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Pig's Mind Brewing Co. - Machesney Park, Illinois

Writer's picture: Erika GravinoErika Gravino

Updated: Jul 15, 2023

Visited on 12/10/2022

An Honest Review: Pig's Mind Brewing Co... vegan food with vegan beer, yes please! With a 100% plant-based menu, vegans can finally have an authentic brewery experience, without feeling worried about what they are drinking or eating. This place is designed with pigs in mind. This menu is so vast and full of so many different items, there are more than just pigs spared because of Pig's Mind Brewing Co. We had a great experience for our first visit- the environment is new, updated, modern, eclectic, artistic, and clean. Our waitress was super kind, friendly, and eager to help. The beer was fantastic, and so creative with the use of flavors, fruits, and spices. For the food... well... all I can say is that we are now truly fans. The waitress let us know they have a rotating menu every few months, so we are looking forward to coming back multiple times to experience the food genius happening here.


When visiting a vegan brewery, order the flight, right? Yes, if you can handle all that beer! We couldn't, we but still ordered it. All of the beer was fantastic, and that is coming from someone who isn't a big drinker. Those brews were very thoughtful, and well-executed. We especially loved the touch of fresh blueberries floating in one of the beer flavors! That was a very fun, light, and uplifting beer. The appetizers we felt compelled to try the first time to Pig's Mind were the Garlic Bacon Ranch Fries and the Jalapeño Poppers, which were roasted in the oven. The fries were so well-cooked, and tasted a lot like poutine. We enjoyed the fries so much, we ate the whole basket! We also ate all of the Jalapeño Poppers- these were a creative take on the Jalapeño Popper, being cut face-open and baked with sauces and pieces of little, yummy crunchiness. They were unique, flavorful, and delicious! We appreciated the level of artistry in that dish.


Our main course featured the "I'm a Roamer" Buffalo Chikin' Stone-Fired Pizza, and the "I'll be the Fun Guy" Mushrooms & Onions Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl. I deeply enjoyed the mac bowl- it was so creative, massive, and delicious (it also came in the dish it was stone-fired in, which is very aesthetically-pleasing, and keeps the dish warmer for longer). The pizza was perfect... real-tasting vegan cheese, good sauce, fresh toppings, all artistically piled on top of crispy, handmade dough. Pig's Mind Brewing Co. uses soy curls in many of their dishes, and they make it work so well. This pizza had soy curls baked onto the cheese, covered in delicious hot sauce. I love soy curls to begin with, and how this brewery incorporates them into their vegan menu and adds them to dishes I never would have considered adding soy curls to. Soy curls absorb all the delicious sauces around them, and really do taste a lot like chicken (but better, in my opinion). These dishes were quite big, and were very filling. For dessert, we were effectively seduced by the Special Brownie. It's a brownie, drizzled with chocolate syrup and peanut butter sauce, topped with powered sugar. Now, that was one of the best brownies I have ever had. Warm, gooey, rich, dense, and perfectly sweet. It was the perfect dessert to end our vegan brewery adventure on a rainy winter day. Before we left, we sat and finished all the beer that we could, as well as all of the food that we could fit into our stomachs- and packed up the rest! By the time we left the brewery, we were laughing and giggling with all of the goodness we had experienced. We had such a marvelous time all around- great beer, amazing food, wonderful service, and a cozy environment.


What we tried:

Flight of Beer

Garlic Bacon Ranch Fries

Jalapeño Poppers

"I'm a Roamer" Buffalo Chikin' Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'll be the Fun Guy" Mushrooms/Onion Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

Special Brownie


What we plan on trying in the future:

Nachos

Cauliflower Wings

Birria Tacos

Breaded Mushrooms

Chili

Curry Sweet Potato Fries

Giant Monster Pretzel

Hummus Platter

Chikin' Bacon Ranch Wrap

Buffalo Cauliflower Wrap

BLT Quinoa Wrap

Garden Caesar Wrap

BBQ Porky Sandwich

Nashville Hot Chikin' Sandwich

Classic Garlic Fried Chikin' Sandwich

Gyro

Rueben Sandwich

Burger Deluxe

Patty Melt

Quesadilla Burger

BBQ Pork Burger

Korean BBQ Tacos

Gringo Tacos

Infamous Bowl

Cauliflower Rice Eggroll Bowl

Spicy Korean Tofu Bowl

Onion Petal Lentil Bowl

"I'm Cheezy" Bacon Mac & Cheeze Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'm Corny" Elote Chorizo Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'm Old School" Sausage/Mushroom Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'm not Chikin" BBQ Chikin Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'll be the Fun Guy" Mushrooms/Onions Stone-Fired Pizza

"I Can be Spicy" Pepperoni Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'll Take it Easy" Caprese Stone-Fired Pizza

"I'm a Builder" Stone-Fired Pizza (build your own pizza)

"I'm Cheezy" Bacon Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I'm Corny" Elote Chorizo Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I'm Old School" Sausage/Mushroom Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I'm not Chikin" BBQ Chikin Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I'll be the Fun Guy" Mushrooms/Onions Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I'm a Roamer" Buffalo Chikin' Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I Can be Spicy" Pepperoni Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

"I'll Take it Easy" Caprese Stone-Fired Mac & Cheeze Bowl

Breakfast Stack

Eggz Benedict

Loaded Breakfast Scramble

Mushroom Toast

French Toast

Biscuits & Gravy

Breakfast Flatbread

Skillet Hash Brown Potatoes

Classic Beermosa

Fruited Beermosa

Carrot Cake


Go to enjoy the wonderful vegan food, or beer (or both!)


https://pigmindsbrewing.com/


More photos from other visits to Pig's Mind Brewing Co.:



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