Birreria Paradiso

As a concept, Birreria Paradiso is the mirror opposite of Dave and Diane Alexander‘s Brickskeller and the couple‘s Chinatown brew-food offshoot, R.F.D. The Alexanders might have spent decades working to counter the mind-numbing marketing of the major American breweries, but their bars peddle hundreds of foreign and domestic brews from which we‘re supposed to somehow make an informed choice. Thor Cheston, the Birreria guru in the basement of Ruth Gresser‘s Georgetown Pizzeria Paradiso, mercifully narrows his menu down to about 16 taps and about 80 bottles, ranging from wheat ales to barley wines, with a heavy emphasis on Belgian brews. A sort of Robert Parker for the suds set, Cheston even provides tasting notes for newbies. While his beer list offers an excellent overview of international styles, his descriptions, certainly helpful as a general guide, can border on the precious, if not downright illogical. The best thing about Birreria is that even if you manage to screw up and select a brew that doesn‘t match your taste, you can always fall back on Gresser‘s reliably tasty pizzas, which are the best Neapolitan-style pies in the area.
—Tim Carman, September 19, 2006