ZwanzigZ Pizza — Restaurant in Columbus

As I've said many a time before: I am reviewing this place ONLY on the brewery side, since I did not try the food. The pizza looked great, and it's not like I was avoiding it, but I had simply gotten food elsewhere prior to arriving. First off, what a nice setting! It's basically "downtown" Columbus, but it's like "small-town American pretty," especially now in this divine Fall weather (with the amazing central Indiana foliage). I had known ZZ from day one since they made waves in the midwest beer scene the minute they started brewing and were quick to put their excellent beers on display at the midwest's various craft beer festivals. BUT, those were usually held in the summer, which means light, or even fruity and sweet, beers...i.e., those I almost universally dislike! So, I tried some of their beers years ago, was underwhelmed, and almost forgot about them, until I was in the vicinity today, and I said "hey, people love this place, and they've gotten all kinds of accolades; I can't let one or two bad summer beerfest beers make me NOT want to try more?!" And I was rewarded because I went in and quickly tried 7-8 fantastic beers: an oktoberfest, brown porter, pale ale, pumpkin, maibock, Scotch, nut brown, a milkshake IPA, and maybe 1-2 others. They were almost universally good (though the milkshake IPA tasted "off" to me). I hate to sound like a creep or a sexist pig, but the server (to be left genderless in fear of sounding even more offensive) was so good looking as to be a perk of visiting this place in and of itself but he/she was also very knowledgeable about beer and was exceptionally friendly (i.e., not simply hired for his/her good looks). I expected to get in, try some beers, and get out quickly since I ONLY got to-go stuff (being Covid-weary), but the attractiveness of the waitstaff made me linger slightly longer than planned.

But I digress. Was every beer five stars? Of course not, but any small town in the US would be VERY fortunate to have a brewery of this caliber, AND, beyond that, it's dirt-cheap by craft beer standards. I actually thought the (beautiful) server made a mistake when I got 2 growlers and 3 6-packs for $40. Not sure if this is their normal price or their efforts to get business back during quarantine but they clearly did NOT have an issue today (a Friday, happy hour in fact) as the place was packed (to be fair, well-masked and properly social-distanced, but I still think they may NOT have expected such a huge crowd). $7-8 per 6-pack of world-class...

As both a beer nerd and a pizza junkie, I'm sad to say that prior to yesterday this place wasn't on my radar at all. I think I had seen it mentioned a few times before, but hadn't given it any thought. I was up in Columbus with friends to visit 450 North Brewing and decided to stop by here on a whim after seeing their beer list online. As far as beer and pizza are concerned, probably the best decision I've ever made! 24 of their own beers on tap ranging from wheat ale to barrel aged imperial stout. Between my friends and I, we tried more than half of everything on tap. I have no idea how, but they have nailed every style! And not just on the "This is pretty good" level, but on the "HOLY S...! YOU GOTTA TRY THIS!" level. Top notch, gold star standard level! I wasn't surprised to see that they have won several medals for their beers. The standout to me was The Ticket Chocolate Beer, which is a golden ale but packs more chocolate in it than any stout I've ever had! Phenomenally delicious on a whole other level! The kind of beer that would make larger craft breweries like Founders and Stone jealous! And their pizza, just absolutely delicious! Reminded me of the kind of real pizza you find in places like New York and New Jersey. I'm not sure what the secret is with their sauce, but it works! Perfect compliment to the beer. Seriously, I honestly cannot recommend this place any higher! If you're a beer nerd or pizza junkie, this is absolutely a destination worth...

We ordered pizzas and salads delivered for a wedding rehearsal dinner at the Inn at Irwin Gardens. When the pizza was delivered 3 individual salads were delivered as opposed to the 3 catering sized salads ordered. When we ordered the food I had a full conversation with Addy, who answered the phone and took the order, explaining how we needed pizza and salad for 30 people. She checked with the kitchen to confirm that they still made the large salads, and then asked what dressings we wanted, etc. When the food was delivered there were 16 pizzas and 3 individual salads. I called the restaurant and they took no responsibility and were less than helpful. 30 minutes after dinner was scheduled to begin, 30 minutes after $380 worth of pizza's were delivered, we received the salads, $70 worth of salad, delivered with no salad dressing!! The pizza's were basic, nothing special, no better than Papa John's, and the salads were very disappointing, simply iceburg with a few slivers of carrots and red cabbage...and no dressing, we had to run to the grocery to buy the dressing that was supposed to be included with the salad, therefore delaying the meal even longer! During this entire process there was no apology, nothing. I wasn't even allowed to speak to a manager, just put on hold for 10 minutes. For a restaurant with such mediocre food and abysmal service, the pretenciousness of the staff...