Pittsburgh Eats

Yeungs House Chinese Restaurant

2013-05-09T11:45:00.000-04:00

Located right next door to the West View Fire Department on RT 19. Yeung's is not much to look at from the outside.

The interior however is clean and you can look right into the kitchen.

To start off we ordered the Pu Pu platter for two


Spring Roll


Crab Rangoon

Chicken and Beef Teriyaki on a stick


Boneless Ribs and a Chicken WIng

Neon Red Sweet and Sour Sauce

The Pu Pu Platter ($8.95) came with a variety of tidbits. 2 Wings, 2 Spring Rolls, 2 Beef Teriyaki, 2 Chicken on a Stick, 2 Boneless Ribs, and 2 Crab Rangoons. The crab rangoons were disappointing being kind of gummy and lacking in filling. The spring rolls however were excellent being both crispy and filled with shrimp and vegetables. The boneless ribs were also tasty being sweet and tender.

General Tso's Chicken ($9.75)

The General Tso's Chicken was mediocre at best. The pieces of chicken were not at all crispy and the sauce while flavorful was not very spicy and overly sweet.


House Special Lo Mein ($7.95)

The House Special Lo Mein was excellent. Big chunks bbq pork, chicken, and shrimp, mixed with noodles in a mild soy based sauce.


Mongolian Beef ($9.75)

The high light of the meal was the Mongolian Beef.. Slices of beef with onions and scallions in a very spicy sauce. This was a flavor explosion. The beef had a nice charred flavor to it while the sauce was filled with lots of black pepper. This sauce was actually so hot that I was sweating while eating this. Really I cant recommend this dish enough. If you like spicy food you owe it to yourself to try Yeungs version of Mongolian Beef.

So Yeungs was pretty typical of most Chinese restaurants. The good being the Mongolian Beef and the Lo Mein. Crappy, being the lack of crunchiness in the Crab Rangoons and General Tsos Chicken. The prices at Yeung's are very reasonable, even by Chinese restaurant standards. I would go back to Yeung's, just for the Mongolian Beef alone.

Yeungs House
Rating 7/10

North Hills Food Truck Roundup 2.0

2013-04-01T11:05:00.000-04:00

A great thing happened in the North Hills over the past weekend. Some of the best food trucks in Pittsburgh all gathered in the parking lot of Coffee Buddha on RT 19 in Perrysville. So let me share some pictures and tastes from the gathering.

Click on pics for high resolution goodness.

Fukuda truck was selling Japanese treats.

The Polish food truck was serving combinations of Haluski (noodles & cabbage), stuffed cabbage, and pierogies. They also had frozen pierogies to go.
The platter I ordered had 2 stuffed cabbage and three potato and cheese pierogies. The stuffed cabbage was filled with your typical meat and rice filling, but had a nice mild spice to it. The pierogies were tender, and the filling was not at all bland, but had a nice potato and cheese flavor.

Bakery Treats

Ice Cream

BRGR out of East Liberty selling burgers and stuff. Check out my review of their restaurant in East Liberty HERE.

Franktuary selling hot dogs.

Oh My Grill selling gourmet grilled cheese with dipping sauces.

Me and my eating partner ordered the "Number One", the Grilled Cuban, and an order of Parmesan Spinach Balls.

The Parm Spinach balls were little fritters filled with spinach, parmesan cheese, and lots of flavor. The spicy mayo on top was an excellent finishing touch.

The "Number One" came with smoked gouda, cheddar cheese, bacon, and grilled onions. It was accompanied with a potato soup dipper.
Great sandwich. The cheddar cheese gave a nice bite to the overall savoriness of this sandwich. The potato soup for dipping did not add much, but the sandwich was so damn good, it really did not need it. Honestly I could have ate 4 of these. However they are a little pricy at $7.00.

The Grilled Cuban came with ham, turkey ,swiss, diced pickle and accompanied with a Mojo dipping sauce. This sandwich was just as awesome as "The Number One". The Mojo dipping sauce is what really pushed this sandwich over the top. It was very complex with flavors of lime, garlic, and herbs. Once agian I felt the sandwiches price of $8.00 was a little pricey for its size, but the damn thing was so good I would not hesitate to get it again.

The Pittsburgh Taco Truck I actually had visited a few days before when it was parked up at the Coffee Buddha. Im glad I did because it was easily the most popular food truck at the roundup and the line was long and not moving all that fast. On their behalf, they do make all the tacos to order which explains the long wait time.


View from the Taco Truck

This was the menu the day I went.You might think 4-5 dollars for a taco is a little pricey, but trust me they really do use good ingredients and the tacos are loaded to the brim.

The Korean Flank Steak with Kimchi taco was impressive. The steak was cooked a perfect medium as I had ordered it. The steak had a nice soy/sweet flavor as well. The kimchee added saltiness to the savory steak, The grilled soft corn tortillas struggled to hold all the awesomeness

The Jerk Chicken Taco with Avocado Cream was my personal favorite. The chicken had been marinaded and seasoned perfectly with jerk seasoning which imparted flavors of allspice, shallots, and peppers. It was spicy hot, but not to the point of setting your mouth on fire.The avocado cream added a mellow coolness to the spicy jerk chicken.

