A Taste of Lawrence

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The other night my husband and I decided to get out of Topeka to try a restaurant in Lawrence. With his recent experience working in a brewery, he wanted to try Lawrence’s local brewery, called Freestate Brewing Company – and I am glad we did because the food was amazing. The service was pretty snappy, as well.
Not only did their menu have surprising selections - like the Cuban sandwich and baked goat cheese, both of which we ordered – everything tasted great too. It was extremely hard to choose what to order, as the menu wasn’t your typical bar menu, which is what I was expecting. I don’t drink much beer so I can’t really comment on the their brews, but because they were a brewery I assumed the emphasis would be on the beer, not the food. I was so wrong – you know what they say about the word assume, right?
I wanted the onion rings because the batter is made with their beer, but the menu doesn’t say which beer, just that it’s “Freestate’s beer batter.” The rings are served in a basket, piled high, with stone-ground mustard and ketchup. They are crunchy and golden on the outside and the onion is tender and juicy on the inside. The portion size is substantial for an appetizer.
The second appetizer we ordered was the Spanish baked goat cheese, and stands out the most in my memory. This app consisted of goat cheese combined with a garlic tomato sauce, with melted Swiss cheese and it’s topped with fried capers. The cheese and the tomato sauce blended together create a creamy, flavorful dip with the stringy Swiss cheese and crispy capers adding texture and character. The tartness of the goat cheese, and the acid in the tomato sauce combined with the tanginess of the fried capers, the flavor was deliciously unique. It’s served with slices of toasted baguette for dipping, but we also liked dipping our wedge-cut French-fries into it and that was pretty amazing as well.
I ordered the smoked turkey sandwich, and opted to have it grilled - which you don’t have to. The turkey is smoked, (hence the name, “smoked turkey,”) and it comes with Swiss, cream cheese and a side of mayo. It stood out to me because it is served with fries and a cluster of red grapes, which I don’t see regularly. I love grapes so this influenced my choice. The turkey was sliced thin, with cheese layered throughout the sandwich, the cream cheese was spread on the bread so I didn’t really need mayo, unless you really want it, I guess. I tried putting it on mine, but decided it wasn’t needed, the sandwich is great without it – and who needs that extra fat anyway? The grapes added a sweetness that I welcomed, and I found I liked to take a couple bites of the sandwich, then, I would eat a couple grapes. Their sweetness paired nicely with the smoke on the turkey.
Freestate Brewing Co. is located at 636 Massachusetts Avenue Lawrence, KS and their website is http://freestatebrewing.com/ where you can check out their menu, specials and what beers they have on tap. I would definitely recommend checking this place out, and trying their beer and their food. Happy tasting!