I think Ted and I were unknowingly in a silent competition for who would pick this place first. I vaguely remember him mentioning a brick oven pizza place this past summer, but if I’m not mistaken that turned out to be one of the first nice evenings of the season – and thus we ended up at a patio in the Valley instead. Then I came across it in my searches for new places, and considered it … but the combination of knowing they only serve beer and having a husband who’s prone to rum-and-diet binges didn’t fare well for me to make that pick.
And so the ball fell back into Ted’s court. Which, to his credit, he mentioned that the person who suggested Brick Oven Brew Pub to him as one of our picks did warn him that they don’t have air conditioning … and since the food is made via a giant wood fired brick oven, you can guess how comfortable that might be on a 90+ degree day. Thus why he had to pick it while it was still 30 degrees outside, lest we wait for next winter to roll around.
Upon arriving at BOBP I can completely see how it would be about nine billion degrees in there on a hot summer’s day. The place is literally a small storefront space in a plaza just off the street, and at least half of the space is completely taken up with the giant brick oven and the beer brewing machines. So that leaves one tiny area for tables. Actually, I’m not sure tiny even is the best word to describe the space. Minuscule? Minute? Microscopic? I think you get the idea. I mean, I didn’t count, but if I had to guess I would say there were like 12 or 14 two-top tables configured within the room to accommodate anywhere from dates of two to parties of six.
I’ll let you do the math on just how many people you can feed at one time based on those numbers. Because, well, I’m the writer. We don’t do math in my circles.
Luckily Amanda and Jerrid got there first and let them know we’d be a party of five. So we didn’t have to wait too long for a table – but they did kind of have to rearrange things to make room for us with the other parties that were already dining.
So the takeaway here is if you have a large party, this may not be the place for you to spend an evening. Even if you are good at math.
There’s also a small area partitioned off at the back of the space with a few high tops and some stools at … well .. it’s really not a bar, it’s more like a counter. You could call it a bar only because it faces the beer taps. But, yeah, it’s a counter. I think I’ve seen more dedicated bar space in people’s basements.
So there’s that.
As mentioned, the place brews their own beer. And there’s not a huge selection – I think it changes from time to time, and they may have a few seasonals that appear at different times also. But the night we were there they had four on tap: Cream Ale, Black IPA, German Witte, and Oatmeal Stout.
We started off all with a round of the lightest one, the cream ale. Well, except I-always-have-to-be-different-Ted, who went the complete opposite end to the dark side and got the oatmeal stout. I was intrigued by the description of it … you know, the usual “hints of coffee and chocolate” – which make it sound absolutely delightful – until you get handed something that actually tastes like motor oil and vinegar.
But I asked to try Ted’s when it arrived, and was pleasantly surprised. For once those descriptions actually didn’t lie. There really were hints of coffee and chocolate. And it was very smooth. I approved. And was actually torn between which one I liked better – the lighter cream ale, or the oatmeal stout.
Ted, of course, was incredibly proud.
Since there was success with two of the four beers, for the next round both Ted and I opted for the $5 flight – which is a smaller sampler glass of all four beers. And again, pleasantly surprised. We kind of passed them all around a little to let everyone try, and the opinion was pretty much the same: we liked all of them except the Black IPA. It wasn’t awful – a bit bitter starting out, but no aftertaste like a lot of other IPAs have. Ted said the same – it wasn’t his favorite, but it was better than some of the other IPAs he’s had at other craft breweries. The Witte was also really good, it was a bit citrusy and also very light like the Cream Ale.
So the consensus on the alcohol side of things: three out of four beers we would order without hesitation. I’d consider that a win.
I think the guys all had their hearts set on the deep dish pizza, until I pointed out on the menu where it said it was an hour wait. Um, yeah, never mind. Another time maybe.
So instead we ended up with two Sicilian regular crust pizzas, one Sicilian thin crust pizza, and a Supreme regular crust pizza. They really do have more options than that – but, well, I guess the rule about ordering something different for the sake of trying a bit of everything kind of went out the window somewhere in these past 2.5 years.
