I’m all about drinking locally, and Karl Strauss beer is brewed nearby in Pacific Beach, San Diego.

Even better than locally brewed beer is locally brewed beer served with yummy food. Karl Strauss Brewing Company in Temecula is a go-to lunch place at my office. It’s across the street at the Temecula Promenade Mall, there is (sometimes) parking, there’s an outdoor patio with those sweet rock fire pits and there are always delicious beers on tap.

The menu is super LA-gastropub, with weird animal dishes like duck fat pretzels , Brussels sprouts with bacon and mac n cheese with beer-brined bacon and ham. But there IS a veggie burger, which I only order to get to the yummy fries, to be honest. I’m super not into healthy things on my burgers like grilled zucchini, roasted red peppers, pea shoots and almonds, so I order the White Cheddar Burger (white cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion) and substitute the black bean patty.

If you’re looking for LA food out in wine country, this is the place to be!