Pittsburgh Eats

Park Bruges

2012-02-15T18:22:00.001-05:00

Park Bruges is the sister restaurant of the Point Brugge cafe in Point Breeze. The Point Brugge cafe was so successful that the owners decided to open up another restaurant in Highland Park. Both restaurants specialize in Belgian/French cuisine. Word of mouth had been pretty positive about both restaurants so I was excited to try out the Park Bruges in Highland Park.
We arrived at the Park Bruges around noon on a Sunday and it was pretty crowded with a 20 minute wait. While waiting, me and my eating companion decided to get some Belgian beers at the bar. My eyes lit up when I saw that they had Delirium Noel on tap. Delerium Tremens is one of my favorite Belgian beers and the Noel is a Christmas version being both darker and stronger. The beer was excellent but the price was a little steep at $9.00.

Delerium Noel $9.00

Even though we were told a 20 minute wait, we were seated in 10 minutes. On Sundays Park Bruge has a special brunch menu. For our meal we wanted to try some of the more traditional Belgian favorites. Our order consisted of Bruge Frites (French Fries), Crab Beignets, Tarte Flambee, and Prince Edward Island Mussels.

Bruge Frites $5.00

If you dont know about Belgian french fries, let me tell you that they are the best in the world. They are first soaked in water overnight. Then they are fried twice. First at 310 degrees, than at 400 degrees. The result are fries that are perfectly crisp. Park Bruges fries were an excellent representation of this style of fries. In Belgium they dont dip their fries in ketchup but usually a flavored mayonnaise of some sort, and the roasted garlic mayo that came with the fries was the perfect accompaniment for dipping.

Crab Beignets $10.00

The crab beignets were fritters with crab and typical Maryland style crab cake seasoning.
They were accompanied with a charred tomato remoulade sauce.

Inside the Crab Beignet

These were ok, with the crab meat being generous throughout the entire fritter though it was not lump crab meat, more claw and other parts.. The sauce was complex with tastes of mustard and smoked paprika. A very unique sauce, and it added some good flavor to the crab beignets. All in all these were tasty deep fried crab cake balls.

Tarte Flambee $12.00

The Tarte Flambee was the biggest disappointment of the meal. The tarte flambee is described as Parma ham, arugula, shirred eggs, rosemary bechemel & cheese over a thin, crispy crust. First off I am not sure what the hell type of cheese they used on top of this thing but it was flavorless, I suspect from its lack of flavor and dryness that this was, heaven forbid, soy cheese. YUCK. The flavor of the entire dish was very mild and could have used some extra bechamel to add flavor, and also add some moisture, as this was also very dry.

Mussels $12.00

The high lite of the meal was the Prince Edward Island Mussels. You can get your mussels in one of three styles. The traditional which is with a white wine, shallots, and beurre blanc. Or creole style in a tomato sauce with andouille sausage, peppers,onions, and Maytag blue cheese. Or French Style with lobster-pernod, tarragon and basil. I chose the traditional and was not disappointed. The mussels were cooked perfectly not being overcooked as to make them too chewy. The sauce was dreamy with the white wine and a generous amount of shallots and butter making an impeccable sauce. My one small complaint was that they dont send out enough bread for soaping up the heavenly sauce. If you like mussels these are a must try when visiting the Park Bruges.

Would I go back? Yes, the mussels and brugge frittes alone are worth coming back for. The service was decent. The prices are a tad on the high side but not to the point of making me think twice about coming back. Their Belgian/French style menu is pretty unique here in Pittsburgh and I would like to come back to try some of their dinner fare.

Park Bruges Rating:
Bruge Frittes: 9/10
Crab Beignets: 7/10
Tarte Flambee: 4/10
PEI Mussels: 9/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Stoke's Grill

2012-02-02T22:05:00.009-05:00

I headed out to Stoke's Grill on Mcknight Rd at the recommendation of some friends. Word of mouth had been mixed so I was pretty interested to see what Stoke's had to offer. A quick look at the menu shows that Stoke's specializes in sandwiches. They also have a large assortment of soups and salads, as well as specials of the day.

The way you order at Stoke's is a little different in that you place your order at the cash register. You then are handed a number and the food is than brought out to your table. You get your own drinks from a soda fountain. Stoke's is also BYOB in case you want to bring some malt liquor with you (and who wouldn't ?).

Crab Bisque ($3.95)

Sausage Lentil Soup ($3.95)

The soups were both excellent. The crab bisque had good crab flavor with a nice sherry finish. Very good. The sausage lentil soup was just like something Mom would make. It was a great winter soup with lots of lentils and chunks of country sausage in a thick and hearty broth.


White Fries ($4.85)

Stoke's has a bunch of different style french fries. From green fries with pesto and brie, to red fries with chili cheese and sour cream. I chose the white fries which are described as fries in garlic aioli , onion straws and Parmesan cheese. The fries were crisp and had a good but not overpowering flavor of garlic. There were no onion straws in my order of fries, but I enjoyed these never the less.

The salads that the skinny chicks ordered were all fresh and the girls seemed to enjoy them (well as much as you can enjoy a salad).


Larkshead ($8.45)

The Larkshead is a pretzel sandwich with roast beef, bacon, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, and Russian dressing. I was surprised that this did not come out on a pretzel style roll but an actual big ass soft pretzel. It was tasty but a little to greasy. The Russian dressing added a nice contrast to the savory beef and bacon. A decent sandwich overall. The homemade potato chips that accompanied the sandwich were unremarkable and made me happy that I had ordered the white fries as a side.

Frizzle Quesadilla ($7.65)

Two of my eating companions ordered quesadillas. The one had chicken, bacon, ranch, cheese and salsa. The other had just cheese and seasoned veggies. For review purposes I sampled the chicken quesadilla and found it had a good flavor. My only complaint being that the tortillas were slightly soggy from the salsa. The veggie quesadilla I did not try, but my eating companion (The Polish Princess) thought it was pretty crappy. She said that she would have rather had a Taco Bell quesadilla.

Reuben ($7.95)

Turkey Pita ($6.95)

Some of the other sandwiches ordered were the Reuben and the Turkey Pita. My one friend said that the Reuben was one of the best he had ever had. While my other friend said the Turkey Pita was good but nothing all that special.

Would I go back to Stokes Grill? Yes. While a tad expensive for the type of restaurant it is, most of the food was prepared well and everything was fresh. The soups were very good and I might just stop in on a Friday to get some crab bisque to go. The sandwiches were all pretty decent, not including the Polish Princess's veggie quesadilla. Im looking forward to going back and trying some of the other sandwiches such as the Cuban and Italian Beef which are both two of my favorite type of sandwiches. So if your on Mcknight Rd, stop over at Stoke's. Service is relatively quick and it would definitely make a good place to go for a good lunch.

RATING

Soups: 8/10
Fries: 6/10
Sandwiches: 6.5/10
Salads: (Its a salad)

OVERALL: 6.5/10
No thrills sandwich shop. Slightly expensive for what it is. Better place for lunch than dinner. Very good soups. BYOB

Hal's Bar & Grill

2012-01-07T09:58:00.001-05:00

Hal's Bar & Grill is located on Babcock Blvd in the North Hills. Having driven by the place every day for the past few years I always had planned on trying out Hal's, but never seemed to get around to it. Word of mouth has been mixed about Hal's. From what I learned it really seemed to be hit or miss depending on what you ordered. One of the warnings told me to avoid the hoagies because of the minuscule amount of toppings. As you will read, I should have heeded that advice.

Upon entering Hal's we were quickly seated. Hal's is separated into a dining section and a bar which has a few big screen TVs and an impressive display of alcohol choices. The beer selection is very impressive and is one of the best you will find at a bar in the North Hills. The prices were very reasonable as well, even for imports such as Pilsner Urquell and Hoegarden which came in around $4.00 a bottle. My eating companions and I put in our order which included Salt and Pepper Calamari, Mushroom and Brie Bisque, Walnut Chicken Salad, Fish Sandwich, and the Kielbasa Grinder.

Salt and Pepper Calamari $9.00

The Salt and Pepper Calamari came out lightly coated and fried perfectly as to still be tender. The dipping sauce however was just plain Kikkoman Teriyaki which was just to salty. A little more inspiration in the dipping sauce such as a sweet Thai chili sauce or a garlic aioli would have helped out this dish. Fried calamari is a pretty neutral flavored dish and so much depends on it having a good dipping sauce to add flavor.

Mushroom and Brie Bisque $4.00

The Mushroom and Brie was the highlight of my meal. The soup had tasty chunks of mushrooms and the creamy broth was tangy with a taste of brie in the background. One of the better soups I have had and a pleasant surprise.


Walnut Chicken Salad $10.00

The Walnut Chicken Salad came with sliced chicken on a bed of greens including sliced apple and grapes. A nice layer of blue cheese and walnuts was also included. Nothing bad to say about this salad. The chicken was perfectly cooked and everything was fresh.


Fried Cod Sandwich $8.00

The Fried Cod sandwich was in the typical Pittsburgh fashion of being so big that it overflowed off the bun. The fish was fried in a nice panko style breading and had a pleasant crunch. The Sweet potato fries that accompanied the sandwich were crispy with a touch of sweetness. This was a pretty good fish sandwich, and I found it to be of better quality then the popular fish sandwich served at the North Park Lounge.