The 1/3 pound angus beef taco with cheddar and truck salsa was the least inspired of their taco varieties. The ground beef was a tad greasy and I thought the salsa had a bit too much cilantro. This pretty much tasted like a Mexican hamburger.
All in all though I was quite pleased with the Pittsburgh Taco Truck and will definitely stop by again soon.

Fellow food blogger, and very cute taco, Becky was at the roundup as well. Check out her blog at Sabor PGH. It is an excellent blog about the Pittsburgh food scene that you should be reading.

North Hills Food Truck Roundup 3.0 will be happening on April 27, 12:00, at the Coffee Buddha in the North Hills next month. So make plans now for one of the most awesome and tasty happenings in Pittsburgh.

The Church Brew Works

2013-02-21T10:17:00.001-05:00

After a day of hitting the museums in Oakland, my friends and I headed down to The Church Brew Works for some dinner and refreshments.

Beer Sampler

It goes without saying that the Church has some of the best beer in Pittsburgh and my dining experiences in the past here have been quite good. So lets see how the food would be on this pleasant Saturday Afternoon.

Cup of 7 Onion Soup $4.50

The 7 Onion Soup was outstanding. Laced with the Church's own Pious Monk Dunkle beer, the soup had great onion and beef flavor. Its topped with homemade croutons and melted provolone cheese which adds a nice dimension of gooey tasty cheesiness. You cant go wrong with this soup as a starter on a cold Winters day.

Shinkasa Cheese Steak $11.75

The Shinkasa Cheese Steak was your typical generic cheese steak sandwich. They use high quality Morgan Ranch Kobe beef on this, but the subtle flavors of that are washed out by the preponderance of peppers and onions. The sandwich could have used a little more steak on it in my opinion, especially at an $11.75 price point. The accompanying french fries were limp and soggy, looking like they had been sitting out for quite some time.

Cinco Fromaggio Pizza $9.25

The Cinco Fromaggio Pizza is cooked in the Church's wood fired oven and is topped with Mozzarella, provolone, jack, feta and Parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic, basil and pine nuts. My dining companion also had chicken placed on it for an additional cost. The flavor of the pizza was very good, having a nice tang from all the different cheeses. However the crust was underdone in the middle and bottom while the outside was slightly burnt. Seems like the cooking surface of the oven was not at an adequate temperature to thoroughly cook the pizza on the bottom.

Buffalo and Wild Mushroom Meatloaf

Having had this dish before I was looking forward to trying it again. But things were not the same. First off the meatloaf itself came to the table lukewarm at best. The potatoes were not cooked all the way through. Also the first time I had this dish you could see the bits and chunks of wild mushrooms throughout the entire meatloaf, but now the mushrooms were indistinguishable from the buffalo meat itself. But worse of all was the fact that the meatloaf had almost zero flavor, with only the tomato demi-glace that covered the meatloaf imparting any flavor. All in all a big disappointment for what was once an outstanding dish.

So a mixed bag at the Church Brew Works. While the beer was as usual top notch, the food seems to have slipped a little since the last time I had visited. But I will be back if for anything to have one of their freshly made Celestial Gold beers.

RATING: 6/10

Patron Mexican Grill

2013-01-08T10:00:00.001-05:00

Patron Mexican Grill has three locations throughout the Pittsburgh area. Word of mouth has been pretty mixed on it.

That is the seat back of a booth

We went to dinner on a Saturday night and were quickly seated. The decor is a colorful festive Mexican motiff, which reminded me of eating at the long gone Chi-Chi's.

Chips and Salsa (Free)

Our meal started out with complimentry chips and salsa. The chips were nice and warm. The salsa was slightly spicy with a strong taste of cilantro.

Side Salad ($4.25)

The side salad was complete garbage. They actually gave you packets of Newman dressing. Ok at Mcdonalds, not at a sit down restaurant.

Queso Fundido ($9.99)

The Queso Fundido is melted chihuahua cheese with chorizo sausage, bell peppers, and onions. Its like a Mexican style Fondue and you use the warm soft flour tortillas to scoop it up. The juice from the chorizo sausage infuses with the cheese and makes a very nice dip. Just make sure you eat it quickly before the cheese congeals.

Chili Relleno ($4.99)

The Chili Relleno is a big ass poblano pepper stuffed with cheese, breaded and deepfried, then covered with tomato sauce and more cheese. This was a mediocre dish. The pepper was very mild putting out barely any heat, let alone flavor. Any cruchiness from frying the pepper was undone by the liquidy tomato sauce. This actually reminded me of eating an eggplant parmesan.

3 Beef Soft Tacos ($5.99)

One of the good things about Patron is that you can order A la carte. So if you just want a single chimichaunga or burrito without the rice and fixins, you can do that. My companion ordered the beef tacos with soft tortillas. They come with ground beef , lettuce, and chihuahau cheese on top. The beef could use some more seasoning as it is rather plain. But if you get some limes and salsa to put on these, you can doctor them up to be pretty tasty.

Fajita Azteca Fixins

Fajita Azteca ($14.99)

The Fajita Azteca comes on sizzling skillet with chicken, carnitas (pork), steak, chorizo sausage, and peppers and onions. Which you obviously put on warm soft flour tortillas. This was maybe the best fajita plate I have ever had. All the different meats had a distincive taste and texture with the steak being my favorite being both tender and well seasoned, and with such a variety I was able to basicly make a soft taco with each different type of meat.

