Pittsburgh is a big pizza town and everyone knows which pie is the best. Now, Scott Smith of East End Brewing in Larmier wants to reward you for your opinion.
To celebrate a year of weekly specialty pizzas and stellar sales, the company’s culinary branch, East End Chewing, is hosting an online poll so that people can determine their Greatest Pies of 2021.
The top vote-getters will return to the menu and participants can win pizza and beer (the best combo!) in the process. Hungry fans can browse East End Chewing’s online gallery of 2021 pizzas, pick their favorites, cast their votes and share their top picks on social media.
Winners will be selected at random once per week for three weeks. No dates have been announced yet.
Early in the pandemic, the brewery started selling pizzas to meet the state’s mandatory food requirements. But the offerings aren’t just mozzarella and sauce on a cardboard crust. East End’s resident dough guru Sheryl Johnston went the extra mile and, in addition to offering classic cheese and pepperoni pizzas, created a new thick-crust style every week for a year. The offerings ranged from Kind of a Big Dill and Pumpkin Spice Latte to Bahn Mi and Cubano.
“When you’re living in a city with as much happening as we do here in Pittsburgh, drawing inspiration from what’s happening around you is probably the best way to keep things fresh and interesting,” says Johnston, a veteran of the city’s culinary scene.
In addition to feeding customers at the brewery, East End Chewing just completed a 15-week program supplying pizza to local organizations that help folks who are experiencing food insecurity. The effort is part of the second phase of Quantum Theatre’s NearBuy Program, a grant-funded operation with logistical support from 412 Food Rescue, whose volunteers have delivered 300 East End Chewing pizzas to neighbors in need.
East End Brewing is also in negotiations to open a spot in Mt. Lebanon in a space formerly occupied by Play Town Square. There aren’t many details right now but it’s definitely something to … chew on.
