Menu items from Finback LIC’s “Dumpling Up” Menu. Photo courtesy of Finback LIC
Aug. 21, 2024 by Shane O’Brien
The recently opened Finback Brewery in Long Island City has introduced a new food menu featuring unique Asian pub snacks inspired by the culinary traditions of co-owner Basil Lee’s mother.
Located at 29-37 41st Ave. on the ground floor of the “Sven” rental tower, Finback LIC launched its 3,800-square-foot taproom and production studio last December.
The brewery’s new menu, aptly named “Dumpling Up,” offers a delicious array of Northern Chinese and Chinese-American dishes, including wontons, cold tofu, dumplings, hot fries and chicken wings.
The brewery has built a following for its hazy IPAs and barrel-aged stouts. It boasts two other locations, including one in Gowanus, Brooklyn, and the original Finback location in Glendale, opened by Lee and his partner Kevin Stafford in 2014. The Gowanus location previously introduced the Dumpling Up menu, inspiring Lee to introduce the menu at Finback LIC.
Lee said he worked with his mother, affectionately known as Mama Lee, to curate a simple menu that would work well with beer in a taproom environment.
He said his mother had retired after selling the popular China Inn restaurant in Rhode Island just before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving her in a position to help out with the new Dumpling Up menu.
The menu, which is inspired by dumplings, aims to provide customers with pub and comfort food, Lee said.
“We have a small menu at LIC, but its centered on Asian snacks and street food,” Lee said, adding that the menu emphasizes “really well-done” light bites and snacks.
Photo courtesy of Finback LIC.
Lee said he has noticed a shift in customer habits ever since opening Finback ten years ago, stating that customers previously prioritized beer and saw food as an afterthought. However, he said customers are now seeking a balance between Finback’s food and beer offerings, with many customers searching for snacks that compliment the beer on offer at the LIC location.
“Some people are still coming in for the beer, but I think most people are coming in for the food and are just looking for a good place to have both.”
Finback LIC, featuring 20 rotating taps of new and beloved beers, a diverse cocktail program and rotating menus of small-batch natural wines and mezcals, has only really opened in earnest over the past month.
Photo courtesy of Finback LIC
Lee said Finback’s kitchen opened around two weeks ago, while the brewery finally brewed its own batches of beer around three weeks ago.
“The space was ready and we just thought ‘let’s open now’ (in December 2023), but all of the pieces weren’t together yet,” Lee said. “And so in some ways, I almost feel like we just opened a month ago.”
Lee said he hopes that the addition of the Dumpling Up menu will help attract new customers to the LIC brewery, stating that Finback LIC is ideally situated to attract a broader range of customers.
He said the Brooklyn and Glendale locations attract a far greater proportion of “beer nerds,” but said the LIC brewery attracts a more diverse customer base because it is located so close to Queens Plaza.
As a result, the brewery has been catering to beer novices and experts alike, hosting monthly trivia nights and weekly run club events. At the same time, Lee also aims to work with local artists and members of the creative community.
Lee hopes that the LIC brewery will host art shows in the future, pointing out that both the Noguchi Museum and MoMA PS1 are located within a short distance of Finback.
The brewery is open seven days a week, opening from 3-10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and opening from 12-10 p.m. on Thursdays. Finback opens from noon until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and is open from 12-8 p.m. on Sundays.
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