131 NW 13th Ave., 820-7721, fatheadsportland.com. 11 am-11 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-midnight Friday-Saturday, 11 am-10 pm Sunday.

Fat Head's channels the spirit of suburban Cleveland, and that's not a knock. There's a lot to love about this big, doughy operation, the first offshoot from a much-awarded brewery of North Olmstead, Ohio. The beer is solid to excellent, including a squeaky-clean Czech Pilsner and the state's best new weizenbock, the deceptively smooth 8.7 percent ABV Alpenglow, a glorious pig pile of clove and banana that took gold in Denver last October. Then there are bun-busting sandwiches and burgers, including the super-stacked Southside Slopes—a whole kielbasa, halved, topped with fried pierogis, onions, American cheese and spicy horseradish sauce. It's all pretty damned good, and it's plenty big.

Happy hour: 3-6 pm and 9 pm-close Sunday-Thursday. $4 bites, $7 pizzas. But watch out, sometimes they put the happy-hour sign out on Fridays. It's a farce!

Entertainment: TeeVees.


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