After nearly two decades out West, Mike Mohrhardt decided it was time to come home. Then things got a little loco… Here’s why Loco Boys Brewing Company in Traverse City should be next on your Northern Michigan food and drink bucket list.
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Photo by Dave Weidner
Step into Loco Boys Brewing Company, and you’re greeted by a mural of a woman sipping a beer in a hammock—relaxed, contented. Painted by Detroit artist Sophia Franco, it’s based on a photo of Mike Mohrhardt’s abuela, Margarita Valladares—the inspiration behind Traverse City’s newest brewery.
Loco Boys, a play on the phrase “Local Boy,” is a collaboration between owner Mike Mohrhardt and co-owner/brewer Andy Largent, both raised in Traverse City. The family-friendly brewery pays homage to Mohrhardt’s Mexican heritage, including the from-scratch kitchen, helmed by Chef Bryon Figueroa. Dabble among the “tour of house salsas,” then plates of fried plantains, birria tacos and, one of Mohrhardt’s favorites, enchiladas de mole poblano. The traditional Mexican sauce includes a complex list of as many as 30 ingredients. Mole poblano is one of the most-beloved variations, with three types of chiles, Mexican chocolate, pumpkin seeds and coriander. (It’s deep, complex, and no, it doesn’t taste like chocolate.)
Photo by Dave Weidner
Photo by Dave Weidner
Photo by Dave Weidner
Largent’s ultra-local brewing tutelage includes some of the region’s best taprooms: North Peak Brewing Company, where he started out washing fermentation tanks before moving through the ranks at Rare Bird Brewpub, Grand Traverse Distillery, Stormcloud Brewing Company, The Workshop Brewing Company and The Filling Station.
We’re looking forward to sunny afternoons on Loco Boy’s patio in Traverse City’s Slabtown neighborhood, crafting some of summer’s finest moments. To inspire: I’m now head over heels for the barbacoa burrito with its cumin potatoes, heirloom beans, queso Oaxaca, epazote and salsa rojo. (This burly bub packs some heat; order it with fresh guacamole to cool the spice.) I paired it with a Niebla, a gorgeously hazy IPA.
Loco Boys Brewing Company | 901 W. Front St., Traverse City | Loco Boys Website
Photo by Dave Weidner
The beer menu includes a range of styles, including a golden milk stout, ESB and Mexican lager. It’s rounded out by several ciders, seltzers and meads. A few to sip: the Ole Crazy Legs stout, Sour Señorita raspberry sour, Niebla hazy IPA, blackberry hibiscus seltzer.