates the perfect spot for for a social drink and meal, whether you’re by yourself or in a group.
The location is a trip and fall from the Antique Boat Museum and within short walking distance of Riverside Drive which has a slew of shops and restaurants like the Clayton Popcorn Company.
What service!
Every restaurant is supposed to serve food and drink, not all do it with a smile. However, Wood Boat nails it! Our server was quite knowledgeable about the menu from the front to back and gave honest suggestions based on our parties preferences. Drinks, appetizers and meals all came out promptly with enough time between each course to allow you to savor each bite and each drop.
I’m thirsty! Let’s talk drinks…
Starting from the clever names all the way to the last drop of your beverage, Wood Boat has a flavor for every palate. They have flights, samplers, 12 oz. pours and growlers. Our table sampled the River Rye, Bourbon Barrel Aged Brown Ale, Hook, Line and Sinker, Lyman Ale and Cherry Wheat.
Being a bourbon guy I, unsurprisingly, connected with the Bourbon Barrel Aged Brown Ale which was STRONG and full of flavor. Although I do enjoy a variety of beverages, I’ve never been overly fond of sours. That being said, truthfully, I didn’t taste a bad potation here.
Excellent nosh Petunia
Soft Pretzels
When eating at a new restaurant I like to order a smattering of items to really test their abilities. Umm… Did you say beer cheese? <queue Homer Simpson’s drool sound> Yes, I said beer cheese. We started with the soft pretzels with beer cheese made from the oatmeal stout. Once the pretzels were finished, a fight nearly broke out over who, at our table, would get to lick the ramekins clean.
Bacon Wrapped Jalapenos
Despite my ability, or rather, insanity, to venture up the Scoville scale well past 800K, jalapenos, for some reason, hit me hard. Not these… Wood Boat deveins and seeds these jalapenos so you can enjoy the concoction of flavors offered by the bacon, feta, cream cheese. Don’t forget to dunk these in the raspberry balsamic sauce!
Wedge Salad
I’ve always loved iceberg lettuce, and a wedge salad is my kryptonite. This wedge has a boat load ( pun intended ) of flavor toppings that resulted in a symphony of bold flavors… bacon, red onion, candied walnuts and gorgonzola dressing. I thought the wedge was a little on the small size, but overall, I was not disappointed.
Reuben Pizza
Wood fire pizza rocked! The dough was both delicious and cooked to perfection. There was a delightful crispiness to the crust and a soft chewiness that I love. Initially, the idea of a reuben pizza didn’t sound all that tantalizing, however, it was a match made in heaven. Not a single flavor in this slice overpowered the other. It made for an tasty and interesting combination.
Caprese Sandwich
To quote my father… ‘it could have used more garlic’. This may be an Italian thing, but when someone puts garlic or basil on something, I like those flavors to be dialed up. I was really hoping for a punch of flavors that I just didn’t get unfortunately. was still made well. The panini bread was delicious, all the ingredients tasted fresh and worked well together.
Regrets
There were so many great looking selections on this menu and I wished I could have tried them all, particularly, I would have liked to have tried a greater variety of their pizzas, more specifically, I’d like to see how they handled the Yum Thai Pizza.
Conclusion
I wouldn’t hesitate to go back in a heartbeat anytime I find myself in the area. I left the restaurant filled with beer and food and in a great mood. Thank you Wood Boat for the great experience!