Shane ordered first and got the large Sicilian on a thin crust – for himself.
Me: well I guess we aren’t sharing then, thanks honey.
So I got the small Supreme. Just for me. Take that.
Jerrid and Amanda shared the large Sicilian regular crust (see, they can share), and Ted also got the same thing just for himself.
For appetizers – because I guess we thought entire pizzas wouldn’t be enough food … oh, wait, it’s us, that makes total sense – Jerrid and Amanda also got cheese sticks, and Shane and I got the dough sticks, which are essentially just pieces of their dough rolled into sticks and fired in the oven. We were really happy with them – while they weren’t as soft and “pillowy” as some places we’ve tried, they weren’t hard as a rock either. Balance is good.
None of us ordered the stromboli, but we noticed that another couple at a table near us (which, really, means they were practically sitting with us, given the size of the place) each got one, and they looked delicious. And huge. Not that one place in Kent where the waitress looked at Amanda and I like we were crazy for each ordering a large one for ourselves kind of huge – but still really big nonetheless.
Everyone really liked the pizza here at BOBP. It had good flavor, good sauce, and just enough on the toppings without going overboard.
Ted actually said he liked the pizza so much, he said he would put it in his Top Five. Wow. I mean, if you follow us enough then by now you realize just how much of a compliment that is.
The only Debbie Downer of the bunch was Shane. Mr. Garlic King himself actually said it was TOO garlicky for him. Wait, what? I didn’t realize such a thing existed. I mean, this is the guy who orders French fries and wings that are soaked in garlic, which actual cloves on the top. I’m half surprised he hasn’t asked a place yet to just deep fry a bulb of garlic and serve it to him. But yet this pizza was “too much.”
I mean, don’t get me wrong – he still ate it. He just thought it was a bit much. Hmm.
Maybe it was the alcohol, or just because everyone other than me had the garlic pizza and had to cleanse their palates, but when Jerrid noticed the note on the specials chalk board for “S’mores dessert pizza” we all jumped on it like it was the next rendition of sliced bread. Shane and I got one to take home, as did Amanda and Jerrid.
We actually tried a slice each when we got home … and I have to say that we were not very impressed. I feel like this pizza was their rendition of the tricky beer descriptions – the S’mores pizza sounded and looked so much better than how it actually tasted. We agreed that it was actually the crust that ruined it for us. The toppings were good … but they put them on the same crust as what they use for all of the pizzas at BOBP. Which is good for actual pizza … but for dessert pizza, you almost need like a graham cracker crust, or cookie crust, or cinnamon … something other than just plain dough with some chocolate sauce and melted marshmallows on it. Boo.
But other than that, all in all, Brick Oven Brew Pub was a win for our group. The beers were good – for being home brewed, they were all very smooth and definitely easily drinkable. And the pizzas – while it’s a bit of a wait to get them to the table – are definitely worth it. It would be great to see them expand their dining facilities so that you don’t have to wait forever for a table for a group of more than two people – I mean, we were there on a Wednesday, and it was packed (well, “packed” for a place that only serves … well, whatever number you math geniuses came up with earlier in this post) – so I can’t imagine how it is on a Friday or Saturday. I mean, if it’s a really cold night, could you just get the special “inside the oven” seating maybe? Asking for a friend.
CAPSULE
Picked by: Ted
Drinks: So, if you don’t like beer you’re out of luck. Although with a name that ends in “brew pub” you should probably have known this already.
Food: Likewise, if you don’t like Italian food – primarily pizza or stromboli – your review of this place will be vastly different than ours.
Service: I think perhaps our table was probably one of the neediest – at least in terms of alcohol – that they’ve seen for a bit … but they kept up well. And by “they” I mean the one person working all the tables.
Overall: Great little place. But if you’re anything more than a party of two it the size of the place lends itself more to just getting a few pizzas and a growler to go.
Next Pick: Jerrid
Where To Go Wednesdays 