Jesse DiRenzo serves Italian food in an Irish bar that’s a go-to spot for sports fans, including those dedicated to the Union of European Football Associations.

Yet it’s quintessentially Pittsburgh.

Aside from filling bellies with cold beer and hot chow, the Bulldog Pub doubles as a Morningside museum. DiRenzo and his brother, Joe, grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood and bought the joint in 2020.

You can get a crash course in local history simply by chatting with a bartender or looking around the room; it’s filled with memorabilia from the Morningside Bulldogs, nationally recognized as the “Winningest Football Team in the World.”

The late Joseph “Joe” Natoli, a longtime resident who spent four decades with the Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation Department, founded the youth squad. From 1950 to 1979, he led them to a record of 271-19-8. To put that into perspective, Steelers Head Coach Chuck Noll went 209-156-1 during his 23 seasons with the black and gold.

On Feb. 21, 1975, a month after the Steelers won their first NFL championship, then-President Art Rooney Sr. sent Joe a letter to acknowledge the 25th anniversary of the Bulldogs.

“For myself,” he wrote, “I can only say I am glad that we were playing the Minnesota Vikings and not the Morningside Bulldogs in the Super Bowl.”

Felix Natoli, Joe’s brother and a former Bulldog, was having a drink at a cafe table outside of the pub during one of my visits. The 85-year-old still lives in Morningside, so every trip to the bar is more like a family reunion. We chatted about his sibling — whose off-field accomplishments and accolades could fill this entire magazine — and the team that prepared players ages 13 to 15 for the high-school gridiron.

“Back then, towns all had teams,” Felix says. “We played everywhere, and everybody wanted to play here because of the reputation, the discipline. The team became legendary.”

A sign that hung in the team locker room now has a place of honor above the Bulldog’s kitchen door. It reads, “You are not permitted to do anything that hurts the team.”

The DiRenzos took that to heart and created a community hub where families can go to share memories over a good meal.

“It was the perfect neighborhood to grow up in,” Jesse says. “And now is the perfect time for us to be here. We are the meeting spot between the new and the old world, if you will.”

As kids, they tossed the pigskin around Joe Natoli Field and would occasionally peek into their future pub at 1818 Morningside Ave. The century-old building has housed a number of watering holes over the years such as Wilk’s, Maroney’s and Petrilli’s.

In 2013, Terry Golden, a former Bulldog player, bought the place and gave it a makeover and the current name. The DiRenzos became managing partners in 2016 before buying the Bulldog outright four years later. Joe lives in Texas now, but Jesse still calls Morningside home. In fact, he once lived in an apartment above the bar.

The 33-year-old got his first taste of the culinary world in the kitchen of the Morningside VFW Post 3945, which is located next to the pub. He worked in Shadyside restaurants such as The Elbow Room and Bites & Brews as he studied journalism at Duquesne University. He developed a passion for cooking and the fast-paced, late-night lifestyle.

As a managing partner, he introduced a new menu that helped sustain the business during the pandemic, when the Bulldog became a veritable community kitchen.

“We sold more takeout food than I could’ve ever imagined,” he says.

The downtime also allowed the brothers to put a little TLC into the pub. They spruced up the interior and the pooch-friendly patio, added a new draft system, fryers and a grill, expanded the canned beer selection to include more local brews and imports and started showing UEFA games. Even when matches are televised early in the morning, folks show up in droves to watch athletes kick it on the other side of the world.

At The Bulldog Pub, soccer is almost as popular as football.

“I was never much of a morning guy, but I want to be here most when there’s ‘footy’ on TV,” says Jesse, a diehard fan of Manchester United. “It’s just a fun atmosphere. My love for the game has grown exponentially.”

Jesse and kitchen manager Michael Haines, another Morningside native, spent the summer designing a new menu to feed their sports-obsessed clientele. They kept old favorites and introduced unique takes on classic pub fare.

I recommend The Angelo Pappas, a sandwich named after Gary Busey’s character in the 1991 action movie “Point Break.” You get three homemade meatballs topped with a house-blend of provolone cheese on herb-and-garlic-butter ciabatta bread with marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Fans of the film will not be able to stop themselves from shouting Busey’s line “Utah, get me two!” as the server marches toward the kitchen. I know I couldn’t; I’m a movie geek and those meatballs are amazing.

Yinzer French Onion Soup has a Yuengling beer-based broth. A Pooshie Pocket is a deep-fried mini calzone stuffed with meatballs and fresh mozzarella. Wings, salads, dips, burgers, sandwiches, desserts and entrees such as Sunday at Grams (house marinara or tomato cream on cavatappi with a side salad and garlic bread) round out the menu. Weekly specials allow Haines to flex his culinary muscles while mentoring the next generation of chefs in the kitchen.

“It’s a blessing to be doing what we love with the people that we love,” Haines says. “There aren’t a lot of city neighborhoods in Pittsburgh that feel like a suburb.”