The Church Brew Works

 After a day of hitting the museums in Oakland, my friends and I headed down to The Church Brew Works for some dinner and refreshments.

Beer Sampler

 It goes without saying that the Church has some of the best beer in Pittsburgh and my dining experiences in the past here have been quite good. So lets see how the food would be on this pleasant Saturday Afternoon.

Cup of 7 Onion Soup $4.50

The 7 Onion Soup was outstanding. Laced with the Church's own Pious Monk Dunkle beer, the soup had great onion and beef flavor. Its topped with homemade croutons and melted provolone cheese which adds a nice dimension of gooey tasty cheesiness. You cant go wrong with this soup as a starter on a cold Winters day.

Shinkasa Cheese Steak $11.75

    The Shinkasa Cheese Steak was your typical generic cheese steak sandwich. They use high quality Morgan Ranch Kobe beef on this, but the subtle flavors of that are washed out by the preponderance of peppers and onions. The sandwich could have used a little more steak on it in my opinion, especially at an $11.75 price point. The accompanying french fries were limp and soggy, looking like they had been sitting out for quite some time.

Cinco Fromaggio Pizza $9.25

 The Cinco Fromaggio Pizza is cooked in the Church's wood fired oven and is topped with Mozzarella, provolone, jack, feta and Parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic, basil and pine nuts. My dining companion also had chicken placed on it for an additional cost. The flavor of the pizza was very good, having a nice tang from all the different cheeses. However the crust was underdone in the middle and bottom while the outside was slightly burnt. Seems like the cooking surface of the oven was not at an adequate temperature to thoroughly cook the pizza on the bottom. 

Buffalo and Wild Mushroom Meatloaf

 Having had this dish before I was looking forward to trying it again. But things were not the same. First off the meatloaf itself came to the table lukewarm at best. The potatoes were not cooked all the way through. Also the first time I had this dish you could see the bits and chunks of wild mushrooms throughout the entire meatloaf, but now the mushrooms were indistinguishable from the buffalo meat itself. But worse of all was the fact that the meatloaf had almost zero flavor, with only the tomato demi-glace that covered the meatloaf imparting any flavor. All in all a big disappointment for what was once an outstanding dish.

  So a mixed bag at the Church Brew Works.  While the beer was as usual top notch, the food seems to have slipped a little since the last time I had visited. But I will be back if for anything to have one of their  freshly made Celestial Gold beers.

  RATING: 6/10

D's SixPax & Dogz

 D's is on South Braddock Ave off the Parkway East next to Regent Square. Its been around for quite a while now and was one of the first places in Pittsburgh where you could go buy individual micro-brewed beers.
 Me and my companion stopped there on a Friday night and like everything else on S.Braddock Ave. was packed wall to wall with people. So we just bought a couple of beers and drank them outside as we waited for our table. D's beer selection is absolutely huge and you should have no problem finding a brewskie to your liking
 After waiting about 20 minutes we were seated

 The interior is eclectic yet cozy. There is a big mural of Hollywood stars and Pittsburgh celebrities on one wall, and statues of trappist monks on the other.
 For our order we got a side of fries, a Veggie Chihuahua Dog, a Chili Cheese Dog, and a D's Brat with mustard and onion.

Fries $1.95

 The fries are terrific. Being batter dipped they have a great crunch.

Veggie Chihuahua Dog $4.19

 The  Veggie dog chihuahua style was much better then I expected it to be. While the veggie dog is not a dead ringer for a real hot dog , its pretty close. Just a slightly different texture. The chihuahua style means it comes with jalapenos, cheddar, guacamole, and salsa. A good healthy alternative to a normal dog.

Chili Cheese Dog $4.19

 The Chilli Cheese dog was great. The hot dog is a Vienna Beef dog from Chicago. Vienna Beef is recognized as one of the best purveyors of tube steaks in the US. The chili was all beef no beans which is a plus. The dog was grilled perfectly with just the right amount of charred crust on the casing. Also the casing is natural so it has a nice snap to it.

D's Brat with grilled onion and brown mustard $4.99

 The D's brat is a smoked bratwurst with small pieces of cheese inside it. Besides the onions needing a little more time on  the grill, this was a tasty sausage. The savory and smokiness of the brat was balanced out nicely by the brown mustard.
 D's has a ton of different toppings that you can put on your dogs in any combo you choose for free. They also have burgers, wings, hoagies, etc.

BEER CAVE 

  After your finished downing your dogs, you must stop at the beer cave. A cornucopia of beer goodness where you can buy six packs and individual bottles of local and domestic beers.

  So D's has great dogs, a large selection of beers on tap, and more importantly a Beer Cave. Whats not too like?

RATING 7/10