No-Li Brewhouse adds executive chef, revamps menu

The No-Li Brewhouse added Executive Chef Branden Moreau to its brewpub roster. No-Li brought Moreau on board to revamp its menu and increase customer satisfaction, with a heavy focus on a food and craft beer experience. If you caught our recent Brewpub Files, you’d know that creating a brand identity through food is just as important as beer in the brewpub business; as the craft beer scene in the greater Spokane, Wash., area grows, No-Li continues to strive to be a leader, helping to spread the movement and satisfy the customer demand for a memorable dining experience. To do that, Moreau is putting a big focus on building great relationships and local connections.

Think Branden’s mustache is awesome? You should try his equally bold culinary creations. At No-Li, Moreau plans to change the menu a handful of times each year, with a few subtle changes in between, and will bring back popular items. The goal is to keep the menu fresh and creative.

“Building relationships and local connections only broadens the options and capabilities for what my crew and I can accomplish. We’re supporting the local economy and creating a supportive community for everyone involved in the dining experience – purveyors, staff, guests,” stated Moreau.

The new from-scratch menu, coming out in late September, carries on No-Li’s theme of “No Boundaries.” Moreau will put a new spin on familiar dishes, utilize weekly fresh sheets that include suggested beer pairings and feature “Spokane-Style” dishes that utilize ingredients sourced from the Pacific Northwest. For example, the new menu will feature eggs, flour and lentils from Washington, as well as freshly baked bread from local artisan bakeries.

“This is the kind of food that I love to put my spin and interpretation on. Not only are the local products inspiring, the beer is as well. I have been experimenting with utilizing beer in several recipes. Using product that is brewed 10 steps from my kitchen… that’s Spokane Style, and that’s what I’m all about,” Moreau said.

Staff will be trained on the new menu and will have beer suggestions to pair with menu items, creating a more satisfying experience for guests. In addition to the new menu, No-Li now hosts weekly beer events, including live music on Sundays and Wednesdays, Thursday guest tappings, Firkin Fridays (cask beer), and brewery tours on Fridays and Saturdays.

Moreau, born and raised in Spokane, comes from a long history of cooking. He went to culinary school at the Western Culinary Institute of Le Cordon Bleu in Portland, Ore. During his studies at the Institute, he traveled to Las Vegas for his internship at famed-chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon at the Venetian.

Moreau then went on to work as the Sous Chef at Place Pigalle in Seattle, and has since worked at a handful of top local restaurants, including Wild Sage, Twigs, Sante and as the Executive Chef at the Manito Taphouse.

No-Li is hosting its first-ever in-house beer dinner on Sept. 25 to kick-off the new menu, as well as to celebrate Spokane craft beer leading up to the Inland Northwest Craft Beer Festival Sept. 27 and 28. The four-course menu will feature some of the dishes guests will see on the new menu. Each course is paired with a beer from No-Li, including their Dry Fly Whiskey Barrel-Aged Summer Wheat.