STEEL BENDER BREWYARD
8305 Second St. NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, 505-433-3537, steelbenderbrewyard.com Steel Bender sits on Second Street behind an arroyo, its presence announced by a big storage tank painted with the brewery’s logo. A giant chalkboard adjacent to the entrance lists the beers on tap. The menu, accessed through a QR code on the table, begins with several soups and salads and almost a dozen starters ranging in price from $5.50 to $17. Fittingly for a brew pub, the fries, wings and pretzels on offer seemed designed to provoke maximum thirst. My favorite starter was the Vegetarian Seitan Wings ($12), six blocks of the wheat-based meat substitute coated in cornmeal and fried. Seitan is often compared to white-meat chicken in both taste and consistency, but Steel Bender’s version was not nearly as firm. The cornmeal coating created a crisp shell over a savory center that had the consistency of a dense stuffing. The blocks were tossed in a Buffalo sauce that sizzled on the tongue, with a cup of ranch dressing onboard to balance the heat. A selection of burgers and sandwiches comprise most of the heavy hitters of the menu. There is also a BYO Gourmet Hot Dog ($9) and Fish & Chips ($18) made with haddock. The Pulled Pork Sandwich ($13) was served with a cup of sweet, smoky barbecue sauce on the side. The pork was a tasty, if underheated, mix of strings and bark topped with coleslaw and served on a bun from Albuquerquebased Pastian’s Bakery that was finished on the grill. My friend’s version of the Build-your-own (BYO) Burger ($14), served on a Pastian’s Bakery bun, consisted of a 7-ounce patty cooked to the requested medium and covered with a thick slab of melted Swiss cheese and grilled mushrooms ($1 extra). He gave it the ultimate seal of approval: a clean plate. Desserts like cheesecake and a brownie sundae are on the heavy side. Prices range from $5 to $9. There is a kids’ menu too.