The House Food and Tap — Restaurant in St. Joseph

I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to find this little gem of a place in St Joseph. I was just passing through town with no idea of where to go or what to eat and right off the highway I happen to find this place. The reviews right away are all pretty great so I figured I would stop and give it a try as it was very hot and I was very hungry and wanted a nice cool place to relax and eat and hopefully get a drink.

I was immediately let in by Brianne (pronounced Bree-anne) One of the owners, and was greeted with a large smile. Craig her husband was not there yet at the time but I met him shortly after. They are an amazing couple that are running this new place. I had no idea she was the owner when I showed up, but proceeded to help me inside and got me started on the ordering process.

I would also like to start with the fact that all of the staff working there were so friendly and helpful and all had smiles on their faces and we're eagerly ready to help me with anything I needed along with recommendations of what to drink and eat. The atmosphere is very open with lots of big screen TVs to watch various shows and sports and they even have karaoke which is used on some of the TVs. Everything is very new and clean and plenty of room to walk around and get between the tables and to get beer from the tap.

You can order off your phone or get a ordering card when you get to the front register, which they take your card and you get a special card where you can then take it to all the different taps they offer and pour your own beer and ciders, kind of like a gas station where you are charged by the ounce so if you only want a little glass just pour a little bit or if you want a full glass you can fill it all the way to the top. They had about 20 different beers on tap and a couple ciders available. All you have to do is put your card against the card reader, your name comes up on the screen and you begin to pour and it will be added to your tab when you're ready to leave. I found this highly convenient because then I can just go up and get a beer whenever I want and how much I want and just go right back to my table or wherever seat you're sitting and continue drinking without having to wait for a bartender or a server.

They also have three different options of restaurant styles on the inside for you to eat. A Hawaiian style, a smashburger section, and a fire grilled pizza section. You walk up to them like a fast food restaurant and they make it right in front of you, but will give you a text message and yell your name when your food is ready. All of this was put on the card I was given when I first got there.

I went for the smashburger of the week, a local fresh ground double quarter pound smash with pimento cheese spread and hot honey on A fresh made local bakery bun. This burger was fantastic! And it came out lickety-split. It was juicy and tasty with plenty of cheese and hot honey. They do have fries and other burger options with a special sauce and jalapenos if you want them added. The special sauce is a ketchup mayo style dill sauce with a little seasoning. It had a slight tartar sauce taste but would be great to dip fries in and was good on some of the burger that I dipped into a cup.

I also ordered the number two pretty girl a flame grilled pizza which is a pineapple and smokey bacon with red onion and basil pizza on their 3-day fermented pizza dough. It's a thin style crust with not too thick of outer crust edge. I probably would have had them cook it just a little longer but it was still delicious nonetheless especially with some extra Parmesan and pepper flakes sprinkled on the top. This was recommended to me by the cook and Craig the owner later said it was one of his favorite pizzas.

They do serve coffee in the morning until about 3:00 other than on the weekends they serve till about 2:00 with a small variety of different coffees though I'm not a coffee drinker but it is still offered here nonetheless.

I highly recommend giving this...

A culinary community comes to St.Joseph. Creators and owners, BriAnne and Craig Hern, have put their own spin on a new concept of featuring multiple restaurants under one roof. Featuring the likes of experienced and upcoming chefs demonstrating their cuisine creativity in 3 different eateries, coffee shop and tap wall. 98 Hawaiian Grill has you covered with Poke Bowls, pineapple BBQ chicken, teriyaki beef, pineapple fried rice, mac salad and other traditional dishes. Joetown Smashburgers are serving up their own savory, seasoned burgers, crispy fries and old school milkshakes. Birdie’s Pizza is working their artisan artistry with brick-oven signature and build your own pizzas, salads and starter. Early morning and afternoon is brewing locally roasted, single origin and signature blend roasts at Eminent Coffee. A variety of coffees, teas and baked goods will start your day out right. And one cannot forget the 30 tap self pour wall. That’s an experience in itself. Birdie’s Pizza was our dining choice as we ordered the #4 -The Loaded Jay. A perfect pie with tomato sauce, cupping pepperoni, mild Italian sausage, diced ham and shredded mozzarella fired in the oven to perfection. Counter ordering/pickup with seating in an open area of polished cement floor, metal chairs and tables and a lively, vibrant motif. Karaoke was also on the menu this night as locals...

We had a pizza and it was outstanding. Very good. 5* for the food. And all the food from each restaurant looked great. Can't wait to go back and try more. But the customer experience left me concerned. Scan the QR code with your phone and when you start a new order it wants you to scan a 2nd QR code for your table - but their aren't any on the tables. So what do you do? So I tried their GoTab app but it couldn't find a restaurant near me (I was inside it!!) and entering the zip code didn't work either. And scanning the QR code said 'camera permissions are turned off through your browser' and when I ignored that and clicked the button to access the camera anyway it wouldn't actually scan the QR code. Lastly there is the House RFID card that you need if you want a beer or wine. But there is no one with a smile meeting you and asking you if you know how it works and walking your though everything - that would have been a big help. Lastly it struck me as being more cafeteria style place (plastic knife/forks, paper plates, simple tables, no wait staff) vs. a restaurant and I'm not sure it's where I'd take a date or my spouse for dinner. And at lunch many people are there from work and so may not have a beer/wine (didn't see a single person have one today.) So we'll definitely go back for the food but I hope they can improve the overall...