Pizza Port Carlsbad

Pizza Port (formerly the Carlsbad Brewery), Carlsbad, California. Rated ★★★★☆

I’ve been coming here since it was the Carlsbad Brewery and served Cajun food, including red beans and rice on Tuesdays. That didn’t pay the bills, so they sold out to the Pizza Port.

I’m not all that fond of the pizza — thick and doughy, too many toppings, I like mine thin and simple. The worst thing about the place is that it’s where all the kiddie groups go after their sporting events: screaming ragamuffins everywhere.

Then why do I love it? The beer. Their own brew is lovely — the Carlsbad Chronic, the Sharkbite Red, the Wipeout IPA. They have other well-chosen local microbrews on tap. Grab a growler on the way out.

I’m about a two-beers-a-night fellow, so I want to make the few beers I drink count. I especially like the fact that I can go out in the afternoon for a bodysurfing session, then come here wrapped in a towel, bare sandy feet, rationalizing away the empty calories because I just got a workout. Sometimes I’ll even get a slice.

Feeling really daring? Have a stout float. Irish stout with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Creamy goodness.