For as long as Minneapolis has been reshaping its old industrial corners into places to drink, gather, and argue about which brewery makes the best lager, Fulton Beer has been part of the conversation, albeit sometimes a bit quieter than others. They helped kickstart the North Loop’s now-constant hum of patios and taprooms, and for years the focus here has understandably been on the beer. Then came the Airstream food truck once parked outside, eventually removed as the brewery expanded and moved the cooking indoors. But as the calendar rolled over and summer turned to fall, Fulton announced a newly expanded and built kitchen and full menu rollout, making it clear they want to be known for more than the pint you order before a Twins game. They’re aiming for real food, cooked to order, chef-driven, and ambitious in a way many breweries never bother to attempt.
They’re aiming for real food, cooked to order, chef-driven, and ambitious in a way many breweries never bother to attempt.
Ambition is a good thing. It’s also something you can feel immediately when the food hits the table. The question, though, the one we went in with during the media preview and again a month later, is whether a kitchen this new can consistently deliver on that ambition. The short answer: sometimes. The longer answer takes a little unpacking.
Visit One: A Strong Start, a Stumble, and a Sandwich That Shouldn’t Be This Good
The media preview arrived with a mix of optimism and quiet skepticism. New brewery kitchens usually lead with crowd-pleasers: burgers, tots, wings, nachos, pizza (frozen at times, even). Fulton’s menu looked familiar at first glance, but it didn’t take long to see that they were swinging a bit harder than the average taproom.
The Smash Burger: Good Ideas, Mixed Execution
The smash burger looked the part. Dressed well, caramelized edges, generous American cheese melting down the sides, and a Kaiser roll that felt like it came from a local bakery rather than a plastic bag. Unfortunately, the bottom bun gave up almost immediately, soaked through with a mix of burger grease and pickle brine, making it nearly impossible to pick the burger up after a couple of short minutes. The bacon didn’t help matters. Thin, oddly glassy, and brittle in a way that added nothing to the experience, it almost distracted from the parts of the burger that did work. The pickles brought welcome acidity, the seasoning was just right, and the burger tasted decent overall, but it never came together the way a great smash burger does.
The issue seems at least to be timing and technique rather than ingredients; everything arrived hot, but the bun had clearly been sitting under the hot patty for too long before it reached the table. It’s the kind of problem that better coordination between grill and assembly could fix.
The Tuna Sandwich: Legitimately Impressive
The seared tuna sandwich, on the other hand, showed what this kitchen is capable of when everything clicks. The fish was clearly high-quality: a thick, prominent slab of tuna, cooked to a perfect pink in the middle while the Togarashi provided enough heat to keep things engaging. The Old Bay slaw provided needed texture and crunch, and the spicy mayo tied everything together without overwhelming the fish. The Kaiser roll arrived with the structural integrity the burger lacked.
This felt like someone in that kitchen actually knows how to build a sandwich. It was the dish that made us sit back in our chairs; you simply don’t expect a brewery kitchen to commit to a piece of tuna like that, let alone execute it that well.
This felt like someone in that kitchen clearly knows how to build a sandwich. It was the dish that made us sit back in our chairs; you simply don’t expect a brewery kitchen to commit to a piece of tuna like that, let alone execute it that perfectly. It was hands-down something you could easily justify returning for. This was a surprise home run of a sandwich.
The Tater Tot Poutine: A Potential Crowd-Pleaser in Need of Editing
Then came the tater tot “nachos,” or “tater tot poutine,” piled high with beer cheese, pico, fried cheese curds, and scallions. The portion was large enough to feed a small table, a steal at $16. Unfortunately, it collapsed under its own weight, rendering the tots a soggy mess, the cheese settled into the bottom of the paper boat, and the chorizo gravy that was listed on the menu seemed to be missing altogether. Without any acid or heat to cut through the richness, the dish became one-note quickly. A squeeze of lime or a handful of jalapeños would go a long way toward balancing it.
The cheese curds themselves were puzzling – hand-cut, dense squares that didn’t fry up like traditional curds and carried a faint off-flavor neither of us could quite place.
Perhaps the biggest complaint with this dish was a case of confused identity: listed as being a take on the iconic cold-weather dish from our neighbors to the north, you would be forgiven for expecting the quintessential protein and gravy dressings. Instead, these were at their core tater tot nachos with cheese curds and a befuddling chorizo gravy, and they never quite came together. Either go fully nacho or go properly down the poutine path – a proper, rich gravy, protein, and no beer cheese or pico. My suggestion? Be unique and go the poutine route.
The Curry Dry Rub Wings: A Low Point You Can’t Ignore
And then there were the wings.
