#257: Goose Port Sports Bar & Public House

Small announcement up front here. In addition to email notifications and FaceBook I’ve fired up an Instagram account @eatingthroughroseville

Date: 9/5/2021

Location: Goose Port Sports Bar & Public House

It’s good to be back! I’m picking up right where I left off, which puts this at #257. Yesterday for lunch I headed down to Goose Port Sports Bar & Public House. I actually thought this place was a chain for a long time. Only recently did I go looking for some more info that I discovered this is in fact the only location. They’re located in a corner spot of one of the newest buildings on Vernon Street, almost directly across from the town square event area.

I arrived at around 20-to-noon on this Saturday. As I approached and took a couple photos outside, I thought it seemed pretty quiet. The patio had just a few people seated. Inside was a different story though. It was 80-90% full. Later I snagged some photos of the interior once it had cleared out a bit.

I had a choice of a couple spots in the bar area, one a window bench-type seat and another at the bar itself. I went with the window seat and was given a few paper menus to look over.

BREAKFAST:

DRINKS:

LUNCH:

A server came by and took a drink order while I was looking over everything. I started with a Disco Ninja IPA by Revision Brewing ($7.50) and she brought a water as well. The bartender brought these out and took my appetizer order while he was at it. I went with the GP Pickle Chips (House made battered & seasoned dill coins; $8.95) Just over 5 minutes later he returned to let me know they were out of those, so I quickly did a re-scan of the menu and picked out the Spicy Poke Nachos (Sashimi grade tuna, Serrano chili’s, pineapple, green onion, sriracha aioli, wasabi soy, sesame teriyaki, crispy wanton chips; $9.95).

I sipped my Disco Ninja while I waited for the nachos. It was very cold. A nice change from many places I’ve been lately that don’t seem to bother and chill their glasses. As mentioned the place was pretty busy, and I made it a point to take a look at my watch’s noise meter, which was registering a consistent 72-74dB. Just below the 80dB that can cause hearing damage after prolonged exposure. I had my own earbuds in which served to muffle the noise slightly.

The nachos arrived in about 15 min. This was a pretty serious plate. About 2-3 layers of chip were piled upon by tuna, pineapple, cucumber, cabbage and green onions, with a decent amount of the 3 sauces applied.

I really dug this. The chips were very light and crisp. I did need to use my fork to maneuver toppings into each bite a bit as the chips were somewhat fragile. The whole chilled pile was well distributed and it was easy to get a little bit of everything in each bite without much messing around. The pineapple was awesome, incredibly flavorful. Although marketed as spicy, these only developed a bit of heat that needed a swig of beer after a number of consecutive bites. The overall flavor of the sauces was on the sweeter side and reminded me a lot of the dressing most sushi places use on their little appetizer salads. I demolished about 80% of this thing and picked out the remaining tuna and pineapple before calling it quits. I had to save room for lunch, after all 😉

There was a lull in the service about here. I waited about 30 min before the bartender came back to check on me. I ordered another beer, a Mango Cart by Golden Road Brewing, a fruited wheat ale($7.50). I also ordered the GP Corned Beef Sandwich (House-made corned beef, sauerkraut slaw, swiss and pickles on toasted sourdough; $11.95) with fries. Although the extended time was slightly annoying it ended up being a blessing in disguise, letting the nachos settle a bit and open up room to pile on top.

The Mango Cart was crisp and light, which went well with the rich flavors in my sandwich.

This thing was epic. Between the perfectly toasted sourdough was a hefty serving of corned beef with tons of melted Swiss cheese, which stretched out with each bite like a cheese pizza commercial. The pickles (wait I thought they were out of pickles…maybe they use a different type for the chips) and sauerkraut slaw blended well with the tender beef for something that just melted in your mouth with each flavorful bite.

The fries were totally fine, nothing amazing though. They needed a bit of salt and ketchup. Not that I ate many of them, I was stuffed.

Thinking Goose Port was a chain did not help my expectations meet what I encountered. I was pretty impressed overall by the food here. Service could have been more present. I would give this place a solid 4.5 or 5 with more frequent check-ups. For now, 4 out of 5 is what I’ll settle on. It’s a nice spot in the middle of Vernon St, it’s patio nearly looking right down on the Washington underpass. When the weather is right this seems like a good spot to park yourself for some drinks and grub.

Website: https://gooseport.com/

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