I've passed Take a Break everyday on my commute, and I'm glad I finally took a walk over to it last night in the unseasonably warm weather. I have to say, I was surprised with what I found. Take a Break has great character with a fair share of pros and cons.
The pros: This place has massive mugs for beers on draft. I ordered a Blue Moon, and went with the large which is LARGE MUG. It was comically big and I'm glad I walked over. Did I mention it was under $5?
When the weather is nice, the doors are kept open and there as a great breeze going through the bar. The space is surprisingly large, I had no problem sitting and watching a few games of pool. The place is decked out in Steelers curtains and was in full Halloween mode with cobwebs (assuming they were fake). I'm told the place can get a bit crowded on the weekend, but like I said, it's pretty big in there.
The cons: Like most of the best dives in Pittsburgh, you can still smoke inside. I imagine this can get painful on a smokey night for an asthmatic like me. You will come out of here reeking of cigarette smoke. Also, they don't have much variety on tap--but that's coming from a self-proclaimed beer snob.
In terms of the dives around Pittsburgh, I find this one pretty approachable. I'm sure I'll be back again.