Blue Dog Beer Tavern: Still waiting for its day

I really wanted to like the Blue Dog Beer Tavern that just opened up in Sherman Oaks. What’s not to love about that name?

I also was hoping for another Laurel Tavern home run: a great place to hang out in my neighborhood (or adjacent) with excellent food, drink, clientele and atmosphere. Sadly, of all its many problems, the food was probably the worst, which is a dealbreaker for me. And yes, I gave this place a chance — two in fact.

When I first saw the photos on Blue Dog website, I thought, “Oh cute, they’re letting us see how it looks before it’s ready.” Um, no. This is the finished product, skeleton and all. In a way, I get it. It’s a small venue, so here’s a way to offer separation without causing claustrophobia.

It doesn’t quite work though. Instead of feeling cosy and sociable, I felt like I had to keep my eyes on my plate or on my companion, lest I intrude into my neighbor’s private space.

Another nice touch — in theory — is the dog art. Blue Dog requested patrons submit pictures of their dogs, and if they were cute enough, they’d go up on the walls, er, exposed beams. A coupon for one free meal item was offered as an additional bribe. Works for me! I submitted a photo of my dog (okay, I confess it’s my brother’s dog, Miles), got my emailed coupon and set out to see if I could find the pic of him while enjoying a nice, frosty brew.

There he is! Admit it. Miles rocks. How could the Blue Dog resist that picture? Actually, I wonder if some dog pictures didn’t make the cut. That’s gotta be demoralizing. Good thing the dog probably doesn’t care. The picture of Miles (taken on a bench outside an antique shop in Galveston, Texas pre-Hurricane Ike if anybody is wondering) just happened to be at the top of a beam over the doorway near our table.

The waitress from my first visit was actually very informative, helpful and pleasant. She discussed the beers reasonably well, knew which draughts were available and recommended Unibroue’s Blanche de Chambly. Although I was in the mood for the Green Flash West Coast IPA, they were out, so I went with the Chambly. It was easy to drink and a bit sweet. I wanted to switch to a different beer, but that one was out too, so I had seconds of the Chambly.

During this first visit with friend Tamara in tow, I started with the lobster bisque. The creamy texture and lobster flavor was fine, although it was was a bit salty, and I like salt. The whole shrimp dumplings ended up being crispy fried shrimp stuck in the bisque. They were a little overdone and chewy.

Tamara’s pastrami sandwich was actually pretty good, probably one of the best offerings there. The pastrami wasn’t piled high deli-style, but offered a moderate amount of meat with very little excess fat. Cole slaw was served on the sandwich and on the side. A little overkill I think, but then again, I don’t like mayonnaise-y slaws.

This was perhaps one of the most dismal fish and chips I’ve had in a while. This is the reason why I don’t usually like fries. They were just starchy and mealy. The fish had little flavor except for the oil it was fried in. Worst of all, there was no vinegar available for the fish. What? Ugh, I can’t stand tartar sauce, so I ended up using Cholula hot sauce and a bit of extra salt to add flavor. (Note: On second visit, lack of vinegar had apparently been rectified.)

For my second visit, this time with Ayeshee, who very nicely complimented the picture of Miles, the waitress was not very friendly or attentive. At one point, she tried to collect Ayeshee’s glass even though she hadn’t finished her cider. Blasphemy!

Anyway, to the food. This monstrosity is a panzerotti, a stuffed, deep-fried pizza dough. I am not a fan of this new beast. The tomato and mozzarella filling was tasty and fresh, but the outside was too blandly doughy for me. The side of pizza dipping sauce was definitely needed. In the end I felt rather full but unsatisfied.

Blech. Gross. Broccoli salad as described on the menu had bacon, red onions and medium cheddar cheese. Nowhere did it mention that it was a sickly sweet slaw. After one bite, I gave the whole mess to Ayeshee and then cleansed my mouth with beer.

The Blue Dog burger wasn’t half bad, but nothing exciting, unless you count the quarter pound of bacon sticking out of it like Gene Simmons tongue. I like bacon, so this was a salty, meaty treat, along with the fried mushroom and onions and swiss cheese. The hickory smoked sauce was served on the side — hooray! I don’t like any form of BBQ sauce (yep, too sweet), and they just cover up the flavor of meat anyway. A solid burger that I could deal with.

Ayeshee convinced me to have dessert, the ice cream sandwich. The waitress took our order …

and we waited …

and waited …

Finally, the waitress came up and asked, “How are you ladies enjoying your ice cream sandwich?” We pointedly surveyed the wasteland of our tiny table and told her we hadn’t received it yet.

Oops.

When we finally got dessert, the cookies were not warm at all, just chewy, which made them doughy and unappetizing. I wasn’t crazy about Dr. Bob’s Tahitian Vanilla ice cream either. We actually left most of the cookies uneaten. This picture doesn’t do justice to how huge the thing was. My hand could not span the enormous cookies, which is why it was a shame they didn’t taste better. What a waste.

The Down and Dirty:

The Blue Dog isn’t fancy. In fact, it proudly states on its website that it serves food “with no surprises or trendy, unknown ingredients,” which I find to be reverse snobbery and rather myopic. Are all unknown ingredients trendy and therefore not worthwhile? What does “unknown” mean? Unknown to whom? Argh.

If The Blue Dog is shooting for simple, no-frills fare, then state that. Don’t be condescending about other styles of cuisine and not even deliver your own style well. Okay, that’s a little harsh. The burgers and sandwiches are decent. But how can the fries be subpar? I’d get a more satisfying order of fries at In ‘N’ Out.

In the future, this would only be a compromise venue for me, say, with work people, but I won’t likely initiate any outings here again. Disappointing. Sorry, Miles.

The Blue Dog Beer Tavern
4524 Saugus Ave.
Sherman Oaks, 91403
818-990-BLUE (2583)

Tagged as: beer, burger, gastropub, Review, Sherman Oaks