So my impressions of Patron were mixed. While I found the fajitas to be excellent, I found other dishes like the salad and the Chili Relleno to be from terrible to mediocre. All in all I would say that I would visit Patron again. While not the best or most authentic Mexican dishes you will find, it is reasonably priced, has quick service, and if anything they have excellent fajitas.

RATING : 6/10

Two Brothers BBQ

2012-12-03T09:13:00.001-05:00

People are asking me all the time what I think the best BBQ joint in the Pittsburgh area is. Well it is without a doubt Two Brothers Bar-B-Q. A little BBQ stand in the small town of Presto. The only reason I was able to learn about this place is because my work district headquarters is down the road from it. Everyone I have ever taken there has been impressed, and its as close as you will get to real Southern BBQ.

Where the magic happens

Two brothers uses a mix of hickory and cherry woods to smoke their meats, and they do it long and slow with the pulled pork taking 10 hours. To order you just walk up to the stand, place your order, and within 10 minutes you will be good to go. They have picnic tables set up there or you can take it home.
So lets check out some of the bbq I have tried at Two Brothers.

BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos $7.49

The pulled pork nachos are definitely a favorite. Tortilla chips covered with cheese and a huge amount of smoked pulled pork and bbq sauce. Go for the hot bbq sauce as it is not all that hot, and get an extra side of sauce as well. You can also get the nachos covered with chicken or chili as well.

Beef Brisket Sandwich $7.49

The beef brisket sandwich is an 8 inch hoagie bun piled high with a large amount of smoked beef brisket. The brisket is smoked perfectly with a nice pink smoke ring and its almost fall apart tender.

Shrimp and Bacon Po-Boy $9.95

The Shrimp and Bacon Po-Boy even though not really bbq, is my favorite sandwich at Two Brothers. Its large grilled shrimp, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a spicy mayo, on an 8" hoagie roll. This sandwich has so many depths of flavor. The smoky and salty bacon,the savory shrimp, the spicy heat from the mayo. Its like the ultimate version of a BLT.

Mac & Cheese $1.59

Of course Two Brothers has all the sides as well including Mac&Cheese. The mac&cheese was good, but nothing all that spectacular. They also have BBQ baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and cornbread cake.

So if you are in the Bridgeville area of Allegheny County do yourself a favor and stop by Two Brothers. I'm pretty sure it will become your go-to place for BBQ in Pittsburgh.

RATING: 8/10

Wexford Ale House

2012-10-24T08:51:00.002-04:00

Formerly Poor Richards Pub up in the Wexford Flats, The Wexford Ale House has been refurnished with a new interior and a new menu to match. The Wexford Ale House is no longer just a dingy local watering hole.

We stopped in on a Saturday afternoon for lunch, and we were waited on by the bartender quickly.

The Wexford Ale House now carries over 40 beers on tap, carrying everything from Bud, to my favorite Belgian beer, Delirium Tremens.

Spicy Parm Wings $5.99

To start off we ordered the Spicy Parm wings which were excellent. Dipped in buffalo sauce and dusted with Parmesan cheese, the wings were both crispy and tangy.

Beef on Weck $8.99

To my surprise, I found for the first time on any Pittsburgh menu, a Beef on Weck sandwich. A weck is short for the bread which is a Kimmelweck roll. Basically a bun with salt and caraway seeds on it. If you are in Buffalo NY you cant go 50ft without finding a place that sells a version of this sandwich. The Ale houses version was decent. The beef was tender and piled high, yet could use slightly more seasoning. The accompanying au-jus and tangy pure horseradish added some moisture and flavor to this sandwich. The fries were crappy being oily and limp, the accompanying cheddar cheese sauce was bland and most likely straight from a can.

Corned Beef Reuben $8.99

The corned beef reuben was an above average take on the classic sandwich. The corned beef was not your typical lunch meat style, but seemed to actually come from a real corned beef brisket. It had good flavor and a nice chew too it.

Wild Wild West Burger $8.59

The Wild West Burger is a 1/2 pound burger covered with onion rings, bacon, cheddar cheese, and bbq sauce. A good burger, and the accompanying chips were much better then the fries, being less oily and more crisp.

The Wexford Ale House is much improved over what it once was. The food is above average as far as bar food goes, and they have a great selection of beer. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the Wexford area.

Wexford Ale House: 6/10

D's SixPax & Dogz

2012-09-19T14:00:00.000-04:00

D's is on South Braddock Ave off the Parkway East next to Regent Square. Its been around for quite a while now and was one of the first places in Pittsburgh where you could go buy individual micro-brewed beers.
Me and my companion stopped there on a Friday night and like everything else on S.Braddock Ave. was packed wall to wall with people. So we just bought a couple of beers and drank them outside as we waited for our table. D's beer selection is absolutely huge and you should have no problem finding a brewskie to your liking
After waiting about 20 minutes we were seated

The interior is eclectic yet cozy. There is a big mural of Hollywood stars and Pittsburgh celebrities on one wall, and statues of trappist monks on the other.
For our order we got a side of fries, a Veggie Chihuahua Dog, a Chili Cheese Dog, and a D's Brat with mustard and onion.

Fries $1.95

The fries are terrific. Being batter dipped they have a great crunch.