Kielbasa Grinder $8.00

Well the best thing about this sandwich was the onion rings that accompanied it. The rings were lightly battered and fried to perfection. The sandwich was a disgrace. The kielbasa wound up being a thin sliced layer of something that resembled cooked salami. There was a big heap of sauerkraut with a thousand island style dressing on top. Biting into the sandwich was like biting into a sauerkraut hoagie. You could not even taste the so called kielbasa as there was barely any on the sandwich. The hoagie roll was not fresh either. This is easily the worst sandwich I have had in recent memory.

So the trip to Hals's was a mixed bag. Some of the offerings such as the soup and fish were very good, while the hoagie was just plain terrible. The beer prices at Hal's are very reasonable and the selection was impressive. Oh, and they make their own Ranch Dressing which is always important.
Would I go back to Hal's? Sure, especially if just to have some beers or drinks. Just remember to stay away from most of their sandwiches and you will be alright.

Hal's Bar & Grill

Salt and Pepper Calamari: 6.5/10

Mushroom and Brie Bisque: 9/10

Walnut Chicken Salad: 7/10

Fried Cod Sandwich: 7/10

Kielbasa Grinder: 1/10 (Onion rings brought it up to a 1)

Overall: 7/10

ISALY'S

2011-11-18T07:27:00.002-05:00

Isaly's has been around since the 1930s. At one point there were over 400 Isaly's throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Now there are only a few left, and one of the last is in West View Pennsylvania. Stepping into Isaly's is like stepping into a time machine. Pictures of the long gone West View Park adorn the walls, along with old tin ceilings, and a small deli and ice cream counter. The owner cooks at a very small flat top grill, while his wife waits on tables and serves coffee.

Isaly's serves breakfast and lunch. Closing time seems to be whenever they feel like it. Breakfast's come in large portions for a decent price. They have all your typical breakfast foods and a large selection of omelets to choose from, including the Hunky Heaven Omelet, and the West View Omelet.


West View Omelet: Chipped Ham, Onions, Peppers, American Cheese


Hunky Heaven Omelet: Kielbassa and Swiss Cheese

The Isaly's in West View is best know for its legendary sandwiches. The most famous being the Slammer as seen on the TV show "Sandwiches You Will Like" hosted by Rick Sebak. The Slammer is 1/2 pound of grilled chipped ham, grilled onions, and american cheese on a home made bun. It truly is one of the best sandwiches you will ever have. The Slammer gets its name from the District Magistrates office being right across the street from Isaly's.

The Slammer

A lot of Sandwich

Their other sandwich of note is The Bomber. The Bomber comes with fried jumbo bologna, grilled onions, and cucumber sauce. While not my particular favorite sandwich, my eating companion loved it.

The Bomber: Jumbo Bologna, Grilled Onions, Cucumber Sauce.

Everyone should stop by Isaly's at least once. These type of establishments are disappearing every day, being replaced by a Subway, Dunkin Donuts, or some other crappy fast food joint. So find some time and stop in for a terrific breakfast or lunch. Sit and read the paper. Get a quart of ice cream to go. Sadly once these places are gone, they are gone for good.

Isaly's West View
Rating: 9/10

Burgatory

2011-10-19T10:02:00.001-04:00

Burgatory is one of the zillion new burger restaurants popping up in Western Pennsylvania. Burgatory is located in Waterworks Mall in Aspinwall. Word of mouth has been pretty positive about this joint, and in my quest to visit every burger restaurant in Pittsburgh, I decided to check it out.
So on a Tuesday at about 4:00 pm my eating companion and I arrived. We were quickly seated by our hostess, but then sat and waited for over 10 minutes before our server waited on us. This is while the manager and a group of other waitresses chit chatted at the corner of the bar right next to us. Also there were only 3 seated tables so it was anything but busy.

PB&J Shake $5.50

So to start off I ordered a PB&J Shake. Burgatory has a bunch of different flavors of shakes including shakes spiked with liquor. This shake was kick ass. Tasting of peanut butter with notes of berry it was about as good a shake as you can get. Be careful though, the shake is very filling and you can get full before your meal even arrives.

Pale Ale Onion RIngs $6.50

The onion rings were thick cut onions fried in a beer batter. To me good onion rings should be thin and airy, these were the exact opposite. The batter had a nice beer flavor to it but was way to greasy. The onion as you bit into the ring just slid out from the crunchy coating. An overall pretty crappy onion ring. The accompanying dipping sauces were both unique in flavor and would have been better if you had an onion ring worth a damn to dip in them. One sauce was a peppercorn cream whith a nice peppery yet mellow flavor. The other sauce was a chipotle horseradish dipping sauce which had a nice smoky and tangy flavor.

Fire Kissed Sriracha Wings $9.00

The wings were pretty decent. The sauce on the wings to me tasted like just plain sweet Thai chilli sauce with soy. If there was actual Sriracha sauce on the wings it was hardly noticeable. The sauce was actually very mild as far as spicy heat goes.The wings were well cooked being moist yet crispy.

Farmer Brown Burger $9.50

The Farmer Brown burger was ordered medium and comes topped with an over easy egg, maple cured ham, farmhouse cheddar, lettuce and mayo.

Action side view of Farmer Brown Burger

First off all the burgers come accompanied with "a handful of sweet and russet potato chips". Whoever is in charge of the chips should be fired. The russet potato chips were soggy and had no crunch whatsoever, but they were terrific compared to the sweet potato chips that were inedible. It was like biting into a piece of chewy cardboard.
The burger itself came out being more medium well than medium. Of all the burger joints I have been, I must say I think Burgatory might have the juiciest, most flavorful burger of them all. The patty was not only juicy but also had a great meaty flavor. Burgatory claims that their beef is all natural and hormone free as well. The buns they use were nice and airy yet retained their form so the burger did not become a big mess. The toppings all were fresh and of high quality. The combination of ham and egg reminded me of a good breakfast. The cheddar added nice flavor as well.

Mortys Steakhouse Burger $10.00

The Mortys Steakhouse burger was cooked a perfect medium just as I had ordered.

Mortys Steakhouse Burger Action Shot

The Morty Steakhouse burger comes topped with haystack onions(crispy onion straws), cabernet sauce, horseradish cheddar, and the burger itself is crusted in black peppercorns. Just like the other burger the actual beef patty was awesome. The addition of the peppercorn added even more flavor to an already excellent burger. The cabernet sauce tasted of wine and demi glace, and mixed in well with the onions and horseradish cheddar. Nit picking a little, but they could have cut down on the number of onions which was a tad excessive. This burger came with the same crappy chips as well.

Burgatory, while having the actual best burger I have tried yet, failed in some other key aspects of my visit. The service needs to be improved. The chips are almost comically bad, especially since they come with such a terrific burger. The appetizer menu could be expanded and improved upon. Prices are a little on the high side .
But the fact is if you want a great burger head to burgatory. Despite some of its other shortcomings it is still worth going for the burgers alone.

RATING
PB&J Shake 9/10
Pale Ale Onion Rings 4/10
Fire Kissed Sriracha Wings 7/10

Farmer Brown Burger 8/10
Mortys Steakhouse Burger 9/10

Overall: 7/10

B Spot

2011-09-13T14:28:00.003-04:00

The B Spot is Chef Michael Symon's (of Iron Chef fame) new gourmet hamburger restaurant. Symon is based out of Cleveland Ohio and has received world acclaim for his restaurant Lola.

Michael Symon

Chef Symon also has won twice in a row at the Sobe Burger Bash in Miami Florida with his unique take on burgers (His 2010 winner the Fat Doug is on the B spot menu and is a burger topped with Swiss, Pastrami, and Coleslaw).
The B Spot uses Pat Lafrieda ground beef for their hamburgers. Pat Lafrieda is based in New York City and is known as being one of the highest quality meat purveyors in the restaurant business. Currently the B Spot has three locations located all throughout Cleveland and the surrounding area.

So after a two and a half hour ride to Cleveland and a stop at Cleveland's West Side Market, me and my eating companions pulled up to the BSpot. This particular B Spot was located in a high end strip mall which also included a Trader Joes, Barnes and Noble, and some high end restaurants.

Outside B Spot

Symon Says

More Rules

The B Spot had outdoor seating and a large garage door style opening into the restaurant itself. We were quickly seated and given our menus. The server also gave us Michael Symon's rules.
At our table was a variety of Michael Symon's signature sauces . The Shasha sauce I thought was the most flavorful being a mixture of Mustard and Italian hot peppers.


Sauces

More Sauces

So we put in our order for the following: For appetizers we ordered the Garlic& Parm Wings, Lola Fries, and Chips. For our burgers we ordered the Thin Lizzy, Philly Witt, and the Shroomage burger.

Chips $5.00

The Chips were home made crispy fried potato chips served with a parmesan and rosemary fondue. The chips were perfectly cooked being nice and crispy. Strangely the longer they sat the crispier they got. The fondue itself was very mild tasting with the rosemary nor the parmesan being all that pronounced.

Garlic & Parm Wings $7.00

The Garlic & Parm wings were easily some of the best wings I have ever had. The wings were cooked to a crispy golden brown and covered with a garlicy/cheesy/kick ass sauce, and sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese. The sauce had a great garlic flavor as well as a nice bite of sharpness from the cheese. Most garlic parm wings are just wings tossed in garlic butter with some canned parm sprinkled on top. These were so much better than that, and about as original as you can get when it comes to wings.

