Lost River Brewing Company, Wardensville, WV

A friend recommended that we visit the Lost River Brewing Company in Wardensville, WV in neighboring Hardy County so we set out on Sunday afternoon to see what it was all about. Taking backroads all the way, it's about an hour drive from Winchester. Taking the straight shot back Carper's Pike, coming home only took about 45 minutes.

We're still newbies to the WV restaurant scene on Sundays. We made (once again) the unfortunate mistake of arriving before 1pm when it is legal to serve alcohol. Any idea what it is like to sit at a bar for a half an hour and ogle the beer taps, without a beer in front of you? Torture, sheer torture! Note to self, never again!

Shrimp Matamoros

While we waited, Ann ordered a shrimp appetizer called something in Spanish, Shrimp Matamoros? The menu on their web site is not up to date. In any case, you can see that is is a very nice looking layered concoction of guacamole, marinated shrimp, black beans, and sour cream. It was good enough, but lacked flavor and seasoning. The quality of the shrimp was a bit iffy. A generous amount of salt and a couple of lime wedges we got from the bartender helped it out a lot. But, a little cilantro please!

As for beer, I had an amber ale which was just OK. Then I switched to the black ale which I thought was very good. For dessert, I had a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter which was kind of cool. Nothing I'd want to drink on a regular basis, but fun enough. Ann wanted to try the Lindeman's Framboise Lambic and I warned her that it is potently raspberry. She had to order a Corona so she could cut the framboise 50-50 to tame it!

For lunch, Ann ordered a burger and I ordered the oyster po' boy. Ann's burger (a 10-ounce bruiser) was credible enough and well cooked, but she said, again, it lacked seasoning. My po' boy was a real disappointment. The oysters were fresh and well cooked, no doubt. But five small oysters on a poppyseed hamburger bun does not a po' boy make. I went away hungry. The fries with both our sandwiches were very good.

Bottom line: credible food, pretty good beer, very reasonable prices.