a swift one - A review of Ox and Bone Huddersfield
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Twitter led me to the door of a newly opened bar grill in town.
I had seen a retweet from Huddersfield CAMRA about the launch of the Ox and Bone Craft Bar and Grill on Firth Street. It's on the site of the former 1535 bar. So I walked across the ring road and down Queen Street South to take a look.
The below street level venue is large and has distinct parts. There is a smaller dining area to the the left as you walk in and a bigger one by the bar.
A waitress showed me to a table and handed me food and drink menus.
The barbecue style food consisted mainly of burgers, steaks, wings, hot dogs and the like. I'd done a bit of online research into the grub side beforehand so I knew The Man vs Food style 'Widowmaker' challenge wasn't for me but the sizable Moo and Oink Pit Burger was.
The wide craft beer choice was more tricky. As readers of this blog may recall, I'm a cask man but am open to trying kegged beer. But my my knowledge of craft beer is limited.
Eventually I settled on Bob Cat Coyote, only to be told it had run off. But the helpful staff offered me a shot-glass taste of Anchor Steam Beer, from San Francisco, which they said was similar. I tried it, liked it and ordered my trademark half but was told the smallest measure was two thirds.
This actually suited me, giving me a slightly longer drink with my meal, which arrived fairly quickly.
No sooner had I launched into a my Angus and pulled pork patty when I spotted a familiar face: fellow Star Inn regular Graham.
I'm indebted to Graham because he ended up filling me in about the history of the place and the Ox and Bone's beer range.
Apparently, it was an old foundry and the 1535 refers to the melting point of some chemical element that I don't recall.
Graham then went on to tell me about the beers as he had been in before. He said the Coyote beer I had tried to order was a good one, but he was particularly taken with the Bob Cat Milk Stout, which he likened to liquid pomfret cakes.
He said that he liked the bar, which opened about a fortnight ago. Graham said it was quite handy for The Star and The Rat nearby, and it offered a different element to the Lockwood ale scene.
I must bump into Graham more often, he does all the research while I just eat and drink, while taking the odd snap with my camera phone!
Afterwards, we made the short trip to The Star Inn where we continued mulling over where we'd been and the chance to try craft and keg in close proximity.
As I walked in to The Star, I was recommended two beers, Mallinson's Hop Tzar and Pitctish's Milestone.
It took me a little while to get my tastebuds back in order after the coldness of the earlier kegged beer, but I soon warmed to the task and enjoyed both beers.
With time marching on, I decided to end my all Chapel Hill/Folly Hall session with a trip to The Rat & Ratchet where I was hoping to get my hands on Project Rat 11.
But I bumped into Star-bound Steve who said he'd been to The Rat and it hadn't landed yet. But he said I should try the very good Number of Rat Black IPA (6.6% ABV).
Well, you can't ignore a quality information like that. So I quickened my pace up the hill and ordered it. I then repaired to the beer garden to contemplate a steady but diverse afternoon.
So, all in all, I had a very enjoyable lazy Easter Saturday session.
Three bars, all within a stone's throw of each other, but each offering something different.
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