Quick Take: Blue Dust
Posted by mike | Filed under Beer
This one is a quicky. I’m starting to realize that I put far too much time and energy into a full-scale review, and end up getting back-logged far too easily. So while I put the finishing touches on my upcoming Franktuary Review, I grant you Blue Dust, which is behind the Waterfront in Homestead—where I stopped in to pick up a mix-and-match six pack on Friday evening. I was so excited by the 26 beers on tap, that I pulled out my laptop and had an East End Pedal Pale Ale while I wrote the better part of my Franktuary review—using the Blue Dust’s free WiFi access!
Blue Dust 
($)
601 Amity Street
Homestead PA 15120
(412) 461-6220
If you ever drive in to the Waterfront via Amity (and have done so in the past two months), then you’ve driven past the place. It’s right before the railroad tracks on Amity—which is right next door to a tattoo parlor. The establishment previously located there was run down and not exactly the kind of place you would actually want to frequent (something I suspected, but this was also confirmed by the bar tender). For that reason, you might not expect much from the current establishment, but that would be a mistake.
Two from East End!? The restaurant/bar is a big single room, with a large bar taking up the better portion of the far corner from the door. Behind the bar: 26 tap handles—arranged in two rows. I knew the sign outside said 26 beers on draft, and knew it would be impossible to carry 26 bad or unexciting beers. That turned out to be accurate. In fact, the vast majority of their list was quite exciting: notably including two different options from our good friend Scott down at East End Brewing: Pedal Pale Ale (featured in Scott’s “keg ride“) and Fat Gary. Nice.
Bottles? Enough of them. When I first walked in, I completely missed (or at least ignored) the 8 doors of beverage coolers for bottles. At least part of that was the current lack of lighting (outside of some relatively weak overhead spotlights. It sounds like some lighting inside the coolers is in the works, but not yet implemented.
A later perusal of the bottle selection made it clear that at least some of the fridge was populated with variety packs from craft brewers (for instance, the Burning River, Edmund Fitz, Dortmunder, and Eliott Ness all side-by-side were a dead giveaway for the Great Lakes variety pack. There were a few other variety pack combos as well, which I suppose is a good way to hit a wide range of beer options without buying a huge quantity of inventory. It’s probably a good way to get started, but I’m hoping we’ll see more variety as time passes. That said, there were already some surprises: for instance, the six pack I constructed home included a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron—something I haven’t tried. Even with the Dogfish, the total price was still less than $12 (not including tax).
Menu highlights. I actually interacted with two bar tenders during the course of the night—both were seated at the bar with a handful of people when I first arrived. The first served my drink and later took off. By the end of the night, I ended up chatting with the second bar tender (a Chatham student) to get some details on the restaurant. It seems they’ve been open for just a little more than two months, change up their menu once a month, and tend o have the biggest crowd during happy hour. There was plenty of table space surrounding the bar, and she recommended I come back to try the food. The current favorite is a “surf and turf sandwich.” That’s apparently what happens when you cut a brisket in half and a crab cake in half and re-assemble a la Frankenstein under a bun.
I’ll definitely have to go back with some friends for some of their excellent beer and maybe even some food. I’d been interested to see how their doing with food.
July 5th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I took the time to read into your site a little, and while the surf and turf may not be quite your speed take a look at the menu next time you’re at blue dust. There are several vegitarian and vegan options.
July 6th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Joe, I agree…surf and turf is probably not in line with my tastes (but thanks for picking up on the theme!). I picked up a copy of the menu while I was there and you’re right, there are definitely a good number of vegetarian/vegan options. I’m interested to come give some of it a try.
For those interested, the full menu is also available online.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Thanks for the kind word on the beers, and for the nice writeup on this place. I’ve been meaning to get in to see Jerry Miller – the owner, since they opened their doors. (I knew Jerry from Rolands in the strip, and he worked a LONG time to get this place opened up – and he knows beer.)
Hopefully BLUE DUST will thrive in the area as one of only a couple places serving GOOD BEER.
Cheers,
Scott