When I tell you that these wings arrived looking exhausted, like they had been cooked several times over and then a couple more times for good measure, I mean it. Thin, dehydrated, almost jerky-like—so small they looked like they came from a squirrel—the meat pulled away from the bone in a way that suggested overcooking long before they ever hit the plate. The curry rub was intense in color and residual turmeric, but the flavor leaned dry on dry. It was the kind of miss that overshadows the better dishes simply because it felt so preventable. We left hoping that what we’d eaten was an unfortunate one-off, and upon seeing coverage of the release in the coming days, we felt reassured that our wings were indeed a one-off; we were also perplexed as to how our wings ever made it to the table in the first place.
When I tell you that these wings arrived looking exhausted, like they had been cooked several times over and then a couple more times for good measure, I mean it.
Visit Two: Real Improvement, and a New Problem Entirely
A month later, we went back with the goal of giving the wings a fair second chance. To Fulton’s credit, they had clearly made changes, including an expansion of the original menu.
Tangy Ranch Wings: A Complete Turnaround
One of the expansions included the new chicken wings flavor: Tangy Ranch. Much to our relief, the wings we received were exactly what you want wings to look like. Actual weight, actual moisture, actual color. The skin had texture without being overly crisp, and the meat stayed juicy from first bite to last. The Tangy Ranch seasoning worked deliciously well—bright, slightly sweet, with a citric quality that made the wings feel balanced. If this had been our first experience, we never would have second-guessed ordering them again. Indeed, if we can be assured that every serving of wings would arrive like these, then these would be the perfect quick bite to grab anytime you’re in the neighborhood or simply craving excellent chicken wings to pair with your beer.
It feels important to acknowledge this: Fulton did fix what had gone wrong. The improvement wasn’t subtle. It was dramatic, and frankly, these fantastic, plump, craveable chicken wings made us hopeful about the rest of the menu. Which leads us to the next dish, another new addition from the media preview launch.
The Lori Hills Bratwurst: A Misstep That Shouldn’t Have Left the Kitchen
Unfortunately, another dish stepped in to take the wings’ former place as the problem child: the cornmeal-battered bratwurst.
An interesting idea—a corndog made not with a hot dog but with a locally made bratwurst—the platter arrived looking burnt; deep, dark, and aggressively crisped to a point well past “golden.” Cutting into it revealed even more issues. For reasons that still escape us, the brat had been sliced in half lengthwise before being battered and fried, which meant the casing was opened up and the interior completely dried out as there was no longer anything in place to contain the rendered fat. Whatever moisture should have been locked into the sausage was gone.
The batter itself was hard, bitter, and acrid. Something about the fry oil or the fry time (or both) left a lingering burnt flavor that needed a pickle to reset the palate. The overall construction also betrayed the idea behind the dish. If you have to use a fork and knife on something designed to be a handheld street-food-style snack, and the batter falls away in shards as soon as you cut it, the format isn’t working.
Most concerning, though, was that this plate made it to a customer at all. No one—line cook, expo, bartender—stopped it. And that’s the kind of quality-control issue that keeps a kitchen from leveling up. Much like the chicken wings, however, we’ve seen plenty of evidence on social media of these same dishes being served to other patrons looking as though they were cooked correctly. It’s proof that the concept can work when the execution does.
Where Fulton’s Kitchen Stands Today
It would be disingenuous not to say that there’s a lot to like about what Fulton is doing. They have seen a missing aspect to their business, recognized the direction the industry is moving, and invested in their food program to keep customers in their seats longer. The new kitchen shows ambition, creativity, and a willingness to push beyond the easy route. When the food is executed correctly, the results are legitimately impressive and worth venturing in for. The tuna sandwich is one of the better brewery dishes we’ve had in a while, and the improved wings were good enough to order again without hesitation; even as I sit here writing this weeks later, I find myself salivating and considering braving the falling snow to eat some more. There’s real promise here.
But the inconsistency is simply too big of an issue to ignore. For every standout item, there’s another that arrives overdone, under-thought, or simply not ready for service. In a busy brewery setting, consistency is the thing that earns trust, and right now Fulton’s kitchen is still chasing it.
None of this means the kitchen is a failure. Far from it. It means they’re in the early stages of something new, with the potential to be a genuine North Loop food-and-beer destination once the quality control catches up to the creativity. And that’s something worth celebrating and encouraging.
The hope is that, with time, every plate coming out of the new kitchen earns that same reaction. With the clear improvements already made, we’re confident that they’ll get there.
For now: order the wings (Tangy Ranch especially). Order the seared tuna sandwich. Order the tater tot side. Grab the smash burger if you’re in the mood (or consider trying the chicken sandwich). Approach the rest of the menu with a little caution and curiosity. It should be said that when they nail a dish, you feel the intention behind it, and it makes you want to come back, much like the genuine and friendly service has for years. The hope is that, with time, every plate coming out of the new kitchen earns that same reaction. With the clear improvements already made, we’re confident that they’ll get there.
We just wish they’d bring back that delicious tomato and cheese sandwich while they’re at it.
