Three Magnets Brewing Co. | Olympia, Washington

Last weekend, Z and I hopped in the car and headed to Seattle.

Seattle's almost a three-hour drive from Portland, so we made a much-needed pit stop along the way at Three Magnets Brewing in Olympia, Washington.

We've tried several of Three Magnets' beers since we moved to Portland, and we've been big fans of every one of them - so we were excited to finally check out the source.

Three Magnets is setup where you can seat yourself, outside on their medium-sized patio (overlooking apartment building construction - normal stuff in these parts), or inside their bar/lounge area. We opted to stand at the small bar (that had a few stools), as we just drove over an hour and wanted to stretch our legs. The service behind the bar was odd at first - no one could understand why we opted to stand vs. sit, and we waited a solid 10 minutes before anyone even asked us what we wanted to order. Thankfully - and strangely - the service got much better as the night went on (and after we got hungry/a table), but the first impression was not ideal.

Regardless: the beer here is good, and the food was also quite tasty.

For beer, I loved the Little Juice IPA as well as the New Mex Lager - something I would typically never order, but it was delightfully refreshing on a hot night (and paired well with guacamole).

For an appetizer, we got the Nopales and Guacamole ($9), which included lime, cilantro, pickled red onion, tomatillo, queso fresco, and tortilla chips. 

This was some good guac, and all of the toppings worked nicely. The chips were also delightfully sturdy and salty - making them able to stand up to the thick guac and accompaniments.

For my entree, I went with the Grilled Sockeye Salmon Veracruz ($14), which consisted of grape tomatoes, Castelvetrano olives, caperberries, cilantro, lime, aji amarillo crema, and grilled flour tortilla.

The salmon was cooked a fantastic medium-rare, and the accompanying crema and vegetables made this dish really fantastic. The grilled tortilla, however, I found to be an odd choice as a "side." I would have preferred something a little lighter - like rice - to help soak up the sauce.

Overall, we really enjoyed checking out Three Magnets, and the location is a prime pit-stop between Portland and Seattle.

More on our Seattle adventures coming soon!