Lola Fries $4.00

The Lola Fries are very thin cut fries dusted in rosemary and sea salt. The fries themselves reminded me very much of the french fries you get at Steak and Shake being so thin. The rosemary and sea salt added a little complexity to the frie's flavor, but all in all were unremarkable.

Thin Lizzy $8.00

The Thin Lizzy was a burger topped with griddled onions, cheddar, mayo, and pickles. This one of my favorite burger topping combinations and I was not disappointed with this. The pickles were terrific being brought in from Tony Packos Hot Dogs in Toledo Ohio (Klinger/ MASH reference for those that care). The onions were sauteed perfectly. The bun was airy and lightly toasted. The hamburger itself had a nice beefy flavor but to be honest I don't think the Pat Lafrieda ground beef was of such a quality that I would pay the extra money for it to be sent from NY. I'm sure Michael Symon could find a local farmer/supplier with just as good of quality somewhere in Ohio. My burger was ordered medium and was cooked perfectly as were all the burgers.

The Shroomage Burger $9.00

The Shroomage burger was a burger topped with a marinated portabella, blue cheese, Lola steak sauce, and griddled onions. This burger was bursting with mushroom flavor being that the portabella was almost as big as the burger itself. The blue cheese was used sparingly as not to overpower the burger as blue cheese has a tendency to do. For a mushroom lover this burger is about as good as it gets.

The Philly Witt $9.00

This is the B Spots take on a traditional Philly cheesesteak. It comes topped with thin sliced steak, cheese wiz, and witt onions. This is almost exactly what you would find at either Pats or Genos Steaks in Philadelphia (minus the burger of course). What can I say about this burger other than it is so sloppily decadent and messy that I loved it. When your using a classic combination such as wiz and onions its hard to screw up anything. This might not be an actual philly cheesesteak,but it is just as tasty, and you really cant go wrong ordering this burger.

When your burgers come you can also go to the B Spots pickle bar. There you can load up on Tony Packos sweet hot pickles (which are fantastic), pickled red onions, pickled green tomatoes, and kosher garlic dills. A nice little touch and the acidity of the pickles helps cut the richness of your burgers.

Menu Click for larger pic

For those Yinzers that have never been to Cleveland, take off the Lambert jersey, put on a disguise, and head up there. There is a lot to do and it only takes two and a half hours to get there. Some of the places to visit include The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (unless your boycotting because they let Michael Jackson in and have left KISS out), The West Side Market, A WWII Gato Class Submarine, the Great Lakes Brewery, and even Ralphies house from the movie "The Christmas Story".

Inside the B Spot

Rating

Chips: 6/10

Garlic & Parm Wings: 9/10

Lola Fries: 5/10

Thin Lizzy Burger: 8/10

The Shroomage: 7/10

The Philly Witt: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Pizza Sola

2011-08-26T11:05:00.002-04:00

Pizza Sola opened up in 2002 and now has four locations throughout the Pittsburgh area. Their latest pizza shop just opened up in Cranberry and I thought I would drive out there to try it out. The location in Cranberry is right along Rt 19 and is located in a new strip mall development. There is seating inside and some pizzas are already cooked and displayed for people who are on the go and want a slice heated up quickly.


New Cranberry Location

My eating companions and I decided to try out two of there Solazones which are little mini calzones, and a Godfather Pizza.


Solazone

The solazones were nice little hand sized calzones. At only $3.50 they are a pretty good value.

Bonnie and Clyde

The Bonnie and Clyde was stuffed with white meat chicken, brocoli, mozzerella, and asiago cheese. It was a good combination of ingredients. The chicken was juicy and the asiago gave off a nice sharpness. Only wish I would have got some marinara on the side for dipping.

The Italian Stallion

The Italian Stallion Solazone was filled with Italian sausage, cappicola, pepperoni, and mozzarella. Once again I wish I had got some marinara sauce to dip the Solazone in. Even without the sauce it was quite good. It was stuffed with a good amount of meat and at only $3.00 is a real bargain. My only complaint was that they could have left the Solazones in the oven a little longer in order to give them a little more crispness.

The Godfather

The pizza at Pizza Sola is described as New York style with a thin crispy crust. We ordered the Godfather which has Italian sausage, monzerella and ricotta cheese as its toppings. Luckily I had checked inside the box before I had driven away from Pizza Sola as they had mistakenly gave me a plain cheese pie instead. After taking my pizza back inside the staff quickly cooked up the proper pizza. Still as an apology they should have gave me a discount or something for making me wait the extra 15 minutes. Anyhoot, the pizza itself when finally consumed was very good. The sausage was not overpowered with spice as you will find at a lot of pizza places where the sausage is just overloaded with fennel. The ricotta added a nice touch of creamy sweetness. The sauce was terrific, the use of San Marzano tomatoes from Naples really stands out with the sauce having a great tomato flavor. It was also nicely seasoned and not overly sweet. The crust was nice and thin yet not as crispy as I would have liked. All in all though a very good pie.

Pizza Sola is a welcome addition to the Cranberry dining scene. The Solazazones are tasty and a great value, and there pizza is one of the better pies that you can get in the Northern Pittsburgh area. If they could make their crust a little crispier this could be one of the best NY style pies in Pittsburgh . Stop by Pizza Sola and give it a try. Don't forget that they also have locations in Oakland, Southside, and the East End.

RATING

Bonnie and Clyde: 7/10
Italian Stallion: 6/10
Godfather Pizza: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

Cafe Kolache

2011-08-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

Cafe Kolache is a little coffee shop/ bakery located in downtown Beaver. They specialize in Kolache's . What is a Kolache? Well I am glad you asked. Its a sweet dough bun filled with various fillings. The recipe comes from Czech immigrants who settled in the Houston Texas area and opened up their own kolache stores. The owners of Cafe Kolache in Beaver are originally from Houston and thankfully have brought their delightful kolache recipe with them. The closest thing I can think of to a kolache would be the Kings Hawaiian bread or rolls that you can get at the grocery store. Only this is obviously much fresher and slightly sweeter.

Inside Cafe Kaloche are many tables where you can enjoy their gourmet coffee. The coffee comes from Prestogeorge in Pittsburghs Strip District, and is some of the best locally roasted coffee you will find.

As you can see the Coffee prices are a lot better then Starbucks with the bonus that you can get Kolaches while you are there.

The Kolaches basically come in two types, sweet or savory. The sweet ones include cream cheese, apricot, prune and poppy seed. The savory includes my favorite which is ham with colby and jalepeno, little smoky sausages with cheese, and eggs and bacon. Also they have bigger lunch size kolaches with fillings such as ham and swiss and steak fajita.

As you can see from the menu they have much more then just kolaches. Salads, soups, cinnamon roles, chili,scones, and bruschetta sticks are sold there as well
So if your up in Beaver County stop by Cafe Kolache and try out these unique sweet dough pastries. So far I have not found anyone yet who does not enjoy a good kolache, and its a chance to try something that is pretty unique up here in the Pittsburgh area.

Young's Custard Stand

2011-07-07T10:24:00.001-04:00

Young's Custard Stand

Young's, located a few miles west of Zelienople, has been serving custard for over 40 years and not much has changed from when they first opened. Young's rose to international fame in the movie The Prince of Pennsylvania, when legendary actor Keanu Reeves (ok I am using legendary a little loosely) threw a trash can through one of the windows at Young's. Young's specializes in custard which is similar to soft serve. The difference is that it is a lot thicker and creamier due to the addition of eggs and a lower air content.

Young's has all the treats that you would find at your typical Ice Cream Stand. Milk shakes, sundaes, etc. They run three flavors of custard at a time with chocolate and vanilla always on the menu. The other flavor rotates every three days, and happened to be banana when I visited. Some of the other rotating custard flavors I have seen include, pistachio, peach, raspberry, and maple.

Young's also serves burgers and hot dogs, though I honestly have never seen anyone eating them. The star of the show is the custard and it really does not get any better then what Young's serves. Rich, thick, and flavorful, it is terrific custard. The malts are delicious as well. Its always a battle on whether to get a custard cone or a vanilla malt when I go to Young's.

A Small Banana Custard

So do yourself a favor if your up North of Pittsburgh. Stop at Young's and enjoy some of the best cold sweet treats in the area. WARNING: lines can be pretty long on Friday and Saturday nights, but ya its worth it.

Backdoor Tavern

2011-06-24T11:32:00.003-04:00

Backdoor Tavern

The restaurant sign is a rock near the front door

The Backdoor Tavern may not look like much from the outside. It looks like the front of someones house. Having had to work up in Fallston which is right outside of New Brighton and Beaver PA a few years back, I had heard many good things about this place from the locals . They all raved about how great the fish sandwiches were and the great prices. Well the fish sandwich was great and the prices were good, so I thought I would revisit this place and this time have a chance to try some beers off of their extensive beer list.

When you first walk into the Backdoor Tavern you enter the bar area. Down some steps are two dining areas which are surprisingly large considering how small the place looks from the outside.

The beer selection is huge and might be the biggest I have ever seen. There are over 140 beers with both imports and domestics. The beer prices are just plain amazing, $6.00 for a bottle of Delerium Tremens and $3.25 for Fullers London Pride. Around Pittsburgh you can expect to pay almost double that amount at any other bar or restaurant.

