Lest you think we are big, fat foodie snobs who can't appreciate a meal unless it comes drenched in truffles and caviar, we hasten to direct you to this lively, working microbrewery (with a sort of rustic factory appearance) and its hearty, not-so-high-falutin' food. No fancy French frills, and best of all, no inflated prices. Combine the general high quality with generous portions -- a nachos appetizer could probably feed eight (though it was not the best nachos appetizer ever) -- and this may be a better deal than most buffets. It's not, however, the place for a quiet rendezvous, with about 40 TVs spread throughout (a sports fan's dream) and music blaring.

Earning recent raves were the short ribs in a fine barbecue sauce, cooked just right; the excellent appetizer of chicken fingers and shrimp fried in beer; the garlic pizza with mounds of our favorite aromatic herb; the pizza topped with lamb, grilled eggplant, and goat cheese (well, maybe that has more frills than we promised); and the avocado-and-shrimp salad. We also highly enjoyed the double-chocolate-fudge suicide brownie, though really, what's not to love about something like that? After 9pm, only pizza is served, and dueling pianos provide dance music and entertainment.