Savvy Mom: Day Block is a Family-Friendly Brew Pub

A few months ago, I asked a friend what she was interested in hearing about for dining with kids.

“The brew pubs,” was her immediate answer. “What are the kid-friendly brew pubs?”

In the spirit of investigation, I made immediate plans to check out one with soda and beer on tap. While they don’t do food themselves, they encourage ordering in from nearby places. We headed over at 4 p.m. on a Friday. As we pulled up, we saw a line out the door. We went to the nearby restaurant we were going to order takeaway from, which didn’t have its usual line yet.

The next week, I thought we might have better luck in the ‘burbs. Alas, we went on a Wednesday and I hadn’t checked the hours. They weren’t open.

I asked my husband if we should try two of the others in the neighborhood. He shook his head. “No way. They are at least as crowded as the first place.”

So I went back to my friend and said, “Sorry. No article. The answer to your question about kid-friendly brew-pubs is that they aren’t.”

But, times change, brewpubs keep opening, and lo and behold, we found ourselves in front of Day Block Brewing Company when we were early for our visit to Big Brain Comics. Day Block is across the street from Big Brain, in the old Spill the Wine space.

At 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday, it was not crowded. The interior is bright and open. We started with the bacon flight, crisp halves of thick cut bacon with three dipping sauces. The day we visited one was a chocolate porter, one was curry, and the third was maple coffee. The kids liked the latter while my husband and I preferred the curry. Everyone thought the chocolate was “interesting,” but it wasn’t crave-able like the others.

We ordered 3 different pizzas because of course we can’t agree. My husband and I had the Carolina BBQ, topped with chicken, bacon, cheddar, and coleslaw. The kids chose more conventional options. The pizzas were nicely executed, with a crust that was cooked in the middle, not soggy even when topped with several ingredients. My husband ordered the Northern Discovery beer, and said it was up there with what other breweries have.


 

I don’t know if Day Block is going to stay quiet for long, with its good beer, good pizza, and bacon flights for heaven’s sake, but for now, it’s the only brew pub we’ve found that can please both the husband AND the kids. Its proximity to the comic shop makes it a slam dunk.

Day Block Brewing Company
1105 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Mon – Sun: 11 a.m. – 1 a.m.
dayblockbrewing.com