Veggie Chihuahua Dog $4.19

The Veggie dog chihuahua style was much better then I expected it to be. While the veggie dog is not a dead ringer for a real hot dog , its pretty close. Just a slightly different texture. The chihuahua style means it comes with jalapenos, cheddar, guacamole, and salsa. A good healthy alternative to a normal dog.

Chili Cheese Dog $4.19

The Chilli Cheese dog was great. The hot dog is a Vienna Beef dog from Chicago. Vienna Beef is recognized as one of the best purveyors of tube steaks in the US. The chili was all beef no beans which is a plus. The dog was grilled perfectly with just the right amount of charred crust on the casing. Also the casing is natural so it has a nice snap to it.

D's Brat with grilled onion and brown mustard $4.99

The D's brat is a smoked bratwurst with small pieces of cheese inside it. Besides the onions needing a little more time on the grill, this was a tasty sausage. The savory and smokiness of the brat was balanced out nicely by the brown mustard.
D's has a ton of different toppings that you can put on your dogs in any combo you choose for free. They also have burgers, wings, hoagies, etc.

BEER CAVE

After your finished downing your dogs, you must stop at the beer cave. A cornucopia of beer goodness where you can buy six packs and individual bottles of local and domestic beers.

So D's has great dogs, a large selection of beers on tap, and more importantly a Beer Cave. Whats not too like?

RATING 7/10

Tyma'z

2012-08-30T09:42:00.001-04:00

Tyma'z has been open for a few years now, and happens to be right down from the street from me. Yet till now I have never had the chance to visit it. Radwa Ibrahim a native of Syria is the chef/owner of Tymaz, and I was interested to try her Middle Eastern specialties.
Me and my eating partner arrived around 9:00 PM for a late dinner. Tymaz has around 25 tables inside the very nondescript restaurant. When we arrived, there were only two other tables occupied, yet the young host/waiter gazed around looking for a table to seat us like the place was filled to capacity. Finally he sat us down after managing to find a table amongst the many that were available . The interior of Tymaz matches the exterior, being very plain with some Middle Eastern art adorning the walls. There was a nice 3 foot high plastic camel however that I found amusing and thought would make an excellent decoration in my own residence.

Complimentary Hummus

We were served some hummus soon after sitting down. The hummus was drizzled with olive oil and came with some pitas for dipping/scooping. It was a pretty bland hummus compared to others I have tried and seemed to have a little too much Tahini (sesame paste) in it.

Our dinners also came with a side salad made up mostly of iceberg lettuce(blah) and a few other veggies. The dressing was not too bad being vinegar and oil based with flavors of mint and oregano.

Shish Kabob $18.00

My hot date/eating partner ordered the Shish Kabob which is marinated lamb cooked over an open flame. I was a little disappointed with the presentation, I would liked to have seen the lamb come out on skewers. The lamb itself was tender, and the marinade gave it a lemony/oregano/garlic flavor. Actually the marinades flavor was so pronounced that you could hardly even tell you were eating lamb. Lamb has a pretty unique flavor but that flavor was barely even detectable.

Mousakka $17.00

My initial order was for Baked Kibee, but was told by our server the kitchen had run out. So I ordered the Mousakka which is described as eggplant layered with ground beef and a special cheese blend, baked in a rich tomato sauce with onions and green peppers. This is pretty much Syrian comfort food 101. The Mousakka came out piping hot and I actually had to wait about 10 minutes before I could eat it without getting naplam burns in my mouth. The tomato sauce had a pleasant sweetness to it which was balanced out nicely by the richness of the eggplant, meat, and cheese. A decent tasting dish overall which I think really could be enjoyed even more on a cold Winter night.

Rice Pilaf

Both of our meals came with rice pilaf. Dont laugh, but I thought this was actually the highlight of the whole meal. It is fragrant rice topped with almond slivers. Im not sure what they flavor the rice with but there was flavors of cinnamon and cardamon. It was awesome and I would and will go back to Tymaz just for this side dish.

So all in all Tymaz was a mixed bag. The service was kind of crappy, and I was not too pleased when our server started to stack the chairs for the other empty tables at the end of the night while we were still eating. Make sure you BYOB if you visit Tymaz, as the drink selection is limited, and there is no corkage fee. Also make sure you arrive early as they do run out of things such as the Baked Kibee and the Baklava.
As a whole the dining experience at Tymaz was not exceptional , with a combination of bad service and slightly above average main courses. However I know I will be back just to eat the rice pilaf again..

RATING

TYMA'Z 6/10

Jean-Marc Chatellier

2012-08-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

I will just come out and say it, Jean-Marc is in my humble opinion the best baker in Pittsburgh. His bakery alone has made Millvale into a destination spot for any foodie in the region.

Jean-Marc himself is from Britanny France. He trained and was an apprentice for Master Pastry Chef George Merlet. In 1983 Jean-Marc came to the US and spent time at many restaurants in LA before moving and setting up his shop in Millvale in 1992.

Let me tell you about some of my personal favorites at Jean-Marc's.

Breton Cake $8.00

The Breton cake which is a specialty of the Britanny region of France is described as a buttery shortbread style cake. That it is. It reminds me a lot of my Grandmothers Oooey Gooey Butter cake that she used to make. Its thick, dense, moist, and very buttery in taste. A must buy when you go to Jean-Marc's

French Macarons $15.00 a Dozen

The French Macarons were actually the first thing I ever tried at Jean Marc's. They are pretty tiny but they really provide a wallop of flaver. When you bite into them the first thing you notice is how light and airy the texture is of the almond based outer shells. Then you bite into the cream filled center that just explodes with flavor.

