Alrighty then! I think I have a handle on this place a bit more now.
So, as the name states, this is a brewery, and their brew is good. I like it enough to come here just for that, sans the pie. As with my last visit they had at least a half dozen of their own beers on tap, and could have been 10 or 12, I wasn't counting obviously, and they were good. Oh, I already said that. And I mention the number of beers because some douche on Yelp, and most are douches on Yelp, was bitching that when he/she was at HBC they only had 2 or so of their own beers available. Every time I've been there, twice now, they have a full offering. Good stuff. Seems that Yelpers bitch about stupid shit, or obvious things, just to get the owner or manager to give them freebees. Or the're just stupid. As an example, there's a Yelp review on Corepower Yoga, which I enjoy just about every day. Good stuff. Anyway, the reviewer took a C-1, beginner class, no heat (might be some residual from the previous class, but not much), and the C-1's have a standard set of poses so that the student can get used to the flow and how CPY does things. No customizations, basic, beginning. So the douche is bitching that the C-1 are so boring and he/she has taken them from a number of instructors and they are all the same, no creativity, blah. IDIOT!!!!!!!! Know where you are and what you are doing. Don't take a beginner yoga class and complain that it's easy/boring! You picked that class!! Don't go to a pizza place and order a grilled cheese or a burger and expect it to be amazing if their main thing is pizza. YOU ARE IN A PIZZA PLACE, or wherever. Know where you are and get whats good, or shut up!
Stupid people.
Sorry, pisses me off sometimes.
OK, more about the beer...
I think this is the Heffe and the red, or something. Ehh, I'm a pizza guy, not a beer guy, at least not yet. But this shit was good!!
And remember the name, Hillcrest Brewery. Naturally there are a few gay men working in the place and a lot of the clientele are gay, etc... and all are welcome of course. But my point is/was, that the place is fun and lighthearted and so are the beers. One is named Pearl Necklace and when one orders this you are "tossed" a pearl necklace......
They also have a "Banana Hammock" and "Long and Stout" and "Happy Endings" to name a few.
This is Jason's chin and arms. He was our bartender/waiter and a super cool guy. Made the night fun and easy.
There is another character named Johnnie (not his real name tho, but that's what I call him cause he reminds me of a Johnnie. And for some reason I want to spell it that way, so I will. When you name something I think it comes with the power of using your own spelling if you want. Sounds good to me. I think his real name is Matt tho, in case you happen to go in). So Jason was great and the place was great. Really cool inside.
The location used to be a Chinese restaurant that I had been to many a time. It was shitty food but it was cheap and good, if that makes sense. Well, it makes sense to me. And being Chinese they were open on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so another big plus for when those days suck or you just want something other than the standard fare, Chinese is what works well. So I'm sorry to see that place go but this is a nice swap.
Beer
Now to the food. Like I said in the beginning, I think I have this place figured out now. I'll explain all of the elements first then I'll bring it all home.
First - Wings
REALLY GOOD!
Jason stated that they are cooked in their pizza oven, and only in the pizza oven. I had a hard time believing this as the meat was just falling off the bone. It almost had a feel like it was steamed after cooking, like in a chaffing dish. Like if you cook ribs and at the end wrap them in foil for the last 30/45 mins the meat just steams so that they fall off the bone? That's how this felt. Jason swore that they came from the oven, and only the oven, straight to us. So I believe it, sort of.... Them shits were good tho, YUMMMMM. Sauce was perfect too, nice and buffalowie.
I had a specialty pizza (clams, pancetta, fresh mozz, etc.) and a pepperoni.
OK, so this is the second specialty pizza I've had here and both looked great, smelled amazing. The problems, and there are a couple, are:
1: There was no flavor. I know, how can that be??? Looks so killer and believe me, smelled amazing! But honestly I could not taste a clam nor pancetta, nor anything but crust and maybe cheese. Super disappointing. Like the last time I had a pesto and chicken something. Bland.
2. The crust is not the type of crust that gets crispy on the bottom. Like I explained in my past review, seems like they are using a bread dough and forcing it to be pizza. Which, if you have minimal toppings it can work. Too many toppings, it's a floppy mess. And too many bland toppings, it's just filler at that point. The specialty pizzas are a pass, big time.
Looks great.
Wish it tasted great
This is the one. Only pizza I'll ever order there again, just pepperoni. But it's really that good. Just look at the huge pepperoni slices, greasy, cheesy, but the right balance of toppings to crust thickness. They don't overdo it. Just enough, balance, yummmmmmm!
Could have been so good, if only they had added the flavor
And now, to something that I really love. And I'm not even sure why, at least not completely sure why.
Cornmeal
Again, not exactly sure of the appeal. But when it's under there, bottom of the pie, and I gets its on mys fingers, and it's greasy, it just feels like I'm eating something ancient, from some time long ago where there was a hearth and giant dogs laying on stone floors and a cast iron pot over the wood fire, snow could be falling outside, the house made of wood, pine trees near, a whole forest of them. It says to me that someone used their hands to make what I'm eating. It's real food. No doubt that using cornmeal means more work. More work to apply, more to clean up, etc... Maybe that's also why I think it's so great. It's not the easy way out. Sure, there are other methods of making sure the pie doesn't stick to the peal, and that is really the whole point of the cornmeal. Because pizza dough, real dough designed for pizza, is wet, very wet, and very floppy, almost as if it can or could be poured. So the cornmeal allows you to get the pie off of the peal and into the oven. Other methods are flour, which works but then you have flour flavor on the bottom, and I don't think that's good flavor at all. There are also metal pans and gratings as well, but there's no flavor enhancing component there either.
So when I see the cornmeal, a little part inside me cracks a smile, cause I know that this will not suck. The crust may not be the best, the toppings may be too excessive or not enough or even no flavor. But somewhere, somehow, someone is actually cooking my food. Me like.
So, in the final analysis, Hillcrest brewery is good, I'll be back, and hopefully soon.
Avoid the specialty pies, not worth the time, or stomach space.
I want to try a salad next time, they looked really good coming out of the kitchen.
My perfect HCB meal is
Beer!
Wings!
Salad!
Pepperoni pie!
Get it!
Eat it!
Enjoy it!
DVA
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