In 2005, a St. Francis machine shop underwent major renovations when two college friends, Michael Rusch and Eric Ellsworth, decided they wanted to replicate an English hostel from their more studious days.

In June 2006, the fully transformed Carleton Grange Pub, 3807 S. Packard Ave., St. Francis, opened its doors and its magnificent outdoor beer garden for public consumption.

I visited the Pub twice during its year-long tenure, once with mixed results in its earlier months. But more recently I sat down to a pleasantly surprising dinner that now earmarks this as one of the better drinking and dining destinations on the South Side.

Beer selection at Carleton Grange rivals some of the city's best, with over 100 varieties of Belgium whites, English ales and seasonal and local options. Service here is relaxed but attentive, and we were pleased to see servers bring tiny beer tasters out to help diners decide their drinks for the evening-a hospitality you rarely see anymore in the Milwaukee dining scene.

Carleton Grange's menu is simple and solid, featuring classic bar food and pub grub type selections with an English twist. The appetizers we sampled here were disappointing, with breaded cheese curds ($6.75) arriving too cool and congealed, and a roasted spinach and artichoke dip ($8.75) which tasted chalky.

But, starters aside, everything else at Carleton Grange is something to talk about. The pub is slowly becoming known for its wings, which are sold by the pound and start at $6.75, and their wood-fired pizzas, which serve as a fantastic appetizer or a dinner for one or two diners.

The King's Cross ($9.25) wood-fired pizza was one of the most flavorful pizzas we have sampled in the city, and I loved that it was not at all greasy and carried the pleasant aromas and flavors of roasted vegetables and well-seasoned sausage. The sauce had just a hint of sweetness, and the crust was crispy and delicious.

A Union Jack chicken sandwich ($7.95) paired a chicken breast with pesto and pepper jack cheese, and was absolutely delicious when dipped in a side of English hot curry sauce ($2).

The real star of the menu, though, was the pasty of the week ($13.95), which on our most recent visit was beef tips and gravy. A pasty (a traditional English pie) is similar in construction to a calzone, with meat and fillings stuffed into a pastry shell and baked, but the pasty is by nature usually filled with stuffing akin to what you would find in a pot pie: meats, vegetables, potatoes, onions and some type of gravy.

Carleton Grange's rendition was easily one of the best I have ever had, and the serving size was such that it could serve as a meal for two with no problem. The pasty shell itself had a unique, almost sweet and savory flavor, and was feather light and crispy on the outside, and the filling was rich, tender and delicious enough to make it something I would quickly seek out the next time I want homemade cooking without setting foot in the kitchen.

Couple that home cooking feel with the beautiful, relaxed scene in the beer garden and I suspect Carleton Grange has found a new permanent home in quaint St. Francis -- far away from its origin in England -- but the owners have succeeded in bringing a bit of the old country here to share.