Beer Menu part 1 Click for Larger image

Beer Menu 2 Click for Larger image

The Damage Done

The dining room area is spacious and has a nice wood decor with your typical neon beer signs and antiques decorating the walls.

Dining Area

The dining area was not crowded, yet our waitress was not the most attentive person and could have done a much better job of checking up on us.

So for our meal, my eating companions and I ordered: Smokey Blue Wings, Reuben Bites, and fried pickles for our appetizers. For our entrees, we ordered: Backdoor Burger, Half Pittsburgh Steak Sandwich, and a Beef and Cheddar mushroom melt.

Smokey Blue Wings 12 for $6.95

The Smokey Blue wings were fried perfectly being crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The sauce was unique in that it appears to be a mixture of blue cheese dressing and bbq sauce. To be honest, I had my doubts as to whether this would be any good, but I was blown away at how good they were. The smokiness of the bbq combined with creaminess and slight pungency of the blue cheese was a winning combination. These honestly could be the best wings I have ever had, and the only wings I have found comparable are the Louisiana Lickers at Quaker Steak and Lube.

Reuben Bites $3.95

The Reuben Bites were pieces of corned beef, sauerkraut, and swiss cheese, battered and fried into little nuggets. They were accompanied by thousand island dressing for dipping. These were pretty good tasting, like a crunchy reuben sandwich. If you like reuben sandwiches you will love this appetizer.

Brewhouse Breaded Pickles $3.95

The Brewhouse Breaded Pickles were ordered by one of my eating companions. Once again, I was a little hesitant about these, but was pleasantly surprised. They were accompanied by a horseradish dipping sauce. The batter that they coat these with is perfect, light yet very crispy. The garlic flavor of the pickle combined with the horseradish sauce made for a quite unique taste,which I enjoyed.

Backdoor Burger $5.75 (Bacon, Ham, Mushrooms, Swiss Cheese)

The Backdoor burger came out cooked to a perfect medium well. They never asked me how I wanted it cooked so I guess that is what you get by default. It was accompanied by some unremarkable ruffles potato chips. The burger itself was at least 1/2 pound and had good beef flavor. The mushrooms were sauteed perfectly and its pretty hard to screw up the ham and bacon. What a great burger. An excellent combo of toppings and a real steal at $5.75. The bun could have been a little better. It had a hard time dealing with the juiciness and was a complete mess by the time I finished half the burger. This burger could hold its own against any of the burgers from the swanky burger joints such as Burgatory and Brgr that are all the rage right now.

Pittsburgh Style Steak Sandwich (Half) $5.50

Well this sure as hell did not look like half a sandwich to me. Our waitress had informed us that a half was a normal size portion. This is obviously a take on the famous Primanti Brothers sandwich with coleslaw and french fries on top. The thing is, this out Primiantied Primanti Brothers. Unlike a Primanti Sandwich in which you have to try hard to find any meat, this was loaded with chipped steak. Also unlike Primantis the french fries were actually crispy and added a nice texture to the sandwich. The coleslaw was a vinegar based slaw and had a nice tang. For $5.50 this sandwich is an unbelievable value.

Beef & Cheddar Mushroom Melt $5.50

This sandwich is only served on Saturdays for whatever reason. This despite being pretty good was my least favorite of the sandwiches. It comes with a mountain of chopped steak and sauteed mushrooms. The Cheddar cheese was disappointing in that it was a cheese sauce that did not have much flavor. The combination of juices from the steak, mushrooms and the cheddar cheese sauce made the bun turn to mush as you ate it. The lettuce and tomato that topped the sandwich were both fresh. My biggest complaint about this sandwich is that it would have been so much better with a few nice slices of actual cheddar cheese instead of the bland cheese sauce.

In conclusion I can't recommend the Backdoor Tavern enough. If you live in Pittsburgh it is about a 40 minute drive up RT 65 to get there. The beer selection is one of the best and the prices are just unbelievable. The food is great with big portions and good prices. So grab yourself a designated driver and head up to the Backdoor Tavern for great beer and food.

Backdoor Tavern
Apps
Smokey Blue Wings: 9/10
Reuben Bites: 7/10
Brewhouse Breaded Pickles: 7/10

Sandwiches
Backdoor Burger: 8/10
Pittsburgh Steak Sandwich: 9/10
Beef & Chedder Mushroom Melt: 6/10

Overall: 8/10
Great food, huge beer selection, and unbelievable prices make this one of the best dining destinations in Beaver County.

Lunch at Max's Allegheny Tavern

2011-06-09T13:49:00.002-04:00

Maxs Allegheny Tavern is located in the North Side of Pittsburgh. Originally called Max and Erma's Allegheny Tavern and opened in 1977, the Erma was dropped after a dispute with a large chain restaurant called Max and Erma's based out of Columbus Ohio. Max's has been known as one of the few restaurants in the area that specializes in German food.Having had some pretty decent meals in the past, my coworkers and I checked it out for Lunch.

You enter Max's into the bar area which has a number of people drinking at all times of the day. The bar area is old looking and dingy, but as soon as you walk into the dining area you are transported back to what I imagine a 19th century dining room would look like. Full of Tiffany glass and pictures from the late 1800's to early 1900's, its elegance and coziness is in direct contrast to the bar area.
We did not really want anything extravagant for lunch so we ordered off the sandwich portion of the menu.


Bratwurst

This sandwich usually comes on Rye bread but was changed to white. The sausage itself is of the highest quality coming from Usinger's Sausages in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was prepared properly and had a slight brown crust on its outside. Bratwurst is usually a very mild sausage and this one was no different. Really nothing to complain about with the sandwich itself. The fries however were disappointing in that they were soggy and unseasoned.

Dutchtown-Style Kielbasa

This also usually comes on rye bread but was changed to white. The kielbasa itself was great having been grilled perfectly. It was juicy and flavored with garlic and spices. This kielbasa I enjoyed more so than the mild bratwurst in that I like the bolder, garlicky flavor.The accompanying sauerkraut was very good. It was not overpoweringly sour and was seasoned with apples and caraway. The fries just as they had came with the bratwurst were soggy and blah..


Grilled Pulled Pork Sandwich

My order was the pulled pork sandwich which was described as pulled pork with grilled onions and cheddar cheese on a hoagie bun. I substituted potato pancakes for the lackluster french fries. The potato pancakes are great. Sometimes potato pancakes are totally lacking in any flavor but these tasted good, with a slight hint of minced onion in them. They came with sour cream. The sandwich was disappointing. The pulled pork had zero flavor and was begging for some seasoning or smokiness. Luckily grilled onions and cheddar go good on almost anything and they rescued this sandwich from total blandness.

In conclusion lunch at Max's was ok. The fries were abysmal. The pork sandwich sucked. Everything else was pretty darn good. The prices are more than reasonable with our total bill coming to less then $24.00 for all three dishes plus drinks. Having been to Max's in the past, I have been impressed with their German dinner dishes such as schnitzel, sauerbraten, and leberkase. In comparison to these, the lunch was a slight disappointment. In the future expect to see a review of some of their dinner specialties.

Max's Allegheny Tavern

Bratwurst: 7/10
Dutchtown-style kielbasa: 8/10
Pulled Pork Sandwich: 4/10

Potato Pancakes: 8/10
French Fries: 3/10

OVERALL: 6/10

Oriental Market

2011-05-25T13:59:00.001-04:00

Went back to the Oriental Market on Mcknight Road the other day and took some pics.The prices at this place are dirt cheap, especially compared to the prices at local mega grocery store chain Giant Eagle. The selection of Asian foods is also the largest I have seen in Pittsburgh. This even in comparison to the Asian grocery stores down in the Strip District. So if your going to be making an Asian style meal, the Oriental Market is a must stop destination.


Grass Jelly Drink? Maybe next time


Frozen whole wabbits


Asian Bakery. Most people are not aware that the French, when colonizing Viet Nam, brought their love for all things pastry with them.


Chicken Feet. A real bargain at $1.99 a pound.

Oriental Market
4768 McKnight Road, Pittsburgh, PA
15237-3437
(412) 548-3648
‎

Outback Steakhouse

2011-05-14T09:33:00.001-04:00

For Mothers Day being the awesome son that I am, I decided it would be nice to get Outback Steakhouse curbside takeout for my Mother. She just wanted to stay home and relax, so I thought this was a great way to bring the restaurant to her.
If you never heard of Outback you live under a rock. They have over 1200 restaurants around the world and are by far the most successful steakhouse chain in the world. Having been there many times in the past I have found their steaks to be mediocre but the sides and appetizers to be excellent.
My order was placed online and I scheduled to pick up the food at 4:00 PM. As I pulled up to the restaurant there was a line out the door and all the parking spots for curbside takeout were taken. So I parked where I could be seen and an Outback employee came over and took my money and came back about 10 minutes later with my bag of food.

Kookaburra Wings $8.49

First off were the Kookaburra Wings. These wings were not your typical Buffalo style wings. They have a seasoned coating around them with tastes of chili powder, black pepper, garlic and clove. The wings then are coated in either mild,medium, or hot wing sauce. These wings were medium but I found them to have almost no heat whatsoever. The sauce did have a nice tang and adhered nicely to the coating on the wings. The accompanying blue cheese dressing was unremarkable and not really used as I did not want to mask the flavor of these excellent tasting wings. This honestly was the hi point of the meal. The wings flavor is quite unique and my only complaint could be that the wings were slightly on the small side.


