Karl Strauss Brewery’s ‘Beer Brined Pork Chops’ are full of flavor and grilled to a perfect medium. They’re served with garlic mashed potatoes and baby green beans. (photo/alandeckerphoto.com)

Yes, I know it’s been around since 1989 so one can hardly call Karl Strauss Brewery a new hot spot in town. Still, we strive here for hip, happenin’ and/or trendy eateries regardless of their age, so Karl Strauss does indeed fit the bill.

This is essentially a beer company, one that just happens to have a few supporting restaurant outlets. A senior project for a couple of Stanford MBA students, Karl Strauss Brewery was created on a lark and a shoestring. Following the “friends and family first” method of raising money, founders Matthew Rattner and Chris Cramer opened the first microbrewery Downtown almost 15 years ago at Columbia and B streets.

The food, which started out as “just good ol’ beer food,” morphed over the years into “pretty darn good food, but a bit too fancy for brewery food,” and has recently found a wonderful niche of its own. Late this spring, the culinary team of Louie Jocson and Gunther Emanthinger introduced a new friendly, casual menu that is chock-full of contemporary versions of “good ol’ beer food” along with some great salad, sandwich and entrée selections.

An updated restaurant look, as well as new, hipper, trendier (and tighter-fitting, I might add) T-shirts for the wait staff complement the menu overhaul. Karl Strauss is really cool these days.

The menu, which incorporates beer as an ingredient in as many dishes as possible, begins with a good selection of “starters” including nachos and “Boneless Chicken Wings” (which are really chicken tenders in disguise) and a great rendition of spinach and artichoke dip. The so-called wings come in three varieties: sweet “Red Trolley BBQ,” traditional “Buffalo Style” and a spicy-soy version called “Firecracker.” All three are very good, although my favorite was the good ol’ Buffalo style. Each is priced at $8.95.

The “Firecracker Sirloin Strips” ($8.95) are a tender beefy version of the Firecracker Wings. Spicy, sweet, soy-based marinated strips of tenderloin are served over a “slaw” of carrots, cabbage, shredded lettuce and crunchy noodles. The plate is drizzled with a zigzag of red-hot chili sauce and sprinkled with black sesame seeds. Very nice.

The “Slow Roasted Pork Sandwich” ($8.95) is delicious. Thinly sliced tender pork is smothered in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce (made with Karl Strauss Red Trolley Ale) and served on a soft sesame seed bun. It is served with a refreshing coleslaw highlighted by the taste of fresh parsley and cilantro.

It usually is best to avoid pork chops in restaurants because they always seem to come overcooked and tough — but not here. The “Beer Brined Pork Chops” ($14.95) are tender, juicy and wonderfully full of flavor. They are grilled to a perfect medium and served with garlic mashed potatoes and baby green beans. A spicy Chinese yellow mustard sauce, added sparingly, is a perfect pairing for the sweet, meaty chops.

As a long-time fan of Karl Strauss brews, it took little arm-twisting to convince me to sample a “wobbly pop” or two with my meal. Karl Strauss always features six handcrafted beers on draft, plus two or three “seasonals” to choose from. I’m a Red Trolley girl, always have been, and it went well with each of our dishes.

After 15 years Karl Strauss is still making great beer, putting out some pretty darn good food and is flanked with young babes in cute T-shirts that bare a little more that just his name; not bad for an old guy.

— Terryl Gavre