Six Reasons to Love D's Six Pax

My friends, it appears PID and I have been missing out.  For months, our Edgewood rooted F.O.R.T.s - along with what feels like every single other Pittsburgher - have been raving about D's Six Pax-n-Dogs. Getting there for us requires crossing one bridge and venturing through one tunnel (the horror...), so it took longer than we might have liked to give it a shot.

But since we were in the area trying out Alma last weekend, we figured we'd pop in. Right away I smelled the delicious pub food emanating from the kitchen. I was completely full from dinner, but was already starting to drool.

So instead of a typical post, I'm going to sum up our experience by giving you six (out of the possible thousands...) reasons to love D's Six Pax-n-Dogs:

1.) A bottle-shop draft menu that'll make a tap-room jealous. A rotating white-board hangs over the bar telling you exactly what you need to know about their unique selection of lagers, lambics, ales and stouts -- the alcohol percentage. (No, that's not the price by the draft name. Let's get real).

2.) A chalice of Framboise. Not a flute, not a glass, a chalice. All too often, I wind up paying too much money for too little Framboise (my weakness).  At D's, you get what you pay for and a few gulps more. I'm sorry to report that I was so enamored by the chalice that I forgot to snap a photo, you'll just have to trust me on this.

3.) Freedom to invent your own hotdog (with the comfort of knowing they've got a few gems of their own to suggest). Even though PID and I had already had an official dinner that evening, we couldn't help but to give the Chicago and Chihuahua dogs a try. Holy guacamole these hotdogs hit it out of the park. Served on a soft and delicious poppy-seed bun, these dogs were busy and big, but man did they taste amazing.

Chicago dog, $3.99

PID's Chicago dog delivered what was promised: a meal fit for a Bull, a Bear and all of her Cubs with competing flavors of pepper and pickles and tomatoes all atop a deliciously juicy Vienna all beef dog.

Chihuahua dog, $3.99

My Chihuahua was certainly a dog with a bite, but with much more massive flavor than its namesake indicates. Had I not just eaten a full meal, I could have eaten five of these suckers.

And the beauty of D's Dogs is that if (for some ridiculous reason) you don't find their menu dogs particularly appealing, you can build you own from scratch - choosing from a list of more than 26 fixin's - and even choose your own meat (or non-meat for our veggie friends).

5.) Not a hotdog person? They've got wings for kings and an impressive list of appetizers.  Our Edgewood F.O.R.T.s ordered the pub fries which I couldn't stop stealing. My arteries may hate me, but my tummy kept thanking me over and over again.

Pub fries, $6.95

5.) The folks are friendly. I'm no spring chicken and sometimes I get a hint of anxiety when I step into a hip, dive bar -- like I'm just not going to fit in.  Not only did I feel completely welcome and get served right away with a smile, but the patrons were warm and welcoming as well.  There is a downstairs dining room, a bar and an upstairs lounge and each room was filled with happy, friendly faces. I was very comfortable and liking the place more and more by the minute.

 

6.) The cave. I've saved the best for last. I spent a good 30-45 minutes at D's before Mrs. F.O.R.T. arrived and I asked what she was having.  "I typically just head to the cave and pick when I get there," she answered.  The what?  I was clearly out of my element.  She took me by the hand and led me through the bar, across the dining room and down a hallway to the most amazing place in the world.

As soon as we reached the light at the end of the tunnel, thousands (no, seriously...thousands) of beer varieties awaited us: craft beers, imports, domestics galore, all organized by country of origin.

 

Note: a server saw me take this picture and said "Aw, this is an awful time to take a picture, we have, like, NOTHING in stock!" -- ummm.....what!? My eyes are already bulging out of my head. Don't mess with me, lady.

We chose our beers (after a good 15 minutes of circling the cave) and she led me to the second best part of the evening, the cooling station.

I was wondering why the beer wasn't cold, but apparently all you need to do is drop them in the super-amazing cooling station for 3, 5 or 7 minutes and voila! Beer-God works his magic and an ice-cold beer is born.  Don't want to wait for the cooling station to do it's trick?  There IS a chill-room with a great selection as well, just not nearly as impressive as the cave.


So there you have it.  Six amazing reasons why you'll LOVE D's Six Pax-n-Dogs.  I'm sure if you stop by you'll find your own reasons to love it, but hopefully mine will give you enough reason to try it out if you haven't already. If you're a bridge or two away like PID and I fear not, it's worth your journey. Whether it's to watch a game, eat a fun meal with the kids, or throw back a few with F.O.R.T.s of your own, D's is the place to do it.  So come on in.

Restaurant Information

D's Six Pax-n-Dogs
Address:1118 S. Braddock Ave. (they have another location at 4320 Northern Pike if you're a Monroeville-ite)
Phone: 412-241-4666
Reservations: Not taken or really needed, but get there early to beat the bar crowd
Hours: Open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week and open late-night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday