There's a budding tradition at Atwater Village's Golden Road Brewing: Every time a train roars past, lift your glass for a toast. Spitting distance from train tracks that are still very much in use, the restaurant at the Atwater Village brewery won't officially open until mid- to late January, but starting this weekend, you can get a taste of chef Adam Levoe's menu.

[Pix after the jump.]

Golden Road Brewing: Interior

When we first scoped out Golden Road Brewing back in July, the chefs on tap were Sera Pelle and Randal St. Clair, who were heading up the kitchen at Golden Road co-owner Tony Yanow's Mohawk Bend. Now, it's Levoe, formerly the chef at Quadrupel and the sous chef at Madeleine's (both in Pasadena).

The current menu, an abbreviated version of the menu to come, features elevated but accessible bar snacks like a caprese sandwich, pork meatballs and a twice-baked potato with prosciutto and cheddar. There are also vegan options like a housemade pretzel and a trio of potato, yam and mushroom risotto fritters.

When they're operating at full capacity, Golden Road's 20 taps will feature brews from several local outfits. Currently, they're pouring five beers, all made in-house: Point The Way IPA, Golden Road Hefeweizen, Rye on the Palate (a very mild, somewhat bitter but not too hoppy red rye), Schwartz Stout (a mellow stout with hints of coffee and dark cherry, served on nitro) and the limited edition Festivus Cinnamon Bitter (a holiday beer that despite the name is much more heavy in cardamom than any other spice).

Golden Road's restaurant opens this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. After that, it will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. until the grand opening in January. (You can get your growlers filled whenever the pub is open, and on days when it's closed, you can get them filled from 2 to 6 p.m.)

Golden Road Brewing: The Bar

Golden Road Brewing: Beer List

Golden Road Brewing: Beer Taps

Golden Road Brewing: Growlers

Golden Road Brewing: Menu

Golden Road Brewing: Brewmaster Jon Carpenter

Golden Road Brewing: Beer


Elina Shatkin is a staff writer at LA Weekly. Follow her at @elinashatkin or contact her at eshatkin@laweekly.com.

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