Untapping Gonzales’ potential with Fourth Street Tap House
GONZALES, Calif. (KION-TV)- South Monterey County has spent the past several years trying to turn around a negative perception of having nothing to do.
When you think of cute bars, with live music, good food and games on the Central Coast you often think about well... the coast. However, there is one taproom in Gonzales that opened its doors in 2018 that has people wanting to stay inland something to cheers to.
As soon as you walk into Fourth Street Taphouse it takes you by surprise. It looks small on the outside, but on the inside, you get a modern-looking, spacious bar with a cozy feel to it.
TVs line the inside, perfect to fit any sports fan's needs. There is even a spacious back area with a few picnic tables. I was genuinely surprised that such a cute tap room was hidden away in such a small downtown area.
The taproom doesn't serve food, but to remedy this they invite vendors to sell food for them. They have an event calendar on their Instagram page that tells you when they'll serve food, have live music, or have other fun promotions. Brisket burgers, enchiladas, clam chowder bowls, and more are served at various times of the year.
On Friday, the owner of El Cachanilla and his Mexicali-style hotdogs was there. Victor Isassy makes hand-cut fries and they pair well with the chipotle sauce, as I skeptically learned.
He has a mess of toppings to choose from, which he said is nothing compared to genuine Mexicali dogs. I went with the bacon-wrapped hot dog, with the chipotle sauce, guacamole, nacho cheese, and all the veggies he had to offer because I have to stay healthy if I want to keep doing these.
It surprisingly all worked, the mess of flavors came together and created the cart dog that eluded me outside of the Giants game a few months ago. I swear this isn't going to be just hot dog reviews, but I'm two for two in good ones the last two weeks.
Issay also tells me he caters all over Salinas when he's not busy being a father of two, full-time student, baseball coach, real estate agent, and social worker for Santa Clara County. He said he would love to start catering more, but for now, he has to coach little league for the next few weeks.
Issay also told me that he uses his platform to give back by sponsoring shoe drives for needy kids in Mexico. In 2021 he gathered 182 pairs and hopes by catering more and getting his name out there he can surpass that.
Good guys deserve recognition, so if you have catering needs send him a message.
Fourth Street Taproom shows that everywhere you go has something to offer you. The word surprising shouldn't be associated with the kind and hardworking people that make up the small city of around 8,500 people.
I had a great time when I was there and I highly recommend anyone that is looking for fun weekend plans to stop by. You can check them out, here.
