Wexford Ale House

DB~ and I are getting married later this year, but apparently the mindmeld has already started. She sent me an email in the afternoon that said "How about trying the Wexford Ale House for dinner tonight?", which was the exact place that I was going to send her an email about trying.

The Wexford Ale House is essentially a remodeled version of Poor Richard's Pub. In fact, the full name is Poor Richard's Wexford Ale House and the credit card receipt still says Poor Richard's at the top. Poor Richard's, and presumably the refurbished Wexford Ale House, was owned at one time by Richard Jahn, who also owns the small used car lot next to the W.A.H. I have a soft spot in my heart for that car lot as that is where I bought my first car -- a 1988 Buick Skylark, with burgundy plush interior, back in 1995 for $5000. That was my college car although I kept the eventual rust-bucket until 2001, 3 years after I graduated. Lot of stories in that car, including the one where my friend yakked all over the back seat and in my hair and my passenger's hair while we were driving through Oakland. We looked like Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction after Jules shot Marvin in the face.

Wow...what a diversion down Memory Lane!

Back in present day, DB~ and I walked into the Wexford Ale House and were greeted by a clean and streamlined bar. Not a lot of clutter on the walls, seemed like it would a be a nice sunny place if the sun ever shines again in Pittsburgh. To the right was a small dining area, maybe 8 tables (with another 4 tables up front facing Route 19, I think).

We had a very attentive server who helped us through the very extensive beer selection they have on tap. They had a nice special where all of their $5 beers were $3 until 7 pm. DB~ had a Fransinkaner and I had a Long Trail Pale Ale. DB~ was a little peeved that I told her NOT to get a Hoegarden and to expand her horizons. She said "what about Blue Moon" (which is her 2nd favorite beer). I said to keep expanding and she picked that one. I'm not much of a beer guy, but even though mine had a hoppy flavor, I enjoyed it. DB~ enjoyed hers as well.

For our actual dinners, DB~ (being the good Catholic) went with the Tuna Melt. DB~ got a side salad in lieu of fries, but we saw other people had the fries and they looked good. She ate the whole thing and said she enjoyed it. This was after she wrapped her pickle up in a napkin, so that it looked like a pickle body bag. I went with the Guiness Pot Roast and chose diced redskin potatoes to go with it. It was such a chilly, dreary night that I wanted some comfort food. The pot roast, as it should have, fell apart when you cut it with your fork. I would have liked to have seen it already "shredded", but was OK with the actual slab of pot roast too. The diced potatoes, each the same size amazingly, were very tasty as well and the perfect compliment to this dish.

Overall, it is a very "meaty" menu with not a lot of seafood or veggie choices. Maybe one or two more would be a good idea, although I'm guessing the jumbo shrimp appetizer could easily be turned into a dinner portion. There were many other choices that we would have tried and I'm sure we will be going back.

After dinner, DB~ wanted to try the Penn Chocolate Meltdown beer that she heard about through Facebook. Our server brought a sample out in a large shot glass for her to try. As DB~ accurately said while I sampled it too, "it goes from beer to chocolate back to beer back to chocolate, all in 5 seconds". It was way too rough for me to drink a whole glass of that and DB~ agreed. There was a second attempt at chocolate beer brought to her in a shot glass that we can't remember what it was called. Squiggle described it having a more mocha taste to it. I think her craving of trying chocolate beers has been satiated.

I was only at Poor Richard's once and that was probably 10 years ago, but I remember it having little rooms (it is a house) set up with games and cards to play. Sadly, with an expanded kitchen and a bigger area for the servers to stage out of, those rooms are gone. It has a great bar and small dining area and is definitely worth a look-see, especially if you are a beer afficianado.