Sea Salt Caramel Macaron

Some of the Macaron flavors include Sea Salt Caramel (my favorite), Mango-Passion Fruit, and Peanut Butter and Jelly. It is just amazing how much flavor Jean-Marc is able to put into his Macarons.

Make sure you try out his Croissants as well, which are easily the flakiest and buttery croissants that you will ever have.

So get your butt over to Jean-Marc's you will not be dissapointed.

Let me leave you with some food porn from the last time I visited Jean Marc's. (Click on pics for higher res)

Station Street Hot Dogs

2012-07-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

Hipsters ( Dont you just want to punch them in the face)

Station Street Hot Dogs has been in East Liberty since 1969. It has opened and closed a few times since then, as well as changed ownership several times. The latest ownership has decided to make the hot dogs more up-scale with gourmet toppings as well as gourmet prices to match. This reflects East Liberty's burgeoning Hipster eating scene for better or worse.

As you can see the prices are pretty damn expensive for a hot dog. With the cheapest being $4.00 for the rather plain House Dog, all the way to $8.00 for the Po-Boy Dog.

You place your order at the counter, which is encircled by the seating area, which looks out into the parking lot that allows you to watch and make sure your car is not stolen (an important thing in East Liberty). My eating companion and I ordered 3 hot dogs to share(Chilli CheeseDog, Devil Dog, Hawaii Dog) and an order of the duck fat french fries. The order was up in about 4 minutes.

Duck Fat Fries $5.00

The Duck Fat fries were pretty good. They were crispy on the outside and had a nice richness in the inside. If the duck fat imparted any additional flavor to the fries, I sure as hell couldn't taste it. You might just be better off getting the regular fries which are $2.00 cheaper.

Chili Cheese Dog $5.00

The Chili cheese hot dog was my favorite of the different hot dogs we tried. First off the hot dog itself is of excellent quality. Its an all beef hot dog with a natural casing which imparts a nice snap when you bite into it. The dogs are mildly seasoned with notes of garlic and tasting somewhat like a Hebrew National hot dog. The buns that Station Street use could definitely do with an upgrade, they are unremarkable and have the texture of wonderbread. The Chili Cheese dog came with brisket chili, Arsenal Cheese Curds, and onions. The chili was one of the best I ever had on a dog with nice seasoning and chunks of beef brisket throughout. The Arsenal Cheese Curds ( read about the awesome cheese that this dude makes in his basement in Lawrenceville HERE) while a nice treat if eaten by themselves, are very mild and lost in the flavors of the hot dog and chili. All in all though, a pretty good hot dog, yet slightly overpriced for what you are getting.

Hawaii Dog $5.00

The Hawaii Dog was the favorite of my eating companion while not so much with myself. It comes with a pineapple salsa, bacon, sweet soy , and mint. If there was mint on the dog I couldn't see it or taste it. The sweet soy added a nice sweetness to the dog but I found the dog overall to be just little too salty overall for my taste.

Devil Dog $5.00

The Devil Dog was just plain strange. It comes topped with potato chips, egg salad, hot sauce, and scallions. The best way to describe this dogs taste is to imagine what would happen if you put your entire plate from a 4th of July picnic into your mouth at once. The chips add a different crunchy texture to the dog, but the egg salad I found to be lacking in flavor.

So in conclusion the hot dogs and fries at Station Street were decent. It is however quite pricey for what you are getting. If I was in the neighborhood I might stop by again if I really felt the need for a hot dog, but its definitely not a destination spot. While I applaud the concept and vision of the owners to take the humble hot dog to the next level. In execution I think they come up a little short. Sometimes the best is the most basic. The whole time I was eating these dogs, I could not help but think that they were not any better than a $2.00 chili dog from a local mom and pop hot dog shop.

RATING: 6/10 (Meh)

Isaly's Sold and Bacon Jam

2012-06-20T08:27:00.000-04:00

Isaly's
As you recall I did a review of Isaly's in West View not too long ago (View HERE ). The bad news is that it appears the owners are selling Isaly's. The good news is that appears that only the name will be changing. Due to franchise fees and other BS problems, the new owners will have to change the name. The current owners claim that the new ownership will be keeping the menu and interior the same as it is now. So lets keep are fingers crossed and hope the new ownership doesn't screw up one of the real hidden gems here in the North Hills.

Skillet Street Food Bacon Jam
About a week ago I received a package in the mail from the Skillet street food vendors in Seattle. These guys at Skillet travel around in their air stream food truck, and make some of the best street food in the country. One of their most popular condiments is Bacon Jam, and that is what awaited me inside the package. Now at first I was a little skeptical about this stuff, and not exactly sure what the hell to do with it. But after some research I found out that the guys at Skillet use it mainly as a burger topping. So I put a dollop of the bacon jam on some burgers I was grilling, placed some cheese on top of it, and closed the grill to heat the jam and melt the cheese. Well let me tell you I was blown away by how good this stuff was. The bacon jam had a nice smoky flavor as well as a little sweetness from the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar they use when making the jam. So do yourself a favor and get some of this stuff. It comes in regular which has a great balance of smoky, savory and sweet. As well as a version with black pepper and fennel which gives it a more spicy kick.
Buy your Bacon Jam HERE, and watch the video on how Chef Josh Henderson makes this little piece of piggy heaven.