Caeser Salad (accompanies meal)

The Caesar Salad screams of one thing, GARLIC. The dressing is almost overpowering in the amount of garlic it has in it. The croutons are almost like little pieces of garlic bread. That being said I love this salad because I love garlic. If your not a big fan of garlic do not even bother with this salad.

9oz Outback Special and Crab Cakes $16.99

This was my Mothers entree which I also sampled (for review purposes and stuff). The 9 Oz sirloin was decent. You now have the option of getting your steaks cooked in one of two ways. The classic Seasoned & Seared: Our classic bold style, seasoned & seared on a red hot grill, or Wood-Fire Grilled: Our new style, lightly seasoned & flame grilled over oak wood. This steak was cooked over the oak wood and had a nice outdoor bbq flavor to it. The sirloin had a bold beef flavor and was slightly chewy, typical of a sirloin cut. The crab cakes were disappointing. They were so damn small, that two bites and they were done. Their was no lump crab meat to speak of and they were mostly made up of cheap shredded crab and filler. The accompanying remoulade sauce however was excellent. If you dont know what a remoulade sauce is, it's a New Orleans version of tartar Sauce with mayo, mustard, hot sauce, pickles and spices. This remoulade was perfectly spiced and made the crab cakes bearable. The meal also came with a baked sweet potato with brown sugar infused cinnamon butter. Not being a fan of sweet potatoes I did not try it, but my mother ate it all and seemed quite happy with it.


Filet Focaccia Sandwich $9.99

With this sandwich I also ordered a side of grilled shrimp. The shrimp were seasoned with the same type of seasoning that was on the wings as well as being basted in garlic butter. They were accompanied with Outbacks excellent remoulade sauce. The shrimp were outstanding and I could eat a hundred of them. They were quite small however and for $5.69 were not a bargain. The sandwich was focaccia bread with slices of filet mignon and melted provolone cheese. It also came with a side of herbed aioli to spread on it and a side of au-jus for dipping. The meat was not beefy or flavorful which is common with a fillet. The aioli was lacking in herb and garlic flavor and wound up being more of a thin mayonnaise. The au-jus was ice cold. While all of the components for this sandwich sounded great, it turned out quite mediocre in Outback's execution of the sandwich. The accompanying fries were flavorful yet soggy (to be expected since it was take out).

Sweet Adventure Sample Trio $8.28

The dessert entailed samples of 3 different desserts. Thunder from Down Under Chocolate Brownie, Carrot Cake with coconut and pecans, and Classic Cheesecake. It also was accompanied by a small scoop of vanilla ice cream(for the brownie), whipped cream, chocolate fudge sauce, and a raspberry sauce. All the desserts were pretty good with the stand out being the cheesecake, which was very good with the raspberry sauce drizzled on it.
So all in all my experience with Outback curbside takeout was pretty average. Not great, but not bad either. I would order from Outback again. The Kookaburra wings are worth getting alone.

Rating
Kookaburra Wings: 8/10

Caesar Salad: 7/10

9 Oz Outback Special with Crabcakes: 6/10

Fillet Focaccia Sandwich: 5/10

Grilled Shrimp: 7/10

Sweet Adventure Samplers Trio: 7/10

OVERALL: 6.5/10

Pittsburgh - North Hills
(412) 635-5255
9395 McKnight Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15237

Fat Head's Saloon

2011-04-26T10:32:00.002-04:00

Fat Heads Saloon

Fat Head's is one of the better known bar/restaurants on the Southside of Pittsburgh. Fat Head's is known for having a large selection of beers and headwiches which are sandwiches as big as your head. They even garnered national acclaim in 2004 when their one headwich, the Southside Slopes (kielbassa, fried pierogies, American cheese, grilled onions and horseradish sauce) was named 5th place in Maxim magazines top 10 list of sandwiches.
Me and my companion arrived around 12:30PM on a Sunday. There was a wait so we went over to the bar and ordered a few drinks off of their extensive beer menu. It was nice to see that Fat Head's was carrying cider from the Arsenal Cider House out of Lawrenceville. This is some great hard cider and I really recommend you give it a try.

They also have their own Fat Head's beer on tap in a few different styles such as Belgian Saison, IPA, and German Lager. While I am not a big fan of most in-house beers that a lot of restaurants seem to have these days,all the Fat Head's brews were excellent and good representations of the different beer styles they are trying to replicate.

Extensive Beer Selection

After about a 20 minute wait we were seated and approached by our server who did a great job of taking care of us during the meal. The server was one of those that did not need to write down our order which I always find impressive since I cant remember what happened 5 minutes ago.
To start the meal off we ordered two appetizers which were brought out to us within 10 minutes of placing our order.


Garlic Parm Wings 10 for $9.95

The Garlic Parm wings my companion ordered were jumbo sized chicken wings in a garlic sauce and dusted with parmesan cheese. The garlic sauce was hardly noticeable, and the overpowering flavor was from the parmesan cheese that was generously coating the wings. The wings were cooked perfectly and were crunchy yet juicy. They were a little to much on the mild side for me however and I recommend that if you want spicier wings that you try their spicy parmesan wings which have a more traditional buffalo style sauce instead of the garlic butter sauce.

Smoked Chicken, Spinach & Artichoke Dip $9.95

This could be one of my favorite appetizers of all time. The smoked chicken provides a nice slightly smoky and savory flavor. While the artichoke hearts and spinach give the dip a brininess that contrasts well with the chicken. You spoon some of this on top of one of the fried pita pieces and you have an explosion of unique flavors in your mouth. It is worth going to Fat Head's for this appetizer alone.
For our main course we ordered two sandwiches. My companion ordered a headwich which made me laugh as I don't think she knew what she was getting into.


Double D $10.95 (Shaved steak grilled with onions and mushrooms topped with hot Italian sausage stuffed banana peppers, pepperoni, tomato sauce,provolone and parmesan cheese).

This headwich lived up to its name in that it was as big as a persons head ( not mine though, I have a big head). This sandwich was so over the top it was comical. While this did not sound like the best combination of ingredients to put on a sandwich it actually worked.


Double D

It wound up tasting like a really good hot sausage sandwich. The sausage stuffed peppers were excellent and put off a good amount of heat. They were the overriding flavor in this sandwich with everything else taking a backseat to the stuffed peppers. The additional steak and pepperoni just added more flavors to what could have been an excellent sandwich even without them. My companion was only able to finish a 1/4 of the sandwich which winds up being the case most times people order a headwich.


The Big Dipper $9.95 (Smoked Beef Brisket with grilled onions, provolone cheese, and rosemary mayo, Au Jus on the side for dipping)

The Big Dipper is Fat Head's version of a French Dip sandwich. The smoked beef brisket was tender and nicely smoked, tasting almost as good as you would find in a Texas BBQ joint. The rosemary mayo added complexity with its slightly herbal taste. When dipped into the au jus, this sandwich tasted perfect. This was my first time that I tried this sandwich at Fat Head's and I must say that it might be my new favorite.


Big Dipper

Both sandwiches came with homemade potato chips which we dipped in a side of ranch dressing. For those ranch snobs out their ( which I was surprised to find out includes almost every Female reader of Pittsburgh Eats) the ranch is homemade and tastes great. Nothing worse then getting that abomination which is bottled ranch dressing with your meal which tastes nothing like good homemade buttermilk ranch.

Yum


Yuck

Having been to Fat Head's on numerous occasions I can honestly say that I have never had a bad meal or experience ( not counting when my friend had me try their killer wings in which I could only finish a quarter of one wing and my tongue was so numb that I couldn't taste the rest of the meal). Fathead's is the epitome of good bar food in Pittsburgh. When someone comes in from out of town, I without hesitation take them to Fat Head's, as I feel it shows them more of what Pittsburgh is about then say some swanky joint, hipsters eat at in East Liberty.
A bonus is if you are out on a Monday or Saturday night, Caseys Draft House is right next door to Fat Head's. Caseys has midget madness in which a midget known as Manboy comes out of a box and pours the entire bar shots for $10.00. So what could make for a better evening then midgets and great food.


MANBOY

Rating
Garlic Parm Wings: 7/10
Smoked Chicken, Spinach and Artichoke Dip: 9/10
Double D: 7/10
Big Dipper: 9/10

Overall: 8/10

Southside Gyro Throwdown

2011-04-08T13:55:00.006-04:00

Well I was just going to review Mike and Tonys Gyros on the Southside. But a friend at a forum I hang out at, who lives in the Southside, said that I should really try Lesvos Gyros. Lesvos is relatively new, and just a block away from Mike and Tonys. So lets find out who is king, in our Southside Gyro Throwdown.

First up Mike and Tonys.

Mike and Tonys has been the gold standard for gyros in Pittsburgh. Their gyros are known for being cheap and loaded with gyro meat and toppings.

Mike and Tonys Menu

Mike and Tonys also sell Sovlaki which is similar to a gyro but instead of shaved gyro meat (lamb), it has pork cubes marinaded in oregano, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.We will save the Souvlaki review for another day.
My gyro order was taken immediately. The price at $4.30 is a complete steal. Some guy over at the rotisserie shaves off thin slices of crisp gyro meat with some weird cutting device that sounds like an electric razor.

