About a month ago I was traveling around New York state and looked up a pub called John Harvard’s Brew House while out on Long Island. Looking at the website, it appears John Harvard’s is a small chain of brew houses. The one I visited is located in Lake Grove, NY.

While the restaurant was only mildly busy, the bar room was hopping with folk all watching the Islanders, the Mets, and/or the Yankees. Only a few didn’t seem to care what was on TV.

Danielle at the bar helped me out with my first beer choice, offering me a sample of a few brews to see what I liked. I liked them all and chose to start with something light, but I frankly can’t remember the exact style. I swear it was made with Amarillo hops, but the website doesn’t seem to list it. None-the-less, I recall enjoying it greatly. I was impressed with Danielle’s knowledge of the beers. Everyone had questions for her and she was ready with a descriptive answer each time. Not to mention, she was hustling her ass off as she seemed to be the only one to wait on customers.

I was in the mood for a steak and their menu was a touch more upscale than standard pub fare. I ordered a steak Belugi Style, which was spicy and heart consciously prepared with mango salsa and a side of rice. I’m always nervous when I step out of bounds ordering something like this at a pub, but they did a fantastic job with it… it was delicious.

Satisfied with my first beer and perfectly done steak, I decided it was a good time to try something else different, and for me, a first time ever. John Harvard’s offered a real hand pumped cask ale, something I’ve never been able to experience. Not carbonated, this ale is pumped with air straight from the cask to my glass. This IPA held a nice head of foam and went down smooth. Ahhh… now I know what I’ve been missing. It is too bad none of the brew houses near me offers real cask ale.

Normally I avoid chain restaurants like the plague, but this one is serving real beer to masses, with great food to boot. It is certainly a refreshing change. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it.

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