Union Jack Pub | Broad Ripple Village | Visited: Tuesday, July 11, 2013

unionjackpub.co

Intro 

Seems like these Holland pizza blogs also serve as a newsletter of sorts for our family's goings-on. As I type this, Sophia is in a musical (Godspell at Allisonville Christian Church), which is the reason this visit was just the three Holland hombres (Sophia was at rehearsal).

Locally owned since 1979, Union Jack was a natural choice for our fourteenth blog entry.  I actually didn't know until recently that this is a family-friendly establishment (or at least half of it is), so I didn't realize it was eligible for our family-friendly blog.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I had never eaten at Union Jack before our visit. I've downed a pint or two there a number of times (it is, after all, a pub), but most of my visits were of the typical "bar-hopping-in-B-ripp" variety. But I'd heard good things about their pizza and had even recently seen @nealjbrown (of Pizzology and Libertine fame) tweet that he was there enjoying some deep dish. Pretty good endorsement/advertising, for sure. 

Atmosphere & Service  

The atmosphere is, well, very pub-like. It's paneled in wood, with big, roomy booths, and every inch of every wall is decked out in photos and various bric-a-brac. And not fake Applebee's bric-a-brac, but genuine, honest-to-goodness bric-a-brac that's been collected over the last 30 plus years of business. 

The service was top notch. The place wasn't all that busy (it was a Tuesday night, after all), but our waitress was attentive and offered helpful recommendations and the appropriate amount of friendly banter.








Pizza (breadsticks) 

We had our choice of pretzel breadsticks or regular pubsticks, and we went with the latter. I was hopeful and optimistic, but was disappointed after my first bite. They had a slightly crunchy outer crust, without much personality or flavor
on the inside. To be fair and balanced, both Ben and Wesley said they liked them. So what do I know? Maybe this blogging thing is just going to my head.

One last thing about their breadsticks... they were crazy expensive: $8.75 for five sticks and two sauces. By comparison, the stuffed breadsticks at Kilroy's (just down the street) are only $7.99 for four, but those are so much better and well worth every penny. 

For our pizza, we went with the "U.J. Chicago Style Award Winning Deep Dish Pan Pizza (please be patient, 40 minute oven time)." Half cheese. Half Italian sausage and sliced tomatoes. The pizza was, as you can imagine, thick. It was like eating a slice of doughy lasagna.

As I've said before, I don't think I'm a big fan of pan/deep-dish pizza. It's too much of a gastroworkout—too much food and too much of a shock to the system. But since I'm ranking things here, I would give this pizza (on its own merits) a decent rating. The crust wasn't overly greasy and tasted nice and fresh, the cheese and toppings seemed to be of the highest quality. It wasn't overly saucy, but that seems to be a personal preference (problem?) of mine. All around, it's was a good choice.

And soooo incredibly filling.

As you can see by the photo, there were only six slices (and not a very large pan) for the three of us and our usually voracious appetites. But it was more than enough food. In fact, we ended up taking one-and-a-half slices home with us.  

And now a word from our resident beer snob

The beer list at UJ is fan-tastic. "With over 100 beers of the world to choose from you are sure to find one to suit your taste." They even have an Around The World Beer Club, which I may need to check out in the future. Their draft list was very good and included Sun King's limited-edition brew, Grapefruit Jungle. I enjoyed two pints, which made our bill a little higher than normal, but was money well spent in my beer snobby mind.

In conclusion...

Skip the sticks to save room for more beer. Order the deep dish (maybe with extra sauce) and enjoy the leftovers. I would be curious to try their other pizza options as well. I just might have to do that next time I stop in for a pint.

Verbatims from Benjamin: 

RE the breadsticks: They were good. I liked the spices they had on them. But they could have been a little bit fluffier.
 

RE the pizza: Really good. So thick. I couldn't even eat two slices.

Verbatims from Wesley: 

RE the breadsticks: Loved the breadsticks. Really liked the sauce. 
 

RE the pizza: It was good. Liked the sausage and the sliced tomatoes. Edge was a bit crispy. 

Rating (out of 8 possible slices, with 4 being average)

Dad: 5.5

Benjamin: 6.0

Wesley: 6.0