Shaving the gyro meat

The gyro comes with your typical gyro toppings, lettuce, tomato,onion, and tzatziki sauce(cucumber sauce).
The damn thing is just loaded with thinly sliced gyro meat. The meat is mildly spiced and is not overpowered with garlic and oregano. The tzatziki sauce has a nice tang to it. The veggies were all fresh and best of all they did not throw so much onion on it that you cant taste anything else. The pita was warm and fresh.


Mike and Tonys Gyro $4.30

In a nutshell their was nothing bad I can say about this gyro. It was not greasy, had great flavor, everything was fresh. About as near perfect a gyro as you will find.
So off to the up and coming Gyro shop, Lesvos. To see if they can compete with Mike and Tonys terrific Gyro.


Lesvos

In case you did not know, Lesvos is an island off the Greek mainland and is where the English word for Lesbian comes from. Now don't you feel smarter.
Lesvos is about the same size as Mike and Tonys with a small area of about 8 tables for dining. In addition they also have a nice cooler filled with tasty looking Greek desserts such as Baklava and other sides.


Desserts and Sides

Just like at Mike and Tonys they have loaves of gyro meat rotating around on spits.


Gyro Meat on Spits

The first thing I noticed at Lesvos that differed from Mike and Tonys was the preparation of the gyro meat. The man behind the counter took a knife to the gyro meat and cut off significantly thicker slices. After cutting these off he put the meat on the char-broiler and cooked the meat over an open fire.


Cooking the gyro meat with fire

I had never seen this style of preparation in a gyro before, so I was quite curious as to how it would effect the taste.
The gyro was then loaded with the typical gyro toppings. The tomatoes were sliced a little thinner then the tomatoes at Mike and Tonys, and helped integrate them better into the gyro.
As I bit into the gyro, I could taste the flavor in the gyro meat from cooking over an open flame. A nice charbroiled taste was noticeable that added a unique flavor. The only thing wrong with this gyro was that the gyro meat was a little dry. I'm not sure if this was from heating the meat up with fire or not. Also I did not like the thicker chunks of the gyro meat, preferring the thinner shaved slices of Mike and Tonys. The other toppings were all fresh, and I think that the tzatziki sauce is the same recipe or brand as the one Mike and Tonys uses, I was not able to discern any difference in taste between the two. The pita was fresh and I had no problems with a dry cracked pita as I ate this gyro.


Lesvos Gyro $4.67

So who is the big winner in the Southside Gyro Throwdown?


Lesvos(Left) Mike and Tonys(Right)

Your winner is Mike and Tonys.
Mike and Tonys gyro is near perfect in everything. Taste, freshness, price, portion.The only thing I would do to improve it, is slice the tomato thinner.
Lesvos's gyro was no slouch and I can see why they are getting good word of mouth. The unique flavor that you get from them cooking the meat over an open flame will have me stopping to get gyros there on occasion, and not exclusively at Mike and Tonys. If the meat had been sliced more thinly and been slightly more juicy, Lesvos might have won this throwdown. As it is, Mike and Tonys wins by a smidgen. To be honest, you cant go wrong by going to either one of these fine gyro shops. They are less then a block away from each other, so head out and do your own comparison, and see which gyro you find to be the best.

Mike and Tonys Gyro: 9/10

Lesvos Gyro: 8/10

Beers at the Church Brew Works

2011-03-24T10:31:00.002-04:00

After eating lunch the other day. Me and some companions stopped in the Church Brew Works for a couple of beers.

The Church Brew Works is an old Catholic Church that has been converted into a brewery/bar/restaurant. Where the altar used to be located, is now where the brewing tanks are. The beers they produce are of the highest quality, and the food I have eaten their in the past has been excellent as well.

Alter/Brew Tanks

I'm always amazed at the architecture when I go to Church Brew Works. The cathedral ceiling are majestic and the stained glass is some of the most beautiful that you will find. Some of my crazy Catholic friends feel almost sacrilegious as they drink beer in this beautiful building.

Epic Stained Glass at the Brew Works

Me and my companions ordered three beer samplers. Each sampler has eight 5oz samples of all the beers that they currently have on tap. It comes in a little pricey at $14.50, but it is a great way to sample all of their beers.

Beer Sampler $14.50

Some of the beers in the sampler included Pious Monk Dunkel, Millennium Trippel, and my personal favorite Celestial Gold. Celestial Gold is a pilsner style lager that goes down smoother then any beer I have ever had.

The Bar area with the beer storage tanks

In the future I can guarantee their will be a full review of the food they serve at the Church. In the meantime, head down there for some of the best beer made right here in Pittsburgh.

Church Brew Works

3525 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
412-688-8200 | fax 412-688-8201 | cbw1996@comcast.net

Brgr bar

2011-03-17T16:25:00.003-04:00

Brgr bar is just one of many new high end burger restaurants opening up in the Pittsburgh area. Brgr is located in East Liberty, home to hipsters and many of the better restaurants in Pittsburgh. Word of mouth had gotten to me that Brgr serves gourmet style hamburgers and "spiked" shakes, so this was a must try destination.
Two companions and I traveled to "Sliberty" on a Sunday to go to Brgr. We arrived at about 2:45 PM and were quickly seated . The server was pleasant yet seemed a little overextended in the amount of tables she had to wait on.

Condiments

At the table was a basket of condiments including ketchup, yellow mustard, house made mustard which looked like a course ground style brown mustard, and hamburger sauce. The hamburger sauce was fantastic, tasting slightly like Big Mac sauce but in a finer consistency.
To start our order, we ordered 2 spiked shakes a beer, and an order of french fries with truffled cheese whiz.

Cupajoe $8.00

One shake was a Cupajoe, with Irish Whisky, espresso, and dark chocolate ice cream. It was thick and tasted great. They give you a wide ass straw so you wont struggle to suck up the shake. All the flavors mixed great together and it was definitely the better of the two shakes.

Salty Caramel $8.00

The other shake was a Salty Caramel. Its ingredients included bourbon, sea salt caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream. It was good with the bourbon adding a complexity of taste usually not found in your typical shake. It could have used a little more caramel, as the salty sweet caramel flavor was lacking. It tasted like a vanilla milk shake with whiskey. It was good but could have been a little better. By the way, they use local ice cream maker Dave and Andys for their ice cream.

Brgr Fries tossed in parmesan and herbs with truffle cheese whiz $5.00

Let me tell you right off the bat that I am a white truffle slut. You can do no wrong in my opinion adding white truffles to pretty much anything. The fries were crispy and would have been good by themselves with just the parmesan and herbs coating them. The addition of truffle cheese whiz however takes them up to a new level. The whiz was obviously infused with white truffle oil, and the earthy/garlicky flavors of the white truffle matched well with the cheese whiz. These fries were some of the best I have ever had.
Next we ordered our burgers.
Our server said that all the burgers are 6oz. The brioche buns for all the burgers were good in that they were nicely toasted, had a nice outer crust and were light and airy in the middle. They were sturdy enough though that your bun did not turn into mush from the juices and toppings.

Shroomz Burger $9.00: Forest Mushrooms, Carmelized Onions,Brie Cheese, Mustard Aioli

Shroomz

The Shroomz burger was excellent. The actual hamburger meat on all the burgers was very meaty tasting, and you can tell they take pride in their hamburger mixture. According to the menu, the hamburger meat is a mix of sirloin, ny strip, and ribeye.The patties are charbroiled, not fried (which is fine,just different flavor profiles). The mushrooms and onions on the Shroomz burger were sauteed perfectly.
The mustard aioli had a nice garlicky/mustard bite to it. The brie was not my favorite. The rind of the brie with its musty flavor tended to overpower the other flavors on the burger. If I ordered this burger again, I would request swiss or some cheese with a slightly less pungent outer crust.


Button Buster $10.00: Braised Beef Short Ribs, White Cheddar Cheese, Bearnaise Aioli, Crispy Onions

Butt Guster

The Button Buster (or Butt Guster as I referred to it) was my favorite burger out of the bunch. I was curious as to how they would put short ribs on a burger, and the ribs just wound up being a minimal amount of short rib trimmings being placed on top of the burger.
This combination of toppings really worked. The cheddar had a nice sharpness to it, while the Bearnaise Aioli with its notes of tarragon and garlic made a nice sauce. The short ribs dis not add much flavor, however adding meat on top of meat cant be all that bad.

Fire in the Hole $9.00: Guacamole, Jalapenos, Pepper Jack Cheese, Chipotle Mayo.

Fire in the Hole

This was my least favorite of the burgers. The raw cut jalapenos seemed out of place in a burger that already had pickled jalapenos on it. The guacamole was flavorless and added nothing to the burger. The chipotle mayo also was surprisingly mild.
All in all the burger was not that spicy for a burger called fire in the hole. This burger was ordered medium well yet came out medium. This burger was not bad , but could use some improvement.

My experience at Brgr was a pleasant one. The food was a little pricey, yet the quality more then made up for it. The quality and taste of the meat is always the most important aspect of a good burger, and Brgrs hamburger blend is top notch.
The whole concept of selling high end burgers with spiked shakes sounded like a pretty unique concept to me, till I heard that a place called Burgatory just opened up at Waterworks Mall in Fox Chapel selling the same thing. A new high end burger joint in Zelienople called Burgh'ers just opened up as well, minus the spiked shakes. Expect to see reviews of all these new burger joints in the coming months, as of right now the standard is set pretty high by Brgr.