McKnight Road Burrito Throwdown

2012-05-29T09:45:00.000-04:00

In the stretch of a 1/4 mile on Mcknight Road in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, 3 titans of faux Mexican cuisine compete for your gringo dollar. Well its time for me and my select panel of burrito specialists to find out which of these joints has the best burrito. Like Tina Turner said in Mad Max III Beyond Thunderdome, "3 burritos enter, 1 burrito leaves" (or something like that).

From left to right, Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito, Qdoba Shredded Beef Ancho Chili Burrito, Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito

From a size standpoint, the Qdoba burrito was the biggest. Followed closely by the Chipotle burrito, and finally the Taco Bell burrito. The Qdoba and Chipotle burritos are very dense and have to weigh over a pound.

As far as prices go, the Qdoba burrito was also the costliest at $8.12. The Chipotle burrito was next at $7.12, and the Taco Bell burrito cost $5.71.

Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito $5.71

Taco Bell or Toxic Hell as it is know in some circles, is known for dirt cheap food (don't want to call it Mexican food that might start an international incident). This XXL Steak burrito is the Cadillac of the Taco Bell menu, and was put specially on the menu to help Taco Bell compete with higher end restaurants Chipotle and Qdoba..

A thing that I have noticed at the Taco Bell on McKnight Rd is that you really have no idea what the hell you are going to get after you place your order Sometimes you get what you order, sometimes you don't. The fact that I appeared to actually get a XXL burrito was promising.

Taco Bell did not have anything equivalent to Chipotles barbacoa or Qdobas shredded beef, so I settled with the steak. The first thing I noticed when I bit into this burrito was the amount of sauce. Way to much of their Avacodo Sauce and Sour Cream. Funny thing was, when I had this burrito in the past they used real guacamole and the burrito was not near as saucy. The steak was tender to the point of not adding any texture to the burrito, and its flavor was drowned out by the excess of sauce. The burrito itself is grilled which adds nothing besides a slightly crispy outer crust. Truth be told, this burrito despite the negatives was not all that bad for what it is, a cheap substitute for Chipotle or Qdoba. Hell one of my tasters (soon to be fired) thought it was the best burrito out of the three.

Chipotle Burrito $7.12

Chipotle has been my go-to burrito joint for a while now. They make everything in house and use local organic produce, animals raised without hormones and antibiotics, etc. They are big on promoting "Food with integrity". When you order your burrito you have a few choices to make. Steak, chicken, barbacoa (shredded beef), or carnita (shredded pork). I've found the barbacoa to have the best flavor out of the bunch with notes of cumin, garlic, and other Mexican spices.You also choose what type of beans, black or pinto (I usually go pinto). What type of salsa, hot, medium, or mild . Also whether you want cheese and sour cream. Guacamole can be added for $1.80, and is excellent with it also being made fresh daily.

The Chipotle burrito did not disappoint. Everything tasted fresh. The medium salsa was tomatillo based (green) which gave it a nice tang and heat level. The barbacoa was also moist and flavorful. For those watching their weight you can also get the whole thing in a bowl and eliminate the carb heavy tortilla. Brown rice and fajita veggies are also available.

Qdoba Ancho BBQ Burrito $8.12

This was actually my first time to Qdoba. The set-up is pretty much the same as Chipotle with you dictating what to put in your burrito. The burrito I ordered was pretty much the same as the one I ordered at Chipotle, but with the addition of Qdoba's Ancho Chili BBQ Sauce. The sauce was pretty tasty, adding a slight sweetness and smokiness to the burrito. The shredded beef however I did not find nearly as flavorful as Chipotles. In actuality this and the Chipotle burrito were nearly identical except for for the different sauces. As this was my first visit to Qdoba, I cant really comment on the consistency and quality of their food.

So who is the one burrito to leave victorious from the burrito throwdown?

Chipotle wins by a smidgen over Qdoba, and a lot more over Taco Bell.

The Chipotle burrito tasted slightly fresher and tastier then the Qdoba burrito, and was much better in all aspects than the Taco Bell burrito.

However I would not hesitate to go to a Qdoba if there was no Chipotle around. Comment and let me know where your favorite burrito is.

Rating:

Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito: 5/10

Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito: 8/10

Qdoba Ancho Chilli BBQ Shredded Beef Burrito: 7/10

Dibella's Old Fashioned Submarines

2012-04-20T10:02:00.000-04:00

Dibellas started out as a corner grocery store in Rochester NY. They have since expanded to almost 30 shops in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Dibella's specializes in hoagies/grinders/subs/po-boys/ or whatever the hell you want to call them.
A new Dibellas just opened up a few miles from me and I was looking forward to trying out their wares. Would it be utter garbage like Subway, or a quality sub like at Jersey Mikes? So over the last two months I have sampled a few different types of hoagies at Dibellas and let me tell you I was more than pleased with how good the subs are at Dibellas.

Where you place your order

The decor inside Dibellas is of an early 20th century style with tin ceilings and tiffany style lamps providing the lighting. There are plenty of booths to sit at or you can just get your sub to go. When you place your order you say whether you want your sub classic (cold) or grilled. You then choose from a long list of toppings and condiments to go on your sandwich. If you order a grilled sub be prepared to wait an additional 10 minutes as they cook the meats for the sub on a grill.

