While I don’t make it down to Taft’s Ale House very often I do like their beers. I was happy when they opened Taft’s Brewpourium about a year ago. It’s closer to home and easier for my family to get to. Also I much prefer the pizza menu over the beef heavy menu at the Ale House.

Tomato Pie with Mozzarella

The Brewpourium is in an old warehouse style building with lots of open space for both kids and adults to play. There is shuffleboard, darts, giant jenga, cornhole, etc. Picnic table seating is available throughout the space. They primarily serve apizza, which is also called New Haven-style. Essentially it is thin crust and rapid fired.

BBQ Pork Pie

My wife and I split the BBQ Pork Pie with pulled pork, Cherrywood Amber Ale BBQ sauce, smoked cheddar, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and cilantro ($20 for 16″). I really enjoyed this pizza and it was more than enough for the 2 of us. In fact we took half of it home with us.

Knots

Our kids split a tomato pie with mozzarella ($8 for 10″) and also loved the house made garlic knots ($6). On later visits we have been known to get two orders of knots, as everyone in the family really enjoys them. I will also say that The Roebling pizza with ricotta is awesome! We are definitely fans of the Brewpourium.

Since moving to Hyde Park the nearby Buffalo Wild Wings was my go to spot for wings. But now that Buffalo Wings & Rings has opened up I have a new favorite spot. The location is tucked back in Oakley Station and is in a brand new building. The inside is large, open, and very clean. There are plenty of seating options available with a large bar, high top tables, booths, and smaller tables.

Inside

My wife has never been a fan of wing restaurants, but one great thing about Wings & Rings is that there is plenty of variety on the menu. Take this southwestern veggie burger for example, with cucumber, avocado, cheddar jack cheese, chipotle aioli, lettuce, tomato, and pickle ($9.99). The black bean patty was nothing out of the ordinary, but the toppings definitely kicked it up a notch. She was also happy to get steamed broccoli on the side instead of fries or chips.

Southwestern Veggie Burger

On our first visit I went with the buffalo chicken club with fried tenders in hot sauce, applewood-smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and bleu cheese dip ($9.99). Their buffalo tenders are outstanding, fresh fried and juicy. This is a great sandwich and the potato wedges on the side are also tasty.

Buffalo Chicken Club

In many return visits my go to order has become 3 tenders in hot garlic-q sauce with a side of bleu cheese dip and celery ($7.29). My kids are fans of the mini corn dogs and the chicken tenders. My daughter loves that she can get a kids salad on the side with her meal. We are all big fans of Wings & Rings!

The Wheel started as a pop-up restaurant hosting private dinners and they have expanded to now offer takeaway orders four days a week. All of their bread and pizza doughs are hand mixed and baked fresh daily. And the menu changes daily.

Outside

The Wheel is pretty well hidden on the eastern edge of Oakley on Brotherton Road, tucked between homes and small apartment complexes. There is a small parking lot, or street parking out front.

Inside

The brick exterior actually doesn’t look much different from the neighboring four family homes. The interior is clean, new, and modern. Menu boards are updated daily with the offerings of the day.

Tomato Pane

I couldn’t decide between the two pane offerings of the day, so I ordered a slice of each! The tomato pane is amazingly delicious! The stewed tomato sauce for this is super thick and also contains oregano, garlic, and olive oil. It is lightly topped with cheese and dried herbs.

Coppa & Peppers Pane

The coppa & peppers pane had a base of the same thick crust, a little tomato sauce, and provolone. The coppa is a salami like meat and was complimented with banana peppers. This was also a good slice of pie, but I have to recommend that you try the tomato if you can only handle a single slice. Two slices was more than I could finish for my lunch.

Americano calls itself a burger bar, but they have more than just burgers to offer. My family and I visited on a random Saturday evening while we happened to be downtown for a sporting event. We arrived at 5:30 to find no wait for a table, which was good for us as we were somewhat in a hurry.

Outside

They are located on Race street just a block away from fountain square. They have a small patio space and a much larger inside dining area. There is a somewhat large bar that flanks the northern wall and booths fill the majority of the remaining space.

Inside

The kitchen occupies the western portion of the restaurant. It is open air and view-able from the majority of the restaurant. We happened to be sitting within close view, which provided a little entertainment/distraction for our elementary aged children.

Kitchen

We all split an order of pretzel and beer cheese to get started. The pretzel was of good quality and I loved the beer cheese. It was a little too spicy for the kids though, but they were happy to enjoy the pretzel on its own.

Pretzel & Beer Cheese

Though there isn’t a kid’s menu posted on their website, they do offer a variety of selections for the little ones. My son enjoyed the plain cheese burger ($6) along with a side of fries ($4). My daughter had the kids mac n cheese ($5). Only tried the fries, which were freshly fried and cooked to perfection!

Kid’s Burger

My choice for dinner was the grilled spicy chicken sandwich with pepperjack cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, and jalapeno aioli ($13). I upgraded the included side of fries to hand battered onion rings ($3). I really enjoyed the chicken sandwich and the onion rings were obviously hand breaded and fried to order. Delicious!

Grilled Spicy Chicken Sandwich

My wife enjoyed the housemade veggie burger patty of farro cannellini beans, topped with caramelized onions, brie, tomato, arugula, and mayo ($13). The farm greens side salad was included and was fresh and of decent size. The veggie burger was outstanding and we really enjoyed the toppings as well.

The Veggie Burger

Overall we had a very nice dinner at Americano. The prices are a little higher than normal, but that often comes with an excellent location downtown. This will not be a monthly stop for us, but we will definitely be back in the future.