Piero's Italian Restaurant, Akron - Bar # 99

There isn't a more relaxing way to spend a rainy afternoon, when you don't have a job to go to, than drink a couple of beers with a friend in a friendly pub.  Today the Retired Guy's found themselves in the friendly pub known as Piero's Italian Restaurant in Akron, PA.  From the outgoing bartender, Shannon, to the friendly "regulars" it was a most enjoyable afternoon.

12 beers were on draft with 9 being of the "craft" variety.  We even discovered a beer from the brewing giant Anheuser Busch, Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat, that was surprisingly good.  The other drafts were a very good cross-section including Molson from north of the border.  (Garry's birthplace BTW.)  There was also a wide variety of bottled brews.

If you read the last blog, you know we graced Zia Maria's with our presence on November 15.  We discovered then that Piero's and Zia Maria's are sister establishments.  Both are very comfortable places to relax with good food and friendly staff.  It is obvious that the same successful business template is used at both places.









Zia Maria's, Denver - Bar # 98

Today was our 98th location and by now I'm thinking that we should know pretty quickly if we have arrived at a good place.  When we walked through the main door of Zia Maria's Pub in Denver, a very warm and heartfelt verbal greeting was offered to us by Shelly, our bartender for the afternoon, accompanied by a smile that conveyed we were very welcome at the pub.  Even these two Retired Guys would have had trouble mistaking the greeting for anything less than a genuine welcome.  Clearly, this is a good place!

The pub has a huge, as in very long L shaped bar with various taps up and down its length.  The selection of available draft beer numbered 20 in total with only three light beers, yielding 17 for the serious beer drinker to select from.  If that wasn't enough, there was a refrigerator behind the bar with an additional selection of 35 bottled beverages.  We both selected draft beers that were new to us and thoroughly enjoyed them.  

As we sat enjoying our second beer we overheard Shelly explaining the happy hour deals to another customer sitting close by and one of the deals was a $1.00 slice of pizza.  This got us interested and for the first time in 98 bars we decided to have a bite with our beer.  The pizza was excellent and convinced us that a return trip to Zia's Restaurant would be a plan for the near future.  One point worth mentioning about the pizza is that the dough was fresh made in house.  Unquestionably, that was a major element in the excellent taste of the pizza!

We commented to each other that Shelly was a very outgoing person and the local customers who came in and reacted with her as if they were family reinforced our perception.  Overall, our experience was great and we'd easily recommend you visit Zia's Pub when you are hunting for good beer or pizza, or both.

Highland Pizzeria, Lancaster - Bar # 97



Today was the discovery of a gem sitting right on Oregon Pike just north of Lancaster.  Highland Pizzeria is a place we've heard about and have had on our prospective list for quite some time, but just haven't gone to until today.  Our loss for sure.

There are two distinct areas of Highland: one side looks like a typical pizzeria with booths, tables and a walk-up counter for ordering, the other side is a classy pub layout with an "L" shaped, granite top bar, large windows and a wall of coolers filled with an assortment of beer that will boggle your mind and excite your beer loving senses.  Behind the bar are twenty beers on draught with only two being of the domestic, mainstream vein, Miller Lite and Yuengling Lager.  The other 18 are all craft beers with varying levels of ABV.  For us old retired guys who are no longer used to making decisions, we were faced with monumental dilemmas at times today.

Chris, our bartender, was a most accommodating young man in offering samples and his knowledge of the products on tap.  In fact, the friendliness of the staff and welcome feeling is probably what was transferred to the other patrons.  As we sat at the bar, everyone was cordial and easy to engage in conversation.  It always amazes us that so many people are interested in what we are up to and want to hear details.  Today was no exception.

When in the area north of Lancaster it is well worth your while to stop in and visit this little piece of beer lovers heaven.