On a recent, cold December evening, a friend and I decided to take a break to grab a quick bite to eat and agreed on Pub Dog in Columbia. We seated ourselves and the server came over promptly to take our drink orders while we perused the menu. The offerings are simple - a few appetizers, salads, and a wide variety of personal sized pizzas with numerous topping combinations.
Our drinks arrived quickly we placed our order. My friend tried one of their craft beer offerings, Black Dog, listed as an Irish Stout, and mentioned it was good, but probably not memorable, lacking a depth and smoothness when compared to the classic Guiness, but drinkable and for a local product it was better than most craft brewery attempts at stout varieties.
We chose to split a Caesar's salad and chose the Spinach Pizza and Dog Pound Pizza for our main course. As we waited, numerous other staff came by to check on us verging on the edge of being annoying. While friendly in their approach, it seemed like a bit of overkill considering we had our drinks and were waiting for our pizzas. The place was less than half full, so they were probably just trying to be attentive and friendly. The salad and Dog Pound Pizza arrived soon after but there was no sign of my Spinach Pizza. If you'd like the salad before the pizza, I'd suggest you let them know in advance. After a few minutes we mentioned it to one of the servers checking on us, they went to check and returned saying it would be another 5 minutes or so - I think they forgot when they put the order into the kitchen.
The salad portion was quite large and was quite good for a Caesar salad and frankly, better than a lot of fancier establishments, plus there was enough for leftovers. We were a little disappointed with the pizzas themselves. The toppings were plentiful, maybe to a fault, and tasty but there was something lacking. For a specialty pizza place I would have expected a better crust - for both pizzas it was a bit soggy and difficult to lift off the plate for a proper bite. We ended up eating with a fork. Heartier appetites would finish the individually sized pizzas, but we had enough to take home for lunch the next day.
The atmosphere is sports bar like; the service prompt, courteous, and maybe a bit over-attentive; the portions and toppings generous; the price is extremely fair - a decent choice if you're in the neighborhood, but not quite a foodie destination establishment unless perhaps you're a beer enthusiast. read more