RATING

Spiked Milkshakes

Cupajoe: 8/10
Salty Caramel: 7/10

Side
Fries tossed in Parmesan and Herb with Truffle Cheese Whiz: 9/10

BURGERS

Shroomz Burger: 7/10

Button Buster: 8/10

Fire in the Hole: 6/10

Overall: 7/10

Brgr bar
5997 Penn Circle South
Pittsburgh PA 15206
412-362-BEEF(2333)

Mon. thru Thurs. — Noon until 12am (Food served until 11pm)
Fri. and Sat. — Noon until 1am (Food served until 12am)
Sun. — Noon until 9pm
Brgr Menu

Southside Steaks

2011-03-07T11:47:00.004-05:00

Southside Steaks has become quite the popular location for Southside drunkards to fill their bellies after a night of boozing and partying. But how does it hold up when your sober, are they authentic Philly style? Lets find out shall we.

My first impressions were that the place is a real dive as I walked through the doors(not necessarily a bad thing). Its has a dingy, unkempt vibe to it. You place your order with the cashier as soon as you walk in. You then pick up your food after it is cooked, at a pick up station further down the line.

Pick Up window

In the corner of the restaurant is a pepper bar that looked like like it had not received attention in a while. You can get sweet cherry peppers, hot cherry peppers, and smokey dried peppers. If the peppers didn't look like they were put there a couple years ago, I might have tried some of them.

I dont think so

Their is also some challenge to eat three "Inferno" cheesesteaks in 25 minutes. Being that I only saw one picture of a person that completed the challenge , I gather that its either very difficult, or Southside drunks have more intelligence then I thought.

Just waiting for their Man Vs Food moment

At the cashier, where their was no line, I ordered an authentic style Philly cheesesteak with Cheeze Wiz and onions, and a "Gyro" steak. Then I waited down by the pickup window for about 10 minutes before my food was ready. A lot of people came in after me and the line does not seem to move all that quick when their is a crowd. Any hoot, lets get to the important part, how did the sandwiches taste.

Original Steak wit WIZ and Onions $6.55

The original steak was a pretty decent size, and using a ruler (and not my genitalia), it measured in right around 10 inches. The rolls that Southside Steaks use are supposed to be from the famous Amoroso bakery in Philadelphia that supply a lot of the cheesesteak joints in Philly with their bread. This was not an Amoroso roll. Amoroso rolls have a bit of crust on the outside of them, and a little bit of chew on the inside. This roll had neither, being more akin to an over-sized, corn dusted hot dog bun. The Cheese Wiz mixed in with the juice from the steak and made its own, almost heavenly tasting sauce. The onions were sauteed nicely and mixed in well with the steak. The steak itself was sliced paper thin, was of a generous quantity, and nicely seasoned. If not for the sub-standard roll this could have been one of the best cheesesteaks I have ever eaten.

Look out arteries, here it comes

So despite the substandard roll, this cheesesteak was pretty damn good. At only 6.55 it is a bargain as well. You dont have to have your steak made the authentic Philly way either. You can get your cheesesteak with provolone, American, or pepper jack cheese if you so choose. Onions are optional as well. If you want to kill yourself right then and there, you can add bacon to any cheesesteak for a $1.00.


The "Gyro" Steak $6.55

Southside Steaks also has a large number of specialty sandwiches including "chicken" steaks, and others such as the gyro steak. This sandwich came with everything you would find on your typical gyro. Lettuce, tomato, tzatziki sauce, and gyro meat. The meat was in nice chunks, and seasoned in the typical fashion that you would find in many gyro shops, with lots of oregano and garlic mixed into the meat. The tzatziki sauce had a nice bite to it and balanced well with the meat. The bun got pretty soggy from all the grease/juice coming from the gyro meat. What it comes down to is that this tasted like a decent gyro on a bun. With the best Gyros in Pittsburgh just down the street at Mike and Tonys, their really is no reason to get this sandwich if your down on the Southside, unless your just to intoxicated to walk the few extra blocks.


Gyro on a bun

So my visit to Southside Steaks went pretty good. The cheesesteaks are pretty tasty, and I would stack them up against almost any other cheesesteak in the Burgh. The only thing holding these cheesesteaks back from true greatness is the sub-standard roll that they use. The prices are also good for the quantity you receive. This place will definitely be on my list of places to go after a future night of drinking and debauchery on the Southside.

RATING

Original Steak: 7/10

"Gyro" Steak: 6/10

MENU

Southside Steaks
2000 East Carson Street
Pittsburgh, PA (412) 390-1844 ‎

Hours

Mon-Thur 11-11

Fri- 11am-3am

Sat 12pm-3am

Sun 12pm-11pm

Canned Octopus Spectacular

2011-02-21T12:10:00.002-05:00

You all wanted it, so here it is. A review of two of the top selling canned octopi. Initially I was looking forward to reviewing these, as one of my favorite food bloggers, Dave at Dave's Cupboard, described his 99cent canned octopus as tasting almost like lobster. Read the review here. My canned octopus experience was not nearly as good.

First Off


GOYA Octopus in Garlic Sauce

Had high hopes for this octopus being that it was imported from Spain, and was in a garlic sauce. The garlic sauce however was nothing more then soybean oil with a little garlic flavoring.


Nice Chunks

The octopus was in nice bite size chunks. So lets take a bite. Ohhhhh yuck. Its chewy, and has the taste of very pungent tuna. I spit it into a napkin. However due to encouragement from one of my companions, I try it again. Yep, I was right, this is just plain disgusting. The combination of the chewiness, and rotten tuna flavor is terrible.

OK, next canned octopus.

Reese Fancy Octopus

Having enjoyed other Reese products, such as their smoked oysters and clams, my thinking was that this octopus might be better then the Goya brand. The pieces of Octopus were not nearly as uniform as the Goya brand, and were in all sorts of shapes and pieces.
So I go and take my first bite.

Parts is Parts

My first impression is that this is slightly less chewy then the Goya brand. Still chewy though. Then the taste hits me. Pungent tuna it is again. Blahhh, spit it out into a napkin.

Captain Nemo would be proud

Well lets just say that the canned octopus spectacular did not go all that well. My hopes for a cheap, lobster tasting treat were dashed. As a side note, the dog would not even eat the leftovers.

RATING
Goya Octopus in Garlic Sauce: 0/10

Reese Octopus in Olive Oil: 1/10

So your winner is Reese. Trust me though. Their were no winners in this tasting.

Oriental Market

2011-02-12T11:17:00.001-05:00

The first oriental food market in the North Hills opened this month on McKnight Rd. The place is a foodie dream world of oriental food delights. Here is a picture of some of the cool stuff I bought there.

A Chinese Cornucopia

Some of the things I bought were real Chinese rice cooking wine, dark soy sauce, wasabi peanuts, kim chee, pork and shrimp dumplings, and some soy drink that I cant pronounce. My first impressions were very favorable, and expect to see a follow up on Pittsburgh Eats, with a more in depth look at what the oriental market provides.

*From Your North Hills

For North Hills residents who are lovers of all things Asian, a new market is preparing to open next month.
The Oriental Market will be located at 4770 McKnight Road, a former art-supply store in the plaza next to the Red Lobster restaurant.
While the market will offer products from many Asian countries, its selections primarily will be Chinese.
Cindy Liu and her husband, Ke Wu Zhao, of McCandless, are working together to bring the best of the Asia to Pittsburghers.
"The Asian population has grown here," Liu said. "There is no store with this size."
And there's plenty of room for products inside the 6,000-square-foot interior, along with convenient parking outside.
The couple plans to offer vegetables, fruits — fresh and canned — and traditional Asian-style meat. There will be frozen fish, live lobsters and blue and Canadian crabs.
They also will feature all kinds of mushrooms, rice, noodles, seasonings and sauces.
The couple did lots of research on starting a grocery and will bring years of restaurant experience to their new store. They had owned Tokyo Buffet, also on McKnight Road.
Liu was born in China and came to the United States 10 years ago. Her husband arrived 25 years ago.
While cooking is not permitted in the store, Liu plans to put her husband's chef's talents to good use. He might prepare some dishes as samples and then provide recipes to make the meals at home.
"Home-cooked is better than restaurant," Liu said. "It's healthy, and there's more variety."

Oriental Market
4770 McKnight Rd
Pittsburgh PA 15237
412-548-3648

Quiznos Baja Chicken Sub

2011-01-30T14:45:00.012-05:00

Quiznos is known for two things. Having toasted subs, and having one of the most disturbing TV commercials in history.

Ive always been a big fan of their sandwiches, finding them tastier and of much better quality than Subways. At Subway unless you order a lettuce sub, they seem to try to put on as little meat as possible.
Anyhoot I purchased a large Chicken Baja Sub for $7.59. The subs length is around 10 inches and is packed with ingredients.

Baja Chicken Sub $7.59

As you can see my sub was quite the mess by the time I got it home to eat. You can choose a couple different types of bread including Italian White, 9 Grain Wheat, Rosemary Parmesan, and Italian Herb. My selection was Italian White. The Baja Chicken comes with the following ingredients.
Chicken, Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Onions, mild chipotle mayo, and sweet and smoky baja sauce. I also requested lettuce on my sub.


