Division Brewery Gets in the Tavern-Style Pizza and Burger Game

Division Brewing in Arlington is known for several things: beers, of course, but there's also Growl, an adjacent space that hosts a lot of local live music. And there are a couple of barbecue spots that first appeared on the scene at Division, including Hurtado and 225 BBQ. Craft beer, live music and barbecue: a solid storyline.
However, after Hershey's Palace, which was next door, moved earlier this year, Division's co-owner Wade Wadlington decided to snag the space and open a pizza spot. He says he's been wanting to get into the restaurant business for a while. He bought a meat grinder and a pizza oven, honed in on his dough recipe and opened the doors a few weeks ago.

You can enter Division Brewing's new side hustle restaurant from either the brewery side after grabbing a beer or from Abram Street. There's ample room with plenty of tables inside the new addition. Wadlington has a 1978 Pioneer stereo perched up high over the bar with two speakers hanging on either side. I can't remember what was playing, but remember looking for the source of it because I liked it.

The menu here is succinct; six different pizzas, four burgers and two sides.

Tavern-style pizza originated in Chicago at bars (ahem, taverns), cut into small squares, easy to eat perched atop a bar stool while also holding a beer and maybe a Pall Mall. Wadlington has spent years perfecting his dough recipe, looking for that crispiness, with the strength to hold the toppings. 

The Great Plains pizza has mozzarella and Romano; the Midwestern has sausage and mozzarella; the Able Abby comes with a white cream sauce, sausage, pistachios (yep) and cheese; and a Margherita, pepperoni and hot pizza (hot honey and soppressata) round things off. Pizzas come in one size (large-ish) and are priced between $15 and $20.

We made our way over to the brewery after the Rangers' World Series "parade," slightly famished and very parched. After grabbing a beer from the brewery we went with simple pepperoni, covered in a nice layer of mozzarella. If you're a purist and insist your tavern-style pizza hold its toppings without any slack, you won't be disappointed here. The outer edge is cracker-like, and the rest is crispy with a touch of chew.
We also had a burger. Or maybe the burger had us. Patties are a quarter pound each, a mix of chuck and brisket ground in-house. (Wadlington says they're also grinding pork to make sausage in-house.) We went with a single burger with cheese. While they're leading with pizza here, the burgers might be the star of the show. Like that time Lady Gaga got on the stage with Bradley Cooper and sang about the shalalalalala-shalalows. Watch out, tavern pizza.

Grinding meat in-house sure seems to make such a difference, and here it pays off with a fantastically simple, yet perfect burger. There's a slice of processed cheese (as it should be), a house "burger sauce," a few pickles, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions; all priced humbly at $10. The double meat and cheese is $15, which still isn't bad for the amount of food you're getting.

We didn't try the Divison corn cake, but gives us an excuse to go back soon and get a burger. And pizza. A beer, too, and maybe catch a show.

Division is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but most every other day of the week they have pizzas and burgers, and sometimes burgers late into the night after shows. Check Division's Facebook page for weekly updates on events and what's cooking.

Division Brewing, 506 E. Main St., Arlington. Wednesday, 4–10 p.m.; Thursday, 4–11 p.m.; Friday, noon – midnight; Saturday, noon – 1 a.m.; Sunday, noon – 10 p.m.; Closed Monday and Tuesday