Some laws are meant to be broken. Or rescinded.

Especially when it comes to the one that California enacted in 1999 that prohibited someone from owning both a restaurant and a bottling brewery.

The result was that long-time brewer Dan Gordon was forced to sell his 12 Gordon Biersch Brewery restaurants in order to maintain ownership of his Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in San Jose.

It was not a decision he wanted to make. And it was one that haunted him.

When California legislators rescinded that law this year, Gordon rejoiced. By chance, he learned that his original Gordon Biersch restaurant in downtown Palo Alto was about to be shuttered and sold. He managed to buy it back.

This March, he and his business partner, Steve Sincheck (Gordon’s original bar manager at that location, and now owner of Palo Alto’s Old Pro and Local Union 271) reopened the restaurant, christening it Dan Gordon’s and transforming it into a contemporary barbecue joint. It is the only restaurant Gordon actually owns now.

Of course, there’s plenty of beer, in the form of Gordon Biersch brews, as well as the new Dan Gordon line, which features, among other brews, Wildcide, his new hard apple cider.

Enjoy the beers as I did, when I invited in as a guest of the restaurant recently, in samplers featuring mini steins (three for $7; five for $10; seven for $15).

The house-smoked wings ($14) are brined in the juice leftover from the house-made pickles before being smoked, giving them a ever-slight edge of sharpness mixed in with all that smoky goodness.

Chef Kwin Vu recently added his rendition of fried chicken to the menu, too. You can enjoy it in various ways, including adding it for an extra cost to a salad. But a great way to try it is in the “KFC & A Biscuit” ($13.95). The KFC (get it?) is a generous piece of mahogany, deeply crunchy chicken drizzled with honey and rosemary, and paired with a fluffy biscuit dotted with pieces of sharp Fiscalini cheddar. This is outstanding fried chicken. Technically, this dish falls under the menu’s category of “share” plates. It’s so delectable, though, you may have trouble parting with any of it.

The burgers here are enormous. You can be brave and try the “TCB” ($16), which features a half-pound patty topped with banana, peanut butter, jalapeno jelly, cheddar and a fried egg. Yes, really.

Or you can go the less adventurous route, which is what we did with the “Brisket-Topped Burger” ($13). Again, it’s a half pounder (divided between two patties) of beef from Mindful Meats, the first verified non-GMO beef company. That stack of patties is crowned with a chunk of melt-in-your-mouth brisket. It comes with either a mixed green salad or Gordon’s fabled garlic fries. You know which one you’re bound to order. Even after all these years, those fries are fabulous.

Gordon, a true garlic lover, came up with them in 1986, when he was studying brewing at Technical University of Munich, and in need of a late-night snack.

“I had no idea they’d take off like this,” he told me. “that people would stand in line for two innings at a baseball game to get them.

“Or that McDonald’s would start doing them. I guess mockery is the best flattery,” he laughed.

Like most barbecue places, Dan Gordon’s offers a sampler, so you can try various meats on one plate. Unlike other barbecue restaurants that serve their samplers on stainless steel trays, the food here comes on pretty rectangular ceramic plates. Hey, it is downtown Palo Alto, right?

On the three-meat sampler ($21), I opted for the St. Louis ribs, which had that treasured smoke ring and meat that pulled away easily from the bone without being too soft. The brisket (ask for the marbled) is juicy and heavenly. The turkey breast could have been a tad moister. But then again, I prefer dark meat.

Don’t worry about digging in with your hands. On each table is a caddy of silverware along with packaged wet-ones. There’s also a trio of squeeze bottles holding different house-made barbecue sauces to add on as liberally as you like.

The mac ‘n’ four cheese ($4 for a small; $8 for a large) is expectedly creamy and rich, and boasts a nice panko topper. The Brussels sprouts ($10) are fried to a crisp, and tossed with golden raisins and vinegar for singsongy sweet-tangy deliciousness.

Normally, I order dessert at the end of dinner. I hate to admit I had no room left to do so here. Guess I’ll just have to try it next time. Because Dan Gordon’s is a place you want to come back to again and again.

A Taste of Wildcide

As if Dan Gordon doesn’t have plenty already on his plate and in his stein, he has started a new company, Aurum Cider.

Its first product is Wildcide, a hard cider made from Oregon-grown Fuji, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Red Delicious apples. The just-pressed juice is sent the next day to good ol’ San Jose, where Gordon add yeast to begin the fermentation process.

The result is a light-golden cider that’s 6.2 percent alcohol by volume. It’s an easy sip that’s tart, dry and with the bright taste of fresh apples rather than the heavier, autumn-pie-like character of some other ciders. As such, it can be enjoyed with food. In fact, my husband and I enjoyed a sample bottle alongside grilled sausages.

A six-pack of 12-ounce bottles is $9.99; a 22-ounce-bottle is $4.99. Find the cider at select Bay Area Safeway and BevMo stores.

 

More Downtown Palo Alto Places to Try: Zola’s

And: Lure & Till

And: Lyfe Kitchen