Tasty Mess

Despite the disturbing pic, the sub was pretty good. It could use slightly less of the two sauces, but they were both tasty. The chipotle mayo added a little bit of savory heat, while the Baja sauce tasted like a smoky bbq sauce with some Southwest seasoning. They combined well together to give the sub a nice sweet and savory flavor. The chicken chunks were all white meat, tender, and juicy. The bacon was nicely distributed in small pieces and added to the smoky flavor. The bread was of very good quality as well, being crunchy on the outside with a nice chew in the middle.
A great sub with a lot of flavor. Its a little pricier then the average sandwich you get at Subway, but the quality and the taste are worth it.You also get a lot more meat than your average Subway sub.

RATING:

Quiznos Baja Chicken Sub: 8/10

Quiznos

264 Mount Nebo Rd

Pittsburgh, PA 15237

(412) 366-3285

New Restaurant Reviews

2011-01-20T14:55:00.003-05:00

The Post Gazette and the Tribune Review have some good info/reviews on two restaurants that have just opened up recently, North of the Allegheny River.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Burgh'ers in Harmony just outside Zelienople looks like a great place to stop and have a high end hamburger.
Review Link
Burgh'ers Web Site
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Also right down the street from me. The Trib takes a look at a new Greek restaurant, Mediterrano.
Review Link

North Park Lounge

2011-01-18T22:15:00.005-05:00

North Park Lounge is a bar/restaurant that has been in business for over, well I'm not exactly sure, but its been open since I moved to Pittsburgh in 1979. They have always been known for their excellent fish sandwiches and large portions.
The original ownership group split up some time ago with one owner retaining the North Park Lounge in Mcandless, and the other retaining the North Park Lounge Clubhouse in Gibsonia. Both places have similar menu items such as "Lounge Fries" and "Lounge Licker Wings", but they are no longer affiliated with one another.
Any-hoot, me and one of my coworkers stopped in for lunch at the original North Park Lounge in Mcandless . Having been friends with one of the waitresses at the Lounge for a long time, I have eaten there a few times previously, and while I never had a really bad meal, I also have never had a really great one either.
After seating ourselves in my friends section, we ordered our drinks. Every time I go to the Lounge I make the mistake of ordering a water. The water for whatever reason is frickin horrific tasting. It tastes like 20 year old well water. As usual I change my drink order to a diet Pepsi, which does a good job of covering up the waters taste.
We were told that their was a promo to get a free 10" 4 cut pizza with two toppings, so we ordered that with sausage and pepperoni. My companion ordered the Italian Sausage Sandwich, I ordered the fish sandwich to see why everyone raves about how good it is.

Pizza: Free

Normally this Pizza would go for $6.99 plus 99cents per topping. At first glance the pizza looked pretty good. After tasting it I was underwhelmed. The sausage was bland and due to it being placed on top of the pepperoni, it fell off as soon as you picked up a piece. The crust was slightly crispy on the outside, but not crispy at all in the middle. The sauce, cheese, and pepperoni were average at best. So the pizza was a disappointment , but considering it was free, no big deal. Had I payed $8.99 for this, I would have been displeased.

Italian Sausage Sandwich $7.99

First off let me say that my eating companion is not a picky eater in any sense. He will eat pretty much anything. His sausage sandwich looked good, but like the pizza, looks are not everything. The peppers and onions could have been cooked a little longer. The fries he commented on as being flavorful but not crispy. The big disappointment was how undercooked the Sausage was.

Undercooked

The sweet Italian sausage was quite pink in the middle. Not exactly how you want your sausage cooked. Now I am no food safety Nazi, but a lot of people would be repulsed by this. My companion said to hell with it and ate the sandwich anyway. In actuality, undercooked pork is just as safe to eat these days as beef, but I am sure most people would be turned off by this undercooked sausage patty anyways.

Fish Sandwich $7.99

The fish sandwich came with fries and coleslaw. The fish itself is actually kind of small compared to most fish sandwiches you can get in restaurants around the Pittsburgh area. The fish appeared to be breaded, and was void of any flavor at all. A beer batter or some seasoning in the breading would have helped immensely. The actual fish fillet also had zero flavor. The bun was dried out and stale. An insider (my waitress friend) told me that the bun was dry because the cooks in the back start cooking the fish as soon as the order comes in, fish only takes a few minutes to fry,so the sandwich pretty much sits and bakes under the heat lamps, while the rest of the order is completed. If it was not for adding tartar sauce and a lot of Franks Red Hot, this sandwich would have really sucked The fries were as my companion stated earlier, flavorful but not at all crispy. The coleslaw was decent and tasted fresh.


Houston: We Have No Flavor

This trip to the North Park Lounge was by far the worst I had ever had. The food is usually mediocre, but this was pretty bad. Why anyone would consider this fish sandwich the best in the North Hills is beyond me. Let me also add that the whole menu is pretty uninspired and could use some revamping. I'm sure that one day I will return to North Park Lounge if for no other reason, then to see my waitress friend that works there. Lets hope that the food has shown some improvement my next visit.

Rating

Pizza : 6/10 (Bonus points because it was free)

Italian Sausage Sandwich : 3/10 (Minus points for being undercooked)

Fish Sandwich : 6/10

For the love of god someone buy a water filter, so the water does not taste like butt sweat.

North Park Lounge
8701 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh , PA 15237
(412) 364-9878

NP Lounge Web Site

CHINA STAR : Part Deux

2011-01-03T18:09:00.005-05:00

In my last review of China Star, I promised to go back to try some of there more authentic Chinese dishes. So back I went to try there much ballyhooed Tea Smoked Duck. Being that my eating partner is not all that adventurous, I bought her some Orange Beef. We both shared a Pu Pu platter as well. So lets get to the review shall we.


PU PU Platter ($10.95)

The Pu Pu platter was a disappointment. It came with 2 of the following. Spring Rolls, Crab Rangoon, Unidentified Fried Thingies, Teriyaki Beef, BBQ Spared Ribs.
The spring rolls were crunchy and filled with a pork/veggie mix, and were decent tasting.
The Crab Rangoon was lacking in that there was not enough filling. What filling there was, had little crab flavor, and tasted like plain cream cheese.
The unidentified fried thingies (UFT) looked like a shrimp toast, but there was no seafood flavor at all. They tasted like fried wonder bread, and were very greasy. Looking at the China Star Menu , I think these might have been the scallion pancakes, but I really have no idea.
The Teriyaki Beef was infused with a nice teriyaki flavor, however the beef was slightly tough and stringy.
The BBQ Ribs were meaty and had a nice Chinese BBQ flavor to them.


Orange Beef ($10.95)

The Orange Beef was one of the better versions of this dish that I have eaten. The coating on the outside of the beef was crunchy yet slightly over-coated for my tastes. Inside the beef was very tender. The sauce was very good with orange, soy, garlic, ginger, and pepper flavors. Imagine a General Tso's sauce with an overriding orange flavor. The dish had a great balance of sweet, sour, and savory. Someone needs to tell the chef to cook the broccoli along with the sauce, as it was quite dry and plain. Letting it cook in the sauce would have infused the broccoli with some much needed flavor.


Tea Smoked Duck ($13.95)

The Tea Smoked duck hit my palate with flavors that I had never tasted before. The duck itself was juicy and slightly fatty, yet it missed having that crunchy skin which makes Peking duck such a treat. The tea smoke flavor was quite different from the usual hardwood smoke flavor (hickory or oak) that I am used to. The tea smoke was almost floral in its flavoring, and that flavor was quite pronounced throughout the duck. It honestly took me a little while to get used to the strange flavor. While I cant say that I did not like the flavor, it wasn't good enough that I would order this duck dish again. It seemed like it needed some type of sauce, to balance out the smokiness of the duck.

RATING

PU PU Platter: 4/10

Orange Beef: 7.5/10

Tea Smoked Duck: 5/10

China Moon
100 McIntyre Square
7900 McKnight Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
412-364-9933

Exotic Fruit Spectacular: QUINCE

2010-12-11T23:06:00.002-05:00

While at the supermarket the other day, I saw a strange fruit that looked like the offspring of an ugly pair. This fruit was a Quince. My first reaction was this is a pretty damn ugly fruit, and my second thought was, what the hell is a quince?

Ugly Quince ($1.00)

The quince is predominantly an Asian fruit. Related to the pear and apple, they are grown throughout the Caucasus, the Middle East, and in my quinces case, California. Quinces are normally cooked for at least an hour in a sugary solution. This turns them a nice pink color and the quince is then supposedly quite tasty. One of there more popular uses is that they are turned into a jam or jelly.

Cooked Quince Made Into A Jam

Well having not done my research on how to prepare and eat a quince properly beforehand, I broke out the knife, gathered the coworkers, and tasted a quince in its raw form.


YOUR DOING IT WRONG

The quince had the texture of a dry pear, not at all juicy. The flavor was of a slightly bitter apple. Really it was all in all pretty dry and bland. Which explains why they are usually not eaten raw.
So reader beware, don't buy a quince like myself thinking you can just munch on it like an apple or pear. There is some preparation needed, and from all accounts, they are pretty good once cooked properly.

RATING

Raw Quince: 2/10