One of the Meister’s Bar calling cards is its pizza kitchen that offers one of Columbus’ only Chicago-style deep dish pizzas. Though the wait can be lengthy on busy nights, the pizzas here are legit, faithfully constructed in the Chicago style and pleasantly drowned in a delicious sauce. Every Columbus pizza fan has at one time or another made the pilgrimage to Meister’s to sample its deep dish pie and that pilgrimage is often well rewarded. Not to be overlooked is the sneakily amazing buffalo chicken bread appetizer that comes as a large pizza-sized pillow of dough caked with toppings that must be tried to be fully understood.
There just so happens to be a great dive bar attached to the pizza kitchen as well, the Meister’s Bar specials board reading like a dream of affordable drinking. Most popular is the Thursday night $1 can special that trots out a series of classic, reliable domestic beers for that low, low price point (Busch Light, Natural Light, Stroh’s, Old Milwaukee, Hamm’s, Blatz, Genesee Cream Ale and this reviewer’s favorite, Black Label, are all eligible). The Monday $1 7-ounce High Life deal and the $2 PBR tallboy Tuesday special are also popular nightly selections.
The signature shot here is the White Meister, a concoction modeled after a White Spider shot that consists of heavily shaken Rumplemintz (don’t worry, they’re on special every Saturday). Drinks are distributed from the corner, L-shaped bar caked with dollar bills, mirrored beer signs and the occasional Brittany Spears album cover. The beer selection here expanded on its domestic beer base into a handful of local craft tap offerings and a range of coolers filled with beers a little higher up the quality food chain.