Laura Zastrow
Traditional bierocks rock, but so do nouveau takes like this tofu peanut kimchi version with peanut sauce.
Crafting the perfect pudgie pie recipe — a filled sandwich toasted over a fire in pie irons — is one of camping’s greatest traditions. And who among us hasn’t indulged in a Hot Pocket now and then, while simultaneously wishing it was as well-stuffed as the picture on the box? The empanada, the calzone, the Cornish pasty, the kolache: These are the pocket pastry traditions of the world. To them, add the bierock.
Volga Germans came from Western Russia to the Plains states about 150 years ago, bringing with them the bierock, a perfectly smooth wrapper of golden-brown dough that contains a variety of mostly savory fillings.
Bierock, the new beer bar on the north side, specializes in bierocks. Thanks to their simplicity, they work brilliantly as bar food.
It should come as no surprise that the classic bierock recipe is the best. Beef, sauerkraut and onions are a potent combination, and with a splash of a mustardy vinaigrette, it’s the perfect eastern European bite to go with your Titletown Dark Helmet schwartzbier.
But America is a melting pot, and happily, the less Germanic recipes succeed as well. A bierock stuffed with tofu and kimchi, accompanied by a sweet peanut sauce, was funky but not too funky. The rosemary lamb bierock was filled with exactly what the name indicates, and a dill-heavy yogurt sauce tied it all together. The tender lamb deserves special praise, since even more seasoned kitchens can trip over this meat on occasion.
I would have expected the mushroom and sausage bierock to be an easy win, but it was bland. So too was the “Tailgate” bierock, a special that’s currently served on Packers and Brewers game days, filled with sauerkraut, cheese curds and chunks of bratwurst. If the brat bits had any char or crust to them, it would be to the benefit of the total package. It’s a recipe with promise, to be sure.
Another weekly special, the Thursday grilled cheese sandwich, got the sausage and mushroom combo right. You can get either a garlicky but otherwise straightforward grilled cheese on Thursdays after 8 p.m., or you can see what the chef’s special version looks like. Sausage and mushroom studded the interior to good effect, and while I would never say that such a sandwich was begging for a cup of honey mustard, neither would I say the combo didn’t actually kind of work. It was weird but good.
With its big projection screen, Bierock is a great sports-watching spot. For more salty foods to pick at while drinking beer and watching sports, Bierock’s potato wedges are just fine. Even better: the massive quantity of three cheese and smoked paprika popcorn for a mere $3. It’s also available in a juniper/thyme/caraway version that I’m keen to try.
The oddball on the menu is the mushroom stroganoff. It makes perfect sense, culturally, but it’s unexpected among the rest of the finger foods. It comes served over curls of housemade spaetzle, rather than the more common egg noodles. If you can be flexible with your comfort food, this is a very comforting stroganoff indeed. And the small portion comes in a little canning jar — how cute is that?
You’ll recognize plenty of beers worth drinking on the ample Bierock tap list, from German import lagers to 3 Sheeps’ boozy imperial stout, The Wolf. If your thing is beer, or sports, or pudgie pies, or just a good hang-out on the north side, Bierock is the place for you.
Bierock Craft Beer
2911 N. Sherman Ave (in the Northside Town Center); 608-515-8087;
bierockmadison.com; 3-10 pm Tues.-Wed., 3-midnight Thurs.-Fri.,
10 am-midnight Sat., 10 am-10 pm Sun.; $3-$10
