Switchback Brewing Co. — Restaurant in Burlington

The new taproom has removed all traces of local color and would not be out of place in any generic neighborhood in middle America. Am I in Omaha? Spokane? Raleigh? It's hard to say. It feels like you've turned your back on the locals and the fun, dog-friendly neighborhood vibe.

On a nice day, everyone wants to be outside, which creates a queue to order drinks and food. Inside all tables are empty, yet two staff at the hostess station standing there not alleviating the lineup. What is their job, exactly?

Mug club food discounts are gone, supposedly temporarily yet this should be a very easy thing to implement. The mug club is going away for 2025, isn't it?

I received a dry, chalky pretzel ($10 plus tip), and because there is no table service, nobody asked how the food was. When I paid and mentioned the dry pretzel, the person who took my payment said that the water compartment that steams the pretzels must have been empty. No offer of compensation.

We are trying to be patient while you get your footing, but there are some definite red flags here. We will try again and if things improve, I will...

Stopped by for a quick bite and drink while in Burlington for the day. Food was good - typical brewery food offerings. Especially liked the fried zucchini! Beer was alright. I got the Leaf Peeper flight - was mostly fine but I think the sour ale in there was kind of weird after an IPA. Maybe I drank it in the wrong direction. The price was reasonable for the area and for what you get.

There was some confusion about where patrons could bring dogs and could not. Would suggest management maybe put up a sign just to clarify that dogs cannot go indoors bc of the full kitchen. I wasn’t the only one! There were four parties of people with dogs who said they came because they thought dogs were allowed inside and could not find any information otherwise. Outdoor area was fine, it was just raining and there wasn’t any shelter besides the sun umbrellas so we didn’t have much choice but to leave the dog in the car (we were traveling so could not leave...

Context: It's a wintery day, visiting from NY.

The bartender was very nice, she offered suggestions and samples for my (limited) beer palate, and she hit a home run with the Switchback EZ (pictured).

I ordered the Caesar Salad with chicken, and my dining companion ordered the Brisket Sandwich. Both had great taste and did not disappoint. The lettuce was very fresh (not wilty in the least), and had a light Caesar dressing (it wasn't sopping wet, which I like), and fresh grated parmesan cheese.

The brisket was very tender and came in 2 large slices on a bun. A side salad was substituted in place of french fries.

The space could have been a couple of degrees warmer, but I didn't *have to put my...