The Church Brew Works

The Church Brew Works-Pittsburgh

I went to church last night.  It was a beautiful, big church with lots of stained glass, a large pipe organ, comfy pews and beer. Yes, beer! And not only was the beer one of the tastiest beers I’ve ever had, the food was amazing too!

IMG_5978

The Church Brew Works-Pittsburgh

When you are walking up the stairs to the entrance, you feel like you are getting ready to sit through mass, not enjoy a wonderful meal. You pull open the huge wooden doors, pass the stoup in the wall (where the holy water once was held) and then you see the beautiful sanctuary.

IMG_5994

a view from the entryway

The pictures don’t do this gorgeous church justice.  And the effort and attention to detail that went into the restoration of this place is very impressive. I learned that they used the original floors, pews, lanterns and the extra oak from the pews were turned into the bar.

IMG_5984

Mike in the bar area where four big steel and copper tanks sit below the beautiful windows

The beer menu is pretty impressive with more than a dozen choices, and I went with one of their Oktoberfest flavors, Toms Pepper Wit. It’s one of their seasonal beers made with real peppercorns that gives it the perfect bite without the spice. So good!

IMG_5988

Me sitting on one of the original pews with the altar and beer tanks behind

I was already sold on the atmosphere and beer, then the food came and it was delicious! We ordered the Traditional Pierogies (I mean we’re in Pittsburgh, we had to) and Pretzels to start. The potato and cheese filled pierogies were so tasty that we inhaled them so fast and I didn’t even get a photo. Oops! As for the pretzels, they were some of the lightest pretzels I’ve ever had with the perfect amount of butter and salt on top.

IMG_5990

warm pretzels, mustard and beer

Did I mention they have a wood fired brick oven too? Well, they do and it sits near the altar popping out some awesome flavored pizzas with the perfect light and crispy crust.

IMG_5991

The Cinco Fromaggio Pizza with pine nuts

The food and beer alone are worth a visit but it’s such a fun vibe inside, very different from your typical bar or restaurant, that you’ll want to keep coming back for more! Amen!

IMG_5989

the pipes in front of the beautiful stained glass window

Check out The Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, PA or here:

http://www.churchbrew.com/

Buddy’s Pizza

Buddy’s Pizza-Detroit

In February 2013, we headed to the chilly city of Detroit.  Looking for something to eat that would warm us up, we found Buddy’s Pizza.

IMG_4884

Buddy’s has been around for over 65 years and has been featured in many different magazines, newspapers and  t.v. shows.

IMG_4878

We went to the original Buddy’s on the corner of Conant and Six Mile Roads and although it’s nothing fancy, the pizza was delicious. The deep buttery crust, and gooey cheese made it one tasty square pizza!

IMG_4880

They are very flexible with their menu too.  No meat? Fine. Gluten free crust? Sure. Vegan cheese? No Problem.

And if you check out their website before you go, you could even get a coupon for a few bucks off your bill.  (Or you can do what I did and check it out on your phone while you’re waiting for your pie to bake.)

Here’s Buddy’s website: www.buddyspizza.com

Izzy’s Ice Cream

Izzy’s Ice Cream-Minneapolis/St. Paul

A few months ago, we headed to Minneapolis in the dead of winter.  And in case you were wondering, January in Minnesota is cold.  Very cold.  So, where did we choose to eat at while we were visiting? Well, Izzy’s Ice Cream of course!

IMG_1850

Mike, Me and Keisha in our winter gear eating ice cream-January 2012

One of the best things about eating ice cream when it’s 18 degrees out is that the line is pretty short! That turned out to be a great thing for us because we were able to try quite a few flavors.

They had lots unique flavors, seasonal ones and the classics too.  Izzy’s is constantly coming up with new flavors and it was fun trying different ones each of our visits!

IMG_1774

Check out that fun Izzy Scoop on top!

I can’t forget to mention the best part of Izzy’s…..it’s the “Izzy” scoop! It’s a little bonus scoop of ice cream that they put on top of your ice cream.  Ice cream on top of ice cream, yes please!!

Something else that impressed me when visiting Izzy’s St. Paul location was how much they focus on green solar energy.  Any business that goes above and beyond to cut their energy needs will have repeat business from me.

IMG_1775

Yay for solar energy!

If you are in the Twin City area, head on over for a tasty treat!

Check out their website here for more info:

http://izzysicecream.com/