On a Wednesday evening in July, my fiance and I found ourselves in the Cranberry area. We found…read morethis place and decided to give it a try, as we had never been before. It is also a non-chain establishment, which is a plus in this area. Recon Brewing is located within the Meeder neighborhood of Cranberry. It almost feels like you are in the wrong spot when initially entering, but eventually you stumble upon the "town square" area with a big lawn, several storefronts, and lots of sidewalks, which make it very easy to walk to. Since this is quite literally in the middle of a neighborhood, there is not a dedicated parking lot. However, there are spaces on the street around the entire area where all of the storefronts are. We had no issue finding a spot on this particular night, but I could see it being slightly more challenging if there is a big crowd eating here. We arrived here a little after 7:30, and it was not busy. Our dog was with us, so we opted for seats on the patio. The wait staff came to greet us right away, and were attentive to us throughout the entire evening. Since this is a brewery, we started off with a few beers. I had To Live & Rye, which is a red/amber rye. I appreciated this as an option, as a lot of places do not carry reds or red-adjacents, especially on tap. I enjoyed it, and it was a great sipper throughout the evening. My fiance ordered the Sour Series - Plum. He thought it was okay, but could have been more sour. Since they brew a lot of their own selections, these seem to rotate and switch out pretty frequently, which is a good way to be able to try lots of different brews. For an appetizer, we split the Cheese Curds. The portion, for the price, is okay. They were tasty, and I liked how you could choose whatever dipping sauce you wanted. We chose ranch, and thought it paired well with the curds. We both ordered 10" Personal Size Pizzas for our entrees, which are cut into 6 pieces. I opted for the Hot Honey, which was more of a white-style pizza with chicken on top and drizzled generously with hot honey. My fiance ordered the Peppers & Sausage, which had red pepper, banana pepper, and chunky pieces of sausage. Both had nice flavors, but we were not particularly wow-ed by either pie. The portion was solid for a personal serving, but if there are multiple people in your party, I would order multiple pizzas. Our total bill came out to be just under $50. I do not think this is unreasonable given that we got 2 beers, an appetizer, and two entrees. I think that in terms of overall value, this is very standard compared to similar restaurants and breweries. I loved the ambiance of Recon! If we lived closer to Cranberry, I could see myself coming here weekly, especially when the weather is warm. The patio lights make it such a cozy and warm atmosphere at night. It was not operating during our visit, but there was also a fire pit. There was a ton of seating here overall - both indoors and out. This would be a great spot to meet a large group of people, or just for a night out for two. There is even bar seating on the interior. I can see this being a great spot for the neighborhood to walk to and enjoy often. In terms of activity, there seems to be a lot going on at Recon. Though not anything specifically during our visit, there was a chalkboard advertising their regular events - DJ Trivia every Tuesday, Karaoke every other Thursday, as well as special events - a Comedy Show, Patio Party with music and vendors, and DJ Bingo. I would love to return for an event in the future! Lastly, I love how nice they were to our dog. He got a giant bowl of water with ice in it! The staff and patrons were friendly and welcoming to both us and him, which is a big plus when we bring him along on outings. There was even a donation box inside benefiting the Butler County Humane Society, so I know the treatment of my dog was not an off-chance occurrence. Overall, I enjoyed my first visit to Recon Brewing at Meeder! This truly is the perfect spot to be able to walk to and socialize with neighbors, grab dinner or a drink, and enjoy the atmosphere and ambiance that they provide. Plus, there are plenty of events and fun activities that seem to be happening regularly to keep patrons coming back. The staff were all kind, and we enjoyed our food and drinks. I look forward to another chance to be able to enjoy Recon, hopefully partaking in one of their many events.

"But they're serving green beer and we need to charge our devices," I tell my husband, on St…read morePatrick's day weekend and we are on day three of no electricity due to a storm. He agrees. We go to Recon which is located in the Meeder community. Free parking. Big field outside for kids to run. Phones got charged and I got a green beer. Four of us adults went and there were enough varietals that we each got something different. TVs had sports on and a good mix of indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor seating was fully open and though my photos don't show it, people were there throughout the afternoon. I enjoyed it and would return. We've been up to the Butler location, but it's been a while and are glad to have one a bit closer.

Great service, decent ambiance, but the food was not hitting the mark. Sometimes you can tell your…read moreveggies weren't individually seasoned on the omelette or your chorizo patty isn't particularly flavorful on the eggs Benedict (one egg runny, one egg solid) + get the hash browns over the home cooked fries (the larger fry cuts could some use some extra love). Coffee was pretty good.

We stopped into Bennies9 today for the first time and left wondering why we waited so long to come…read moreback to this location. Years ago, when it was Freedom Square Diner, it was always a cute spot, but didn't feel special. We were all in the mood for something different today. My son ordered the full breakfast spread with eggs, sausage, pancakes, and all the extras and immediately declared it a "10 out of 10 breakfast." I have a feeling his enthusiasm alone is going to have us coming back week after week.My husband had Johnny's chicken sandwich and said it was one of the best sandwiches he's ever had. I ordered a chicken salad, which sounds pretty boring, but it was good. They make the chicken fresh and it was topped with crispy shoestring fries that were absolutely perfect. Our server, Amy, was wonderful. Even though she was busy, she took time to talk with us about the menu and share some of her favorites. When we mentioned it was our first visit, she smiled and said the owner was working and would probably come say hello. Sure enough, he did. You could immediately tell this is someone who truly cares about his business. He had that sparkle in his eye while talking about the food, the ingredients, and the restaurant itself. You don't fake that kind of passion. It was obvious he is fully invested in every detail of the place. I know the restaurant business is hard, especially with so many chain options everywhere. Experiences like this remind me why supporting local businesses matters. Hearing that Bennies also supports other local businesses through the ingredients they source (including carrying my favorite local coffee beans!) just reinforced that even more. So glad we gave Bennies9 a try today. We'll absolutely be back again and again.

Mix almond, chocolate, and coconut flavoring in a boba milk tea and you have the best bubble tea…read moreever.

Me and my spouse have gone here plenty of times now (I have had almost every flavor of tea by this…read morepoint). We mainly go for the boba, but it is also the only place I know that has eel, let alone eel that tastes good. The employees are very polite and nice. Door can be a bit hard to push when you are a weak person like me, but that is why I leave it to my spouse to deal with, outside of that the space is small, but that makes it far less loud and more comfortable. My personal tier list of teas is as follows (I get no ice and almond milk; sensory issues with ice and issues with normal milk): 1. Tiramisu milk tea with brown sugar boba 2. Watermelon milk tea with yogurt boba 3. Sakura Rose milk tea with yogurt boba 4. Lavender tea with blueberry and yogurt boba 5. Banana milk tea with yogurt boba