DE-J Taste Test: The Never Ending Choices at Old Chicago Dallas!

We like to eat here at the Dallas entertainment Journal, we also like to drink beer, and enjoy sports, and bingo and cool event with excellent service, so it should come a no surprise  that  we love Old Chicago Pizza & Tap Room at Mockingbird Station

Do you remember those choose your own adventure books when we were kids? If you don’t you’re too young, but you should play along so I don’t feel old,  anyway,the fun thing about those books was  at every turn  of the page you had a choice that would transform the outcome of the story for better or for worse and every time you read it it was different but familiar and fun .

Now  Imagine if a pizza was like a chose your own adventure except no choice was a bad one and everything ended up  tasted amazing, wouldn’t that be great? Well, now you don’t have to imagine because that blissful fantasy  of   beer and  freedom is a reality at Old Chicago. Located at the Mockingbird shopping center, Old Chicago is right along 75 on Mockingbird a few exits down from North Park Centre and a few exits away from uptown, it’s an ideal area for entertaining friends and now the perfect place to grab great pizza late night, lunch or after work. The Old Chicago Taproom which opened their doors in March of this year is a classic style restaurant and bar with helpful and  friendly staff,  a broad menu and great screens to watch the games or  booths to have a great conversation. Old Chicago – Pizza and Tap Room is quickly becoming a late-night hotspot because of  their accessible prices,  spacious bar area and patio and most importantly a  fully stocked bar and kitchen that  stays open and serves piping hot pizza and pasta  until 2am, 7 days a week.

We started our meal with the spot’s most loved appetizers the Cheese fries and pepperoni rolls. What might sound like the standard at any pizza joining got a flavorful makeover at Old Chicago. First we experienced the  Sicilian pepperoni rolls,  which feature the signature old Chicago dough with pepperonis green onions and cheese  rolls Baked and served with pizza sauce only 8 dollars at 29 cents it’s a great start for a group or a meal if you’re being  cheap ( I’m not judging), If you’re looking to eat good on a budget this is a the place to go after a movie or before shopping because  not much at O.C. is expensive in price but it’ all rich in flavor.

The Sicilian pepperoni rolls take a simple recipe and infuse it with spices to make it upscale while still familiar the Old Chicago cheese fries take the simple cheese bacon and sour cream  model up a notch with a blend of cheeses,  Old Chicago’s signature garlic sauce  and the house made beer cheese sauce layered artfully between  piles of seasoned fries topped with more mouth-watering cheese sour cream and fresh chopped green onions  to try it ask for the  peppered bacon smothered cheese fries this app adds up to the best 6.99 you’ll ever spend.

When you read the menu you’ll notice several delicious sounding preset pie options but don’t think those on the limits; their menu features two distinct crusts and the gluten sensitive crust. One thing you won’t find is   traditional Chicago Style pizza, with a messy setup and the sauce on top the chain which began in Boulder Colorado  describes their culinary choices as “Texas-style Chicago deep dish” so it’s not quite as messy and can be eaten by hand. The Crust options are as follows; The Chicago thick; A buttery, hand-tossed cornmeal crust or the Ale Crust, a soft and lightly sweetened handcrafted crust spiked with brown ale. The Ale Crust is just the starting point for beer infused dishes at Old Chicago, the restaurant also features  a house made Beer Cheese Sauce which can be added as a side dish or dipping sauce to any meal or appetizer.  Your choices in sauce include classic red pizza sauce, creamy Alfredo sauce, the savory green pesto sauce and the roasted garlic sauce. After choosing a sauce, and a crust you can choose from over 30 toppings including some off the wall things like Anaheim peppers, goat cheese, broccoli or pineapple  whatever pizza combo you can dream up they can bake it up and make into  an individual, medium, large or calzone size.

