October 7, 2011
Bottom line? Over three stars for pizza. Over four stars for the beer. Five stars, solid, for the service. Average, four stars. In more detail, let’s start with the fact that these guys are in Mill Creek. While not a complete wasteland, Mill Creek is not exactly overrun with an abundance of staff and customers to support a whole scene of good food and beer places. This strip around MCTC is populating with solid sushi, supermarket, indian, breakfast, and other options--among them now a good pizza place with a bangin’ beer lineup. Most of the decent-sized towns north of the county line can now boast at least one beer spot, and this is Mill Creek’s. 18 taps with serious ambition pouring through every faucet. They even had a Cascade keg up from Portland tonight, full of a beer I’d never even heard of (and...let’s just say I’m kinda ridiculous in my enthusiasm for Cascade’s beers). The beers come out of clean lines, poured knowledgably into proper glasses. Better still, the lineup of pizzas, salads, and subs allows you enjoy eating enough food to soak up some of that beer. The pizza is a big heavy doughy delight, much weightier than I would usually order but very good--chewy without being a soggy bagel of a pie. The toppings are flavorful and well combined, but the cheese was looking pretty plasticky and shiny. Not the most flavorful mozzarella in town. But, still, a very tasty and completely edible pie. Reasonably priced as well. I’ll definitely be hitting this place again, more than occasionally. They offer lots of flat screens for the sports lovers, they have open mike nights, and they clearly have a coterie of passionate regulars through at least a couple generations. Solid neighborhood hang on top of being a good beer joint, and those are two things you don’t expect to see much of in Mill Creek.