Friday, September 19, 2008

Penguin Love

Lunch today was fantastic! I have a new favorite! My friend, Blain, and I had some celebrating to do (you guys will see tomorrow!), so we decided to have a leisurely Friday lunch, complete with pizza and beer at Penguin Pizza in Brigham Circle.

"Penguin," as it is better known, is a great little restaurant with a very impressive beer selection. I've been to Penguin a couple of times in the past, but never noticed their wide variety of brews-- they had at least 20 taps and many, many, many bottles to chose from.

As soon as you walk into the restaurant, you notice the plethotra of beer mugs displayed around the bar. Penguin has a "mug club," and rumor has it, if you drink every beer on their list within one year, you are awarded a penguinite mug, a 22.5 oz mug with your name engraved on it that you can drink out of when you visit Penguin. The mugs are hung all around the bar and cover the side wall of the restaurant. I've always wanted to have my very own beer mug at a bar, but I don't think I could ever drink that much beer! (Maybe in college, but not now!)



From the "Penu," Blain and I ordered a large pizza and a couple of beers for lunch.


My beer selection was a Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, which was my first pumpkin brew of the fall! Very exciting! :) This beer nailed the pumpkin category! It was nice and smooth with subtle pumpkin and spicy-nutmeg flavors. Deeeelish!


We ordered the Pimento pizza, which was topped with roasted red peppers, sweet red onions, sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli, and goat cheese. Lots of my favs!


The pizza was HUGE! Good thing we were both hungry! We made a good dent in it, but Blain still took 3 pieces home as leftovers!

Penguin's pizza has the best thin crust-- it was mostly crispy, but still had a little chew to it. I loved the slightly garlic-y sauce, and, of course, the toppings, which were fun and creative. Big fan! Lots of Penguin love from me!


Piece #1...


Piece #2 with Parmesan sprinkled on top...


Friday Night

Immediately after work, I am meeting my sister and my mom at Priscilla of Boston, so my sis can check out the annual sample sale. Priscilla is tres expensive, but their wedding dresses are to die for! You never know, my sis could get lucky and find an amazing (yet affordable) gown! It's always fun to look at fancy wedding dresses, so why not see what they have, right? :)

After dress shopping, the three of us are off to dinner to celebrate my sister's birthday, which was yesterday. I'm still not sure where we are going for dinner, but I'm assuming we'll stick to the Copley/Newbury area. Any recommendations?

Depending on how dress shopping and dinner go, I have tentative plans to visit Allston later tonight. My friends want to go to My So Called 90's Night at Common Ground, which is always such a blast, but I have to work bright and early at HW tomorrow (8:00 am), so I'm not sure I want to have a late (and boozy) night. We'll see...

Almost the weekend!!! The countdown has begun!

14 Comments:

Caitlin said...

hahahha "penu"! that cracked me up!

have fun bridal dress shoppin!

RhodeyGirl/Sabrina said...

Tina!!!

I am going to be at Priscilla first thing in the morning to have my bridesmaids try on their dresses and to try on MY dress for them! how fun!

also, my future hubbie is going to be OBSESSED with this post and is going to make me take him there. penu? too cute. suffice it to say that our nicknames for each other are penguins, and he has really random penguin things from his childhoos including a penguin ICE CREAM SCOOP and more recently a stuffed animal penguin that lays a mini penguin egg. hahahahaha

Anonymous said...

That pizza looks awesome! I saw Jack's in the grocery store the other day, I may have to try it. My current fav pumpkin beer is Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale. So yummy!

Nicole said...

mmm love Penguin pizza and 90's night at Common Ground!!

Anonymous said...

yummy looking pizza, and what a unique beer! hope whatever you decide tonight turns out to be a blast!!

Claudia said...

I know I commented the other day about my love for the Summer Shack, and there's one down just past the Pru. http://www.summershackrestaurant.com/Locations_Boston.asp Other favorite restaurants down in that neck of the woods are Cafe Jaffa (best falafel) and Casa Romero (mmm sangria). Have fun tonight! :o)

RhodeyGirl/Sabrina said...

and OMG hello! good luck to ur sister!!!!

Anonymous said...

Ah Priscilla's-I got my gown and bridesmaids gowns there! Have fun! I love Casa Romero, a Mexican place that is kind of in an alley off Gloucester St (between Boylston and Newbury). It is a hole in the wall but sooo good.

Unknown said...

What a fun Friday lunch! Priscilla's will be so fun, their dresses are beautiful. For a fun, girls dinner in Back Bay, my suggestions are Sonsie on Newbury or Match on Mass. (between Newbury and Comm.). Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Wat a cute place... hope you can take some pics of the dressed.. have a good night!

Anon said...

pizza looks great! that beer sounds exactly like autumn :) yummmmmy. my favorite places on newbury are Cafeteria (new!) and Sonsies of course :D

i love going into fancy dress stores too! that's so exciting about your sis! have fun with your famm

Terry said...

Sounds like a fun Friday! You may have already posted on this - but what is your opinion on artificial sweetners - what do you use in your coffee? I am trying to use Stevia, but it just has a funny taste especially in coffee. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

How cool is the penguin?! I love places like that - tons of character. It looks really fun.
Have fun dress shopping!

Bridget said...

Oh man my fiance would LOVE Penguins!! Maybe we'll check it out this weekend...he brews his own beer so he always loves trying random/less common ones. Sunset Grill is like utopia for him haha.
Awww Pricillas! I never went there, and I'm sad dress shopping is over for me (found mine last month!), but my dress is a Marisa and its actually a replica of a Melissa Sweet dress so you're sister should check those out...she doesn't have an up to date website (one of the ways she saves $$), but the website does list the stores that carry her...I got mine in Andover at Cristina's. Have fun!!