When chowing down on appetizers and pizza you have to have just the right beer to wash it down. Christine was super helpful in selecting the right beers. Old Chicago offers different flight menu’s so eaters can experience multiple tastes and choose their favorite. When asking what we like our waitress asked if we like beer and if so dark or light I choose light beers that barely taste like beers whereas Mike prefers dark stouts such as Guinness and Shiner. Each of us  experienced 6 kinds of beers. My favorite was a light airy beer with a base that she said was reminiscent of Moscato called the   Chrispin Pear Cider Mixed with Blue moon, and perfect for wine drinkers. The Chrispin and Blue moon combo is hand mixed in store to get the ratio of wine and beer just right and would pair nicely with an alfredo sauce pizza. I also tried the Fireman’s four which is locally brewed. Then Mike who is usually a loyal Shiner Drinker experienced the smooth and lightly carbonated flavor of the New Belgium 1550 a Black  Lager that has a rich coffee stout flavor  and fell in love with dozens of beer choices including some brewed locally in Deep Ellum, Dallas, and Ft. Worth you can’t choose wrong. If you still want to mix it up there is a fully loaded bar to make any shot, mixed drink or cocktail your heart desires.All of the beers will be featured in the mini world tour of beers starting this week

The main course was another area with almost infinite choices a, sandwiches, burgers, salads and a build your own Mac and Cheese section on the menu provide foodies with a bevy of choices  we stuck with Pizza and tried Dallas’s Top 3 most wanted Pies.

First we started with the Hawaiian; a pizza with Canadian bacon pieces decorating this gorgeous pie on ale crust with red peppers and green onions what really makes this stand out is the sweet Thai chili tomato sauce  and a finishing touch of green onions.

The CHICAGO 7™ was actually the first pizza I ever tried at this spot a year ago and  now as they prepare to open a new ft worth Location I’m sure this will become a north Texas favorite the Chicago 7 with the 7 most popular toppings for a pizza; Italian sausage, red onions, black olives, green peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni and of course cheese make up this amazingly good pie ad in the traditional red marinara sauce and serve on the deep dish crush and you have  a pizza that will fill anyone up.

The Team favorite was a tough choice but we all fell hard for the spicy yet   and surprising Italian a Grinder, I didn’t get to ask why it’s called that but I’m guessing it has something to do with the infusion of seasoned beef  underneath a layer of melty gooey  delicious mozzarella cheese  Italian Grinder is topped with salami, pepperoni, sweet Italian sausage, red onions, roasted garlic, red peppers and pizza sauce and finished with sliced pepperoni.

And what’s a meal without Dessert?

And Old Chicago it’s still a pretty good meal but we’re still going to eat dessert because the dessert was too good to pass up. The O.C dessert menu features  warm cinnamon crunch rolls, the big Cookie which is a shareable chocolate chip cookie and our DE-J choice pick the Berry Cheesecake   a cheesecake with fresh berries, a New York-style cheesecake on top of strawberry preserves on a graham cracker crust. Finished with fresh strawberries and blueberries then drizzled with a light strawberry sauce.

Make sure to check out Old Chicago’s Dallas Location at Mockingbird station and bring a friend to try their special beer for the month of November where half the proceeds will go to the men’s cancer foundation for MOVEMBER

Join Old Chicago for the mini world of beers event with weekly prizes and beer tastings to try all the beers they offer starting November 23rd

Next year look out for new locations popping up all over the metroplex starting with the January 9th Old Chicago Ft. Worth Grand Opening.

Visit the Dallas Location at  Suite 100, 5319 N Central Expy, Dallas, TX 75206

Call (214) 821-5700 to book your company party or event.

 

Open 11am –2am 7 days a week, Old Chicago is as convenient as it is delicious   with drink specials Monday-Friday: 3pm-6pm and All day beer specials.

Check out the full menu herehttp://omaha-downtown-southlands-southlands-grant-st.oldchicago.com/images/pdfs/coremenus/March2015/OCMCM14-0078LTDCore9-15.pdf