Sneakeater Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Some small town! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
voyager Posted June 5, 2017 Share Posted June 5, 2017 Lucky people grew up in small towns; the unlucky ones in the burbs. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sneakeater Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Whitfield This is the restaurant in the Ace Hotel. The chef is a guy who's from Pittsburgh, but whose principal professional position before was at Meat Hook in Brooklyn. This is very much a meatstaurant, with the expected emphasis on local ingredients. So it was probably sheer perversity that led me to have a meat-free dinner. I started with cavatelli with nettles, a solid dish, if one that you see everywhere these days. Some would think it was too salty -- but not me. Then, a lightly smoked and then seared river trout. Again, a good, solid dish. The cocktails almost made it, but not quite. You might say the same for the wine list. Primanti Bros. (Strip branch) I've been dying to eat here for as long as I've known of it. I mean, sandwiches with french fries in them? What could be better? I had the capicolla and provolone. The problem is, it just didn't taste very good. I dunno. Maybe putting fries in a sandwich isn't as good an idea as it sounds. Butcher and the Rye This is a good, solid Downtown restaurant. Part of a local restaurant group, all of whose restaurants I'm told are good and solid. The conceit here, as you might figure out for yourself, is meatstaurant with an extensive whiskey list. What's interesting is that I liked it that significant tad more than Whitfield -- the tad that pushes it over the top from "OK" to a fairly enthusiastic recommendation. Of course, you have to like this kind of food, which I'd describe as kind of gross but with a light touch, to begin with. For example, the "rustic bread" (which you have to order and pay for), which comes with gravy and lard and is spiced with pepper and sage. It's really quite delicious. I then had the so-called "Sunday gravy" (hey that's a Brooklyn thing -- not that this whole restaurant doesn't scream "Brooklyn!"). This was a lamb neck in tomato sauce with ricotta cheese. In a way, dishes like this are like shooting fish in a barrel -- but as long as I'm not the fish, I'm not going to complain. Finally, rabbit and dumplings. The rabbit wasn't dry, the dumplings weren't heavy: fine. Cocktails were better than at Whitfield. They push beer rather than wine; the wine list was adequate but no more. As for the whiskey list, it's probably too obvious to note that Pennsylvania was once the cradle of American rye: Overholt, Michter's, they all originated there. (Overholt was owned by Frick and Mellon.) I had some contemporary flavored Pennsylvania rye. It wasn't bad. Pamela's This is a local diner chain. It's really good. The hash and the "Lyonnaise" potatoes really make it. And the "crepe-style" pancakes somehow contrive to be crispier than regular old pancakes, without losing their lightness. Better than Primanti Bros. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Sounds like a mixed result during Penguin week... Pamela's diner group http://www.pamelasdiner.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sneakeater Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Yeah, Pittsburgh is the most sports-crazed city I've ever experienced. And I've spent a lot of time in Chicago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lex Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 French fries have no business on a sandwich. On a sandwich they lose their identity - they might as well be tater tots. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lex Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I mean really, why not dump a couple of scoops of mashed potatoes on a roast beef sandwich? There are excesses that happen in New York restaurants. Kale comes to mind. Fries on sandwiches are an excess of the heartland. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 I mean really, why not dump a couple of scoops of mashed potatoes on a roast beef sandwich? There are excesses that happen in New York restaurants. Kale comes to mind. Fries on sandwiches are an excess of the heartland. Recipe for a roast beef and mashed potato sandwich. Gravy optional https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iRz-UFKfB5M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 I was super disappointed with Primanti sandwiches. French fries in a sandwich, you need only to go as far as the Rutgers Grease Trucks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 The Washington Post has an infomercial about drinking in Pittsburgh. They speak well of The Wigle Room at the Omni William Penn. Dozens of rye and Bourbon choices. Butcher and the Rye, mentioned up thread, also offers many choices. How can anyone speak badly of a city which sponsors a Three Day Blow? LINK TO FOLLOW Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Lidia's Pittsburgh has brought in a new chef from the Kansas City farm team. Dan Walker makes mashed potatoes, and worked his way up from line cook. http://www.post-gazette.com/life/dining/2017/07/16/lidia-pittsburgh-new-chef-daniel-walker/stories/201707160026?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=recommended-life&utm_campaign=Headlines-Newsletter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers a periodic "best of" selection. DiaNoia's Eatery, 2549 Penn Avenue in the Strip Rather, it’s a seasonal dish of beautiful housemade rigatoni with crispy guanciale, and the traditional pecorino and egg sauce with the subtlest note of sweet pumpkin that make it bold yet familiar ================ Black Market Deli in Allentown (Pittsburgh area) for a homemade sausage sandwich ================ Chinese pickled beef at Sakura, 5882 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill. Article: http://www.post-gazette.com/life/dining/2017/11/06/Best-dishes-Pittsburgh-DiAnoia-s-Black-Market-Deli-Sakura/stories/201711060146 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sneakeater Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 I would just like to note, for those who care, that Allentown is a four-and-a-half hour drive from Pittsburgh. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rail Paul Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 I would just like to note, for those who care, that Allentown is a four-and-a-half hour drive from Pittsburgh. It's absolutely true that there's an Allentown in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. Has a huge rail yard, several artisan breweries, and an empty Sears tower, among other sights. This Allentown is located on the south side of Pittsburgh, and occupies zip code 15210. It's considered an up and coming hipster neighborhood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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