Large Meatball $8.99

The thing that really puts Dibellas ahead of other sub shops is the bread. It is baked fresh at Dibellas daily. Unlike Subways bread which has a crappy crust and is more like an over-sized hot dog bun, Dibellas bread has a beautiful shiny crust, and tastes like bread that you would get from a local bakery. You can get your bread in either plain, sesame, multigrain, or everything.
The meatball sub came with big ass meatballs smothered in marinara sauce and provolone cheese. A lot of other places you can tell the meatballs are frozen pre-made balls of crap. Dibellas meatballs taste as close to homemade as you will ever have.

Big Ass Meatball

The meatballs are tender and have a nice mild Italian spice to them. If you want to kick up the spice level, order the sub with bannana peppers or grilled peppers and onions.

The Godfather $8.99

The Godfather is Dibellas take on a traditional Italian Hoagie. It comes with Genoa Salami, Capicolla, and hot ham. I ordered mine grilled as all Italian meats should be heated as to bring out their flavor. Also I got mine with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and "Dibellas famous oil dresssing" which has olive oil, vinegar and oregano.

Action side view

Hate to say it but this had to have been one of the best Italian hoagies I have ever had. Even better than any of the local pizza shop Italian hoagies I have eaten. The portions are generous , the meat fresh, the combination of flavors is just off the charts. That combined with Dibellas awesome bread makes for a killer sandwich.

Dibellas Cheesesteak $8.99

Previously the best cheesesteak I have had in Pittsburgh was at Southside Steaks in which you can find my review here. Well move over Southside steaks, Dibellas has replaced you. I ordered my cheesesteak with white american cheese, and grilled onions.

Cheesesteak in action

As you can see Dibellas does not shy away from a generous portion of steak. Once again the thing that puts this sub over the top is the bread. While I found Southside Steaks to have an excellent cheesesteak, their bread I thought was lacking. Dibellas cheesesteak is as close to chessesteak perfection as you can get. Also dont forget that you can customize your sandwich to your liking. Want swiss instead of american cheese, go ahead. Want bannana peppers or grilled sweet peppers on your sandwich, go ahead.

The Dagwood $8.99

The final sub I tried was the Dagwood which comes with turkey, ham, and corned beef. A traditional cold cut sandwich. This is great if your not in the mood for something hot.

Dagwood side view

The meats all tasted extremely fresh. I ordered mine with onion, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. My only complaint was they slathered on a little to much mayo for my liking. Besides that, it was an excellent sandwich.

Dibellas is a great value when you take into account price,quality, and quantity. One large sub from Dibellas is enough to feed 2 normal people or 3 skinny chicks. While I still love an Italian sub from Jersey Mikes, their prices are getting out of hand. Check out my review of Jersey Mikes HERE. Since I did my review of Jersey Mikes, their prices have gone up considerably, and you now pay over $11.00 for a large sub.
Well, I never thought that a small sandwich chain out of NY would wind up making the best hoagies in Pittsburgh. If you haven't been to Dibellas yet, get there. You will not be disappointed.
On a side note I have had a bunch of people tell me that I need to try an Italian hoagie from Dannys Pizza in the South Hills. Well hopefully I will get there sometime in the near future and we can find out who truly has the best hoagie in Pittsburgh.

Review
Dibella's Old Fashioned Submarines: 9/10

There are 4 Dibellas in the Pittsburgh area

Pittsburgh, PA - Cranberry Township
1694 Rt. 228
Pittsburgh, PA 16066
(724)772-8088 Phone

Pittsburgh, PA - Market Square
16 Market Square
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-338-8634 Phone

Pittsburgh, PA - McCandless Twp.
9030 Saint Simon Way
NOW OPEN!
McCandless Township, PA 15237
412-358-8525 Phone

Pittsburgh, PA - Robinson Township
6501 Steubenville Pike
(in front of Kohl's)
Pittsburgh, PA 15277
(412)722-0443 Phone

KellyO's Diner

2012-03-27T21:27:00.000-04:00

KellyO's is a small diner located in a strip mall off of Rt.19 in Ross township. KelllyO's came to my attention when it was featured on the wildly popular food network TV show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. So for breakfast one day I headed out to KellyO's to see if it warranted such national attention.

The interior of KellyO's is how should I put this ... confusing. It has the traditional diner layout with booths along one side, and a sit down counter on the other, which is fine. However you have this harsh fluorescent lighting shining down on you, which takes away any of the charm. You feel more like you're eating in a prison cafeteria than a cozy diner. KellyO's also has these Parisian style drawings adorning the walls that just seem out of place.

We were taken care of relatively quickly once we sat ourselves down at one of the booths. The server was quick to give us our menus and serve us some pretty decent coffee.

Blah Interior

The menu has your typical diner fare including omelets, burgers, salads, sandwiches, soups, etc. However it has some items that you don't see everyday including haluski (Polish cabbage and noodles), and polenta (Italian corn meal cakes).

Click for bigger pic

For our breakfast I ordered the Outrageous Breakfast Sandwich, and my eating companion ordered an omelet with ham, peppers, onions, and cheese.

