Nine of us had lunch at the Church Works Brew Pub today. At least five of us were exceedingly unimpressed, one really enjoyed herself, one who had been there before said this was not quite as nice an experience as before, and the other two were our guests, so they didn't say anything negative. The one who was pleased had the batter-dipped club with french fries, which was both plentiful and delicious. The one who had been there before had the Caeser salad with grilled chicken, which she enjoyed. Two of our party and our two guests had the peppercorn chicken breast with quinuoa (sp?) pilaf. While the food was good, the portions were exceedingly small. Two others had the pasta with jalepenos & other stuff. Unfortunately, the jalepenos so overwhelmed the flavor of the other stuff, that the dish was almost uneatable. My pasta with salmon and mushrooms was very bland, almost tasteless, except for the shards of salmon, which were very salty. All three pasta dishes, like the chicken were very small servings, especially for the price ($7 at lunch- no accompanying salad). While I'm not certainly not of the if-I-don't-waddle-from-the-table-I-havent-had-enough school, it's not a good sign when the entire table finishes their entrees and then orders more bread because they are still hungry! One other note for those of you who may have ambiguous feelings about turning a church building into a brew pub- the seating area is very nicely done, respectfully even, for lack of a better words, but the main brewing tanks have been set up in place of the altar, which some may find distasteful.
Pittsburgh, PA