Crafted

Crafted offers an expansive outdoor space, and, if that’s full, you can hop next door to the bar, where they serve all the same food. More gastropub than anything else, Crafted’s menu is nothing if not inventive, especially when it comes to the names.

One of those is the “Two Loc’d out chickens going crazy,” which translates into a pound of jumbo chicken wings that were brined with herbs and coriander before being dusted with Chinese five-spice, cayenne and cilantro. They arrive with a lime dipping sauce and hoisin garnish. They’re meaty and pretty spicy, with a mound of celery and carrots to counter the fire.

We also get a plate of Crafted’s signature sweet potato fries, which come drenched in a  creamy gorgonzola fondue cut by a sprinkling of green onions.

The house-made pretzel is, as the menu says, gigantic. It tastes like it has a brioche base and arrives with red pepper syrup, which is just delightful: sweet, salty and really quite good when combined with the five-cheese beer dipping sauce.

Finally, there’s the “Catawampus Crawfish Chowder” with a lobster base, big chunks of crawfish, roasted potatoes, bacon and corn. It’s a huge bowl, and arrives with two slices of buttered brioche, which must be related to that pretzel somehow. It’s delightful dipped in the thick chowder or on its own.

You can scroll through the beer selection on an iPad menu, and with 62 options, it’s nice that it’s organized by type. This includes local beers as well as those sourced from around the world. They stand by their name here, taking pride in their food and beer selection; using fresh local ingredients; and focusing on the smaller details.