Jack & Ginger’s Pub: A Grand Beer-Food Pairing Experience
For my foodie friends, wines have always been the go-to table companions for pairing with foods. Beers were thought of mainly as thirst quenchers or for a night out shared with simple pub grub. But in this millennial age and with our town’s growing multiplicity of craft brews, beer more frequently is sharing the role usually reserved for wine.
I recently stopped at the indoor/outdoor Jack & Ginger’s Irish Pub on Brazos Street in Midtown. There, my eyes popped at the pub’s tap line of over 80 beers (in 28 styles) flowing from kegs—including 20 Houston-area brews—the totality of which I found a bit overwhelming. But after I was presented with Jack & Ginger’s menu of pub favorites interspersed with some serious culinary offerings, I realized that this was a place where serious foodies can explore the new and expansive map of beer and food pairing.
The basics of beer-food pairing are simple:
- Match intensity with intensity—lighter fare goes with delicate brews and strongly flavored foods demand assertively flavored beers.
- Look for similarity in aroma/flavor elements—search for aromatics and flavors in beers that reflect similar elements in foods (fresh herbs, citrus, truffles, nuts and caramel).
- Reflect on food characteristics—sweetness/bitterness, spice and body are elements that map across the beer-food divide. Examples: Sweetness ameliorates spicy heat and lower alcohol often melds well with it; carbonation lightens a heavy dish; color can also enhance the pairing experience.
At Jack & Ginger’s, my selections were all local brews—four four-ounce pours served on a tasting board:
- Houston Cider Company Rośe (pink and crisp with notes of peach and red berries)
- Karbach Lemon & Ginger Radler (long-lingering top note of ginger for an Asian flair)
- Eureka Heights Wicket Awesome ESB (soft and full-bodied on palate with prevailing bitter aromatics on nose)
- Eureka Heights Mini Boss IPA (light, bright and tart with hoppy aromatics).
Their menu offers the standards: fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie and a served-all-day full Irish breakfast. Also available are worthy culinary offerings like grilled flat iron steak; short-rib patty on a brioche bun with smashed potatoes and whisky onions; and Southern pulled pork sandwich. Don’t overlook healthy favorites like Jack & Ginger’s black bean & barley burger with roasted poblano, jack cheese and honey sriracha mayo, and daily lunch specials. My selection was the Guinness-battered fish and chips served with garlicy haricots verts, steak fries and the tastiest lemon tartar sauce in this town.
Jack & Ginger’s Pub is located at 2416 Brazos St. and is open from 11am to 2am Monday through Friday, and 10am to 2am Saturday and Sunday. For more information, check Jack & Ginger’s – HTX on Facebook.
