New Restaurant Brings Craft Beer, an Inviting Atmosphere for the Whole Family, and a Familiar Brand of Pizza to Taylor
The Union Craft House in Taylor creates flavorful Old Forge Style Pizzas that are sure to satisfy.
It’s always exciting to try a new local restaurant, and I recently was invited to go try the Union Craft House on Main Avenue in Taylor a try. The review requests are piling up and hard to complete, but when I learned that Tom Beckage, who helped run one of my family’s favorite restaurants, Nonno’s on Montage Mountain for years was opening place with his business partner Jordan, and I was running errands in his area – I had to give it a try. Truth be told, I usually wait a while for new restaurants to refine their process and products before I pay them a visit, but Tom and Jordan seemed confident in putting their product to the test so I obliged and took the Pizza Princess along for a review.
A look at the Union Craft House’s Old Forge Style Red Pizza.
I spoke with Tom about where he came up with the name and concept, and his answers were a little different than I had assumed at first glance. I actually learned quite a bit too! Tom explained, “The Union Craft House is a craft beer bar & restaurant located in Taylor, Pa. The restaurant is a family friendly establishment featuring a large food menu, 16 craft taps, arcade games, board games and even live music on the weekends. The name refers back to the late 1800’s when the borough of Taylor was called The Union. The name was changed to Taylor in the early 1900’s after Moses Taylor, who owned the local railroads, which is why we went with the indoor railroad decor featuring local pictures from the railroad industry dating back to as early as 1908.”
Jim of NEPA Pizza Review snaps a photo with Tom Beckage, Owner of The Union Craft House.
Raise your hand if you knew Taylor used to be called “The Union” back in the day! I sure didn’t! Anyway, my job as a pizza reviewer and restaurant operation observer is to evaluate whether or not the pizza is good of course, but I also like to evaluate a business’ strategy, marketing, vision, operation, and execution. From my 90 minute or so stay, I can safely say that The Union Craft House certainly achieves its mission of serving a ton of craft beers (10 page beer menu), being family friendly (atmosphere is relaxed and has board games and arcade games for the kids), and has a pretty expansive and somewhat unique menu that matches the strategy and brand. Really, there is a little bit of something for everybody here, especially craft beer and pizza lovers.
I learned a little bit about the pizza before trying it, and as always I don’t share the secrets I may or may not have learn from pizzeria owners about the recipes and processes, but let’s just say the pizza had a familiar look and feel to it that the NEPA Nation will appreciate. Let’s just sayTom and Jordan were able to put their twist on a very popular local style of pizza to make it their own. On this day we tried 3 different pizzas (and an order of hand cut fries): the red Old Forge Style Pizza, the Vodka Sauce Pizza, and the Fresh Tomato Pizza. All three pizzas came constructed on top of a classic fresh Old Forge pizza shell that was crisp on the bottom, soft in the middle, a little flaky around the edges, and had a tight crumb in the center. It was easy to eat with good chew and a slight crunch on the bottom and edges that was quite satisfying. The sauce on the red pizza had a medium body and texture to it, with some sweetness, a hint of acidity, and a clean aftertaste. There weren’t any noticeable onions in the sauce nor was there a strong onion flavor present for those onion haters out there. There was quite a bit of flavor, however which was offset nicely by the cheese which was lightly cooked and carried a creamy neutral taste and of course stuck to the top of our mouths. Basically, if you like any of the Colarusso’s Pizza locations, you’re certain to enjoy this pizza as they share some similarities.
Vodka Sauce Pizza from The Union Craft House in Taylor, PA.
The Vodka Sauce pizza was a nice change of pace with a smooth and creamy vodka sauce replacing the red sauce of the above described tray to create a totally different flavor profile and experience. I believe the crust and cheese were the same, but the vodka sauce provided less flavor contrast than the red pizza sauce and was just an easy eating, smooth cut of pizza. Incidentally, this pizza was also supremely tasty cold the next day!
The Union Craft House in Taylor serves up a delicious Fresh Tomato Pizza.
Finally, my favorite of the three pizzas was the fresh tomato pizza. This white pizza was adorned with thinly sliced tomatoes, garlic, Parmesan (or similar) cheese, pizza cheese, and some seasonings. It provides a tasty punch that is rich, garlicky, cheesy, and overall supremely delicious. The flavor overload on this pizza contrasts the neutral crust and cheese very nicely and makes for a wonderful pizza. Next time I stop by The Union Craft House, I’ll definitely be ordering this one up first!
Overall, we had a great experience at The Union Craft House. The Pizza Princess and Pizza Prince had some fun in the game room, and the First Lady of NEPA Pizza also enjoyed the pizza and envisioned future visits to the relaxing dining room. We played a game of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots before heading out for the night and reflecting on the visit. So if you’re into craft beers, good pizza, and want a place that you can take the whole family, you should consider a visit to the new Union Craft House in Taylor! Have you tried it yet? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments!
Jim Mirabelli is the founder and Chief Pizza Officer of NEPA Pizza Review. He is a longtime professional pizza maker with a drive to Connect People and Pizza by showcasing local pizza hot spots and helping people learn to make great pizza at home.
