It had been a while sine I had been to the Penn Brewery (maybe 6 years), and I was in the mood for some German food. So a friend and I went to check it out.
The Penn Brewery is best know for its beer making side of things. It produces some of the best beers in Pittsburgh including my personal favorite Penn Pilsner.
We went on a Friday night and were told that all the tables in the main dining room were reserved. They gave us a small table however that was wobbly and could barely hold 2 plates. So when I complained and threatened to leave, they put us down in the basement dining room, which it was obvious they did not want to open. However we were soon joined by others who were obviously experiencing the same situation as ourselves.
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| Summer Berry |
To drink, I ordered a bottle of their Summer Berry which was a wheat beer (Hefeweisen) with a slight berry flavor. It was very refreshing and it would make an excellent beer for sipping on a hot summer day.
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| Buffalo Chicken Pierogies $6.95 |
The pierogies were ok. Chicken, hot sauce, and blue cheese was the filling. Topped with blue cheese dressing and hot sauce. The flavor was pretty good and tasted of your typical buffalo wing. It could have done without so much crap on top of them, which kind of disguised the true flavor of the pierogies.
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| Balsamic Grilled Chicken $15.95 |
My friend ordered the Balsamic glazed chicken. It was a perfectly cooked chicken breast, covered in a bruschetta style tomato compote, with fresh mozzarella slices. Very creamy mashed potatoes and grilled veggies accompanied the chicken. Like I said, the chicken was cooked perfectly, being cooked all the way through yet still moist. The brushetta style compote and balsamic glaze added a nice acidity and Italian spice flair. The mozzarella was creamy yet seemed out of place being that fresh mozzarella is not the best cheese for melting over top of things. It congealed quickly when it cooled, and you were left with basically big slices of mozzarella which while good, seemed texturally awkward. A grated and melted mozzarella or provolone would have been more suitable I believe.
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| Rouldaen $14.95 |
The Rouladen that I ordered was excellent. First off the quantity as you can see was more than adequate. Honestly I was only expecting one rouladen roll, but they give you two. The rouladen is beef with bacon, onion, mustard, and pickles, all rolled up and braised till the beef is fork tender. It is accompanied with German potato salad and red cabbage.
The whole meal is all about mixing savory and sour. The rouladen was just awesome, having the savory flavors of the beef and bacon. While also the tang of the onions, mustard and pickles. Really one of the best meals I have had in quite a while.
The German potato salad was warm and made a quite satisfying side dish. The red cabbage I was surprised to find was less sour like sauerkraut, but somewhat sweet. It was flavored with apples and other spices and was surprisingly mild.
So all in all an excellent eating experience. Im looking forward to going back and trying some of Penn Brewery's other German fare.
PENN BREWERY
Rating : 8/10
