Too many microbrewpubs view food service as a going-through-the-motions excuse to provide nondescript solids to help soak up the high-class suds. Not CBC. With a wide-ranging and accomplished menu presented in a fun and thoroughly modern space, this always-lively place is nearly as renowned for its cheffy pub grub as it is for its superior homemade beers.
Why this pie?: If all Philly steaks were as good as this pizza, I'd eat them more often.
Eat it: The intriguing crust is cornmeal-dusted, crisp and more thin than thick. It's also chewy and snappy and so rousingly yeasty that I momentarily wondered if beer had been spilled on it as a secret ingredient.
One sly add-on I did detect was the substitution of mayo for pizza sauce (how Japanese!). On top of that rich base is even richer layers of melty provolone and American cheeses. Countering the creaminess is an inspired medley of colorful peppers (sweet red and yellows plus spicy poblanos).
But the pieces de resistance of this guaranteed gut stuffer are slices of shaved, full-flavored, real-deal prime rib. Hey, what's not to like about that? (Hint: CBC runs a "pizza and a pint" special for $12, Monday through Thursday nights.)
