The Plank Pizza Co Beer Parlor — Restaurant in Saddle Brook

Came here for (late) lunch after a workout with a bunch of friends and was pleasantly surprised by this place. Seemed a little odd that a pizza spot would open around 3pm but the schedule fit my group's schedule so we didn't mind.

ATMOSPHERE: The atmosphere was your usual industrial rustic with salvaged pallet walls and custom metal works scattered throughout the restaurant. The restaurant has plenty of seating but most of the tables inside were high and more of a bar table with stools. They did have another seating area toward the back behind the bar that may have had regular tables but did not get a good look at it. We were seated outdoors where they have a bunch of picnic and other tables (regular sized) and also had a cornhole setup which was a nice surprise. They also have a smoking area outside so you can take your drinks with you on a smoke break.

SERVICE: The service was great right off the bat. We were greeted warmly as we came through the door and seated outside right away. Our server was super attentive and pleasant throughout our meal and got our drinks and meals out right away. He was quick to get our refills and split our checks for us as well and even took a few pictures of our group.

FOOD & BEVERAGE: The food and beverage gets an A+. My wife and I ordered their bacon white pizza and wings. The bacon white pizza was a thinner style of pizza and was nice and light. Definitely recommend. Probably only good enough for 2 people though. The wings were a dry rub style and not saucy but had a good taste to them. Not as spicy as I would have liked but good nonetheless. They had a really extensive selection of beers but me being the adventurous person I am went with my regular Goose IPA which was fine with me. But if you're into craft beer and a large selection, I don't think this place will disappoint.

PARKING: Parking Lot

Overall this place is great for groups coming out for some beers and a pizza in a nice, laid back atmosphere. I would definitely recommend for a night or even an afternoon out...

I had particularly high hopes when looking at the menu. I tried the avacado egg rolls (after seeing a few prior reviews about them), the Cajun wings, and the Pizzadilla. The Avacado egg rolls were pretty boring, I guess as described - avacado in a fried egg roll, definitely needed some flair, spice, herbs, something to bring it along, and it came with a strange sweet Asian-esque dipping sauce. The Cajun wings were fine, needed more seasoning and a bit more cook time (the drumsticks were a bit sinewy). The pizzadilla was disappointingly plain. The crust of the pizza was the highlight but other than that it was just cheese and grilled chicken inside, not “all the good stuff” as the menu puts it, I mean I guess it did have 1 pepper in there. I tried 3 different things to try and get a feel for the place and nothing made me desire to return.

And my waiter was the most awkward waiter I’ve ever had. I asked him about recommendations and he said we make pretty good egg rolls. At one point he walked over to my table and stood there until I said I’m doing good right now, don’t need anything. There was another staff member who was very friendly and asked how I was doing in a normal way, he seemed much better.

Atmosphere is solid, normal beer bar, decent size, dim overall but...

Beer selection on paper seems to be good, but there seems to be a lot of beers that when you try to order them on tap are out of stock. Even on a lazy summer afternoon, service is uneven. The utensils are cheap feeling compared to the prices they are charging for food. Kitchen pays no attention to the timing of food. We got our entrees before our apps. Big fail in expediting 101.

The flatbread pizza selection is a little weird and trying to hard to be different, but different is not necessarily tasty. The chicken, bacon, mozzarella pizza with avocado cream sauce is as confusing as it sounds- it's not Italian, it's not Tex-Mex, and it is small and bland for the price. Cajun wings were not Fryolator crispy and were not very Cajun spiced at all but rather bland. The loaded tots are basically shredded potato tots covered in hot Cheese Whiz, a smattering of scallions, and miserly dusting of bacon. The tots are so big and bland; they desperately need some filling in the middle, whether cheese, chilli, or guacamole so that it isn't just so much bland potato to cheese product ratio.

The churro fries are addictively flavored with a nice crunch. Thatus the only thing I would really recommend ordering of the...