Outrageous Breakfast Sandwich $6.79

The Outrageous Breakfast Sandwich is really not all that outrageous. Its two scrambled eggs , American cheese, and your choice of meat, between two pieces of grilled Mancinis bread (famous Mckees Rocks bakery). I ordered mine with sweet Italian sausage. This was a pretty decent no frills sandwich. The Italian sausage had a nice spice to it, yet the bread was a tad on the greasy side. All in all not too bad of a breakfast to fill you up in the morning.

Omelet with ham, cheese, green peppers, and onions. $6.59

My eating companion who had also gone to Isalys, which I have previously reviewed, was not too happy with his omelet. He pretty much kept saying how much better the Isalys omelet was compared to this one. The biggest complaint was that the peppers and onions were on the burnt side, and had spent a little to much time on the grill. He also didn't like the fact that the toast that accompanied the omelet was from the ends of the bread loaf.

In the future I will go back to KellyO's to try out some of their lunch items. Hopefully it will be a little more impressive than the breakfast. Their breakfast was obviously hit or miss depending on what you ordered. While I thought my sandwich was OK, my eating companion was not at all impressed with his omelet.

KellyO's according to their web site is supposedly opening up another diner in the Strip District of Pittsburgh. I will let you know as soon as I hear more.

KellyO's

Outrageous Breakfast Sandwich: 6/10

Omelet with ham, cheese, peppers, and onion: 4/10

Ichiban Hibachi Steakhouse

2012-03-06T10:55:00.006-05:00

Hard to believe, but somehow I have never been to a Japanese steakhouse before. This all changed one night when my friend and neighbor, Epic Beard Man and his wife, invited me and some of our friends to Ichiban in Wexford. Ichiban has 4 locations throughout the Pittsburgh area and word of mouth had been pretty positive.

Ben Roethlisberger on the right > (Trust me, he is over there)

While waiting to be seated we got some drinks at the bar and lo and behold there was Ben Roethlisberger sitting next to me. Needless to say he was speechless and a little taken back to be suddenly confronted with his favorite food blogger in Pittsburgh. The wait time was only a few minutes once all of our friends showed up.


The Zombie

As some of you know I am a big fan of Tiki style drinks (my recipe for a proper Mai Tai is here). So my eyes lit up when I saw the classic Tiki drink, The Zombie, on the drink menu. They are called Zombies for a reason and after a few of these I was lit like a Christmas tree. So I apologize if the photos are not of the best quality.


Crab Rangoon $5.95

We all ordered a bunch of appetizers to start us off. The Crab Rangoon was deep fried won tons filled with a cream cheese and crab mixture. Crab Rangoon is one of my favorite oriental appetizers and Ichiban's was very good. The cheesy crab mixture was plentiful, and had a nice onion and sweet flavor.


sushi something or other


A lot of Sushi

Hell if I know

We also shared some sushi, and to be honest I had no idea what the hell I was eating because the Zombie had started to take hold of me. The good thing was that none of it made me gag and I didn't get sick later. High praise indeed.


Shogun Crispy Chicken $14.95

My favorite dish of the night was the one my friend had ordered sitting next to me. Of course he let me sample in the name of research. It was Ichibans take on General Tso's chicken and it was near perfect. The chicken coating was light and crispy while the sauce was spicy and not overly sweet.

Hot water soup

For my main course I ordered the Chicken Hibachi dinner. The dinner comes with soup, salad, fried rice, vegetables, noodles, and chicken. The soup had barely any flavor at all. Just tasted like watered down chicken broth.


Lettuce with crappy dressing

The salad was pretty much just iceberg lettuce with a pretty bland ginger/sesame dressing. Meh.

Fried Rice and Noodles

Then the fireworks began when the chef wheels out his cart and starts cooking on the flat top hibachi everyone is gathered around. Along with the fried rice and noodles they give everyone two dipping sauces. The one is a ginger sauce and the other is a mayo based sauce that the Japanese use for dipping seafood in. If anyone wants the recipe for the seafood sauce, send me an email and I will send it to you.


Fire Fire Fire


Fish

After cooking the rice and noodles, the chef starts cooking the meats and veggies. He cooks everything in sesame oil and teryaki sauce.


Steak


Chicken

All of the ingredients that they used looked fresh. For the chicken they used all breast meat, and who doesn't like breasts. The steak was a NY Strip, and the fish was red snapper.

The food tasted ok, yet it was nothing that you couldn't do at home with a wok. The prices for the actual meals were not to bad, being around $17.00-$19.00. Ichiban is very family oriented and there were a lot of families there with their kids. Also beware of the way they celebrate Birthdays. The lights go dim, all of a sudden 1980s techno music is blasting. A volcano starts to spit out fire and sparks, and disco lights are everywhere. So dont do any drugs before you go, or you might freak out or go into convulsions or something.

Would I go back to Ichiban? Sure. Its a great place to get blasted on tiki drinks and socialize with your friends. The food is pretty mediocre but really it takes second fiddle to the whole experience of watching some Japanese guy with mad knife skills, cutting meat really fast. The service was below average. They seemed to have a hard time getting our drinks out to us fast enough. Of course that might have had something to do with the amount of drinks we were ordering. Plus its damn hot sitting next to these hibachi thingies and you need to stay hydrated.
All in all a pleasant experience that was made better by having good friends to share it with.

PS: Congrats to my friends Leah and Dan who announced during dinner that Leah had been successfully impregnated by Dan. Just knew my advice on standing Leah on her head would pay off.

Rating: 6.5/10

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.