D's Six Pax & Dogz/Pittsburgh/American

by Eriq F.

For our impatient readers, here are my instructions: Go to D’s, come hungry, and bring your friends. You won’t regret it. For those of you with patience enough to read the whole review, D’s might be the right fit for you.

But take care, this is not Dee's, it is D's. The difference in name is inaudible, so make sure your friends know to meet you at D's, not Dee's. Dee's is located in Drunk College Student Nirvana (aka Pittsburgh's South Side), while D's resides in Regent Square, a neighborhood where you are more likely to see drunk college professors. Dee's is an excellent place for a game of pool, but D’s it ain’t.

When you arrive at D’s, don’t be surprised if you have to wait for a table to open up. Once you’re seated, it’ll become pretty obvious that this isn’t the sort of place where you do things in a hurry. Making your food fresh and delicious? That takes time. Sifting through the more than 900 varieties of beer on hand? That, too, will take time. So order a tall glass of a beer that you’ve never had before and take a moment to enjoy the hand-painted murals on the walls. Tired of adventure? Unsettled by the unfamiliar names and slightly-above-average prices on the draft list? Don’t worry, there is a small portion of the walk-in cooler devoted to well-known domestic brews from gigantic faceless corporations.

Though the sheer number of beers available can be daunting, the menu is much more manageable, offering several varieties each of hot dogs (of course), sandwiches, pizza, appetizers, and salads. Though I have never met a hot dog that I enjoyed, I ate dinner with a young woman who had been anticipating her provolone and sauerkraut hot dog for several days prior to our Friday night visit. Upon this confession, the rest of our party disclosed that they had also been anticipating thei. So what I deduce is that these hot dogs are good enough that they will haunt your taste buds for several days before and after each visit.

If you’re in a hungry hurry, order some fries. The surprising generosity of the menu’s “small” portion will leave you wondering how big “large” would be (for the curious, it’s freaking huge.) The pizza will take a longer time, but as usual at D’s, it turns out to be worth the wait. Take a moment, enjoy your company, and sip your beer slowly. Patience is a virtue.