Dine and Dish: South Gate Brewing Company in Oakhurst

OAKHURST, Calif. (KFSN) -- Not many local eateries can say they enjoy an international customer base.

You'll find South Gate Brewing Company along Highway 41, not far from Yosemite National Parks' south entrance.

Some of the dishes created at the South Gate Brewing Company in Oakhurst aren't typical of a brewpub.

"An elevated experience is what we're looking for and fortunately we've been able to find the staff to create that," explained co-owner Casey Hawkins.

Executive Chef Michael Farr worked in South Carolina and Georgia before coming to South Gate.

"Kind of inspired me to just smoke a whole ribeye loin and see what the flavor might be like," said Farr.

"We smoke it at about 150 degrees, 175 cold smoke for about an hour and a half. Let it chill overnight."

The 16-ounce ribeye steak is basted with butter

"This thyme just explodes when it gets in that butter and gives it a very nice fresh fragrance taste too," Farr said.

"What will accompany it is this red onion jam that we make in house."

The dish is prepared with asparagus and potatoes cooked in lemon juice.

"I would say the fish and chips are a big favorite. That's been on the menu since day one. Our burgers are fantastic," said Lindsay Hawkins, co-owner.

Farr also blends cultures. His pork belly bahn mi, or Vietnamese sandwich, has been a hit.

"See how it's rendering that nice and perfect?" asked Farr. "We top it with a nice pickled jalapeno aioli. Then fresh banh mi pickles, which is carrots, daikon radish and cucumber."

"Our wood-fired pizzas are incredible. Made in just a little brick oven," added Lindsay.

The Mountaineer featuring red onion, mushroom, bacon, and Italian sausage is popular.

"We have 15 beers on tap at any given time. Plus one housemade root beer," said Rick Boucke, the brewmaster. "This is Pirate's Cove. It's a dry hop blonde."

The Oaktown Pecan Brown won a gold medal at an international competition.

"That is a traditional brown brewed with candy pecans, all made in-house," said Casey.

"Here we have a key lime sour with a little bit of raspberry as well," added Boucke.

Behind the bar, tourists have left bills from around the globe.

"This currency from Costa Rica with a shark is pretty darn cool," Casey said.

Casey and Lindsay are celebrating a decade in the Oakhurst community.

"South Gate we feel like has become a part of people's lives here and we love to be a part of that," Lindsay explained.

The flavor of that smoked ribeye was incredible.

At this time of the year, Oakhurst regulars must share this place with the tourists but they've come to expect that.

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