phlox

I haven't tried Nine on 9 either, but I've heard it's really good. I can vouch for Cafe Richard, the bakery run by the same people. It's right next door to the chocolate store where I work (Mon Aimee Chocolat), and I go there for lunch pretty much every weekend. The best thing about it is that there are always different things depending on what they feel like doing in the bakery. Actually, this is also the worst thing, because a couple of weeks ago they did this pizza piled high with fresh mozz, prosciutto and olives, and I haven't seen it since. We should really plan a Pittsburgh get together this year! PM me, people - eating out is pretty much my biggest hobby!

I am a hostess at a 'fine dining' restaurant, and as someone who has never given a damn where she was seated as long as the food was good, it has been an eye-opening experience! One thing that I find hilarious is the fairly large group of regulars we have who bitch and moan about how noisy the restaurant is, how they want a quiet table, etc. Um, we have an open kitchen, and if you've been to the restaurant before (which the people I'm talking about have), you know this. On a busy night, a quiet table really doesn't exist. It just doesn't. I, the hostess who practically lives on freaking coat check tips, do not have a personal vendetta against you, I am just trying to find a way to get everyone seated within a reasonable amount of time even though the GM has overbooked every slot, keep all the servers happy, not totally weed the kitchen, and maybe, just maybe find time to pee once during my 10-hour shift. I'm not trying to ruin your life, so just CALM DOWN, and if you want to eat in silence, try bringing a granola bar to the library, mmkay? I am also mystified by the people who hate their food and everything about their experience every time they come to the restaurant, but KEEP COMING BACK. Are they masochists? I can see giving a place a second chance, but if you still hate the food after the tenth time, you probably just don't like the restaurant and should branch out a little. I'd be happy to suggest some places if it would mean that you'd just go away and stop torturing us and yourselves!!

Ooh, what did you have at Le Pommier? I was there a few weeks ago and had the cornish hen with those gnocchi. To die for. And the chesnut pot de creme is just...wow. So creamy, and so cute in its little demitasse cup!

Word. Lack of libido and living on freaking Quorn? I can't imagine wanting to live like that, never mind live longer than normal! My grandparents, who grew up with healthcare that wasn't as good as mine, lived to be 80-ish without too many physical problems, so I'll probably live even longer. That is a long ass time! I kind of don't understand the urge to live as long as possible. The planet is overpopulated as it is, I have no desire to outstay my welcome, especially as some crazed, anorexic, Quorn-eating cult member. Sheesh. I predicted the binge/epiphany part would come a little earlier, too. SO unexpected, bravo! (where's that sarcasm emoticon...)

Oh, and one other Pittsburgh area store I am loving lately is McGinnis Sisters. Their meat counter is out of this world. I got some thick-sliced bacon last week that almost made me cry, it was so good. And they have good prices on Amish chicken and butter. God bless the Amish. Now I want a whoopie pie.

Funny, just yesterday I was just bemoaning the complete lack of Pittsburgh posts here. Since you'll be back, a couple of other places to try: Eleven is the first restaurant you'll run into on your way up Smallman St. It's worth it. It is also a Big Burrito property, probably their most upscale to date. Although we've always enjoyed it there we've heard of some FOH issues lately. Also new and near is Nine on Ninth, which is co-owned by the guy who owns the eclectic Cafe Richard in the Strip. Haven't been yet, but initial reviews are very positive. Lots starting to happen in that area, finally. But if you really want to eat well and cheap, go to the cart on Penn Ave. that's just before Sunseri Bros. and load up on pad thai ($1.75 for about a pint and a half's worth) and spring rolls ($1 each). You can't miss it. It's extremely good for the price. ← So have you tried Nine on Ninth yet? Cafe Richard is right next door to where I work, so I eat their delicious sandwiches for lunch almost every week. I've been wanting to try a new restaurant, so I'm curious to see what people think. Funny you mention FOH at Eleven, because I just applied to work there! Two managers interviewed me yesterday, and one of them kept talking about how they are in a 'transitional period,' so maybe that means they've had to fire someone!

Chiodo's is gone! I was so sad when I found that it had closed up last year

Spice Island Tea House, a little pan-Asian place, used to be BYOB, but now it seems that they have a liquor license and can serve their own B. And of course there is La Fiesta. (totally kidding about that one, it's a really scrungy Mexican place...not that I've scarfed nachos at midnight there...no...) I'd definitely be up for a get together! Are you guys on the Slow Food Pittsburgh mailing list? They have tons of great events. Unfortunately most of them are too 'spensive for me, but they look super.

How's that for a little shameless Daily Gullet pimping?

Great to see some Pittsburghers here! Be careful with those Mad Mex margaritas, though, they will knock you on your butt! Or, um, off your barstool... I may hit up Le Pommier tonight for their prix fixe weeknight menu. Their housemade pate is soooo good. Anyone else a fan of that place? It's really great French bistro food, but the waitstaff is young and hip, so you can eat your roast duck while listening to Death Cab for Cutie.

The Farmers at the Firehouse market is awesome! And be sure to stop by Mon Aimee Chocolat while you're at it. If you see a short, dark-haired woman running around scooping chocolate and raving about whatever new, gourmet bar we got in, that will be me (I work there).

I think I understand what you're getting at now! You are right, there should be a way to describe the difference between crisp like a potato chip and crisp like bread crust. Although to me, the crust is a thin layer compared to the rest of the loaf. Crisp, crust, crusp, dense, argh, I'm confusing myself!

I totally relate to Dave's desire to find the exact right word, but in this case I think I'm right! It's my party and I can crisp if I want to! As for pizza, I vastly prefer Aiello's. The sauce is delicious. They import a certain brand of canned tomatoes from Italy. The dough is the perfect texture - not too doughy and spongy like gross take-out brands (I'm looking at you, Pizza Hut!), but it's not all overly cracker-like and full of itself, like it should be covered with a mound of hydroponic arugala and, I don't know, basil-infused sea salt. Mineo's is certainly tasty, but the sauce isn't as good, and the cheese has a tendency to congeal into a solid, rubbery sheet across the top if it doesn't stay piping hot.

Didn't mean to make anyone scream!

Problem is, Pontormo, that the sort of people who work in coffee houses are, for the most part, underemployed hipsters. Who are also the sort of people who want to show off how much cooler their taste in music is than yours. In other words, this is irresolvable dilemma. ← Having been one of the aforementioned underemployed hipsters who blasted all sorts of abrasive, weird, unmellow stuff at the coffeehouse where I worked, I can say that the rest of the hipsters and I weren't that interested in proving our hipness. It was more that we had to deal with nutbars and assholes all day for very little pay, and control of the stereo was one of the only perks. When you've just spent an hour cleaning shit off the walls (don't ask me how that happened, I have no idea - if you are in that much gastrointestinal distress, just stay home, please!) or have had to call the police because an elderly man is pleasuring himself on the patio after having covered himself in butter from the bowl of butter chips used for muffins, sometimes you just need to blast Red Medicine at top volume so you don't pour steamed milk on the next person who asks if you have vegan, organic pastries.

Many of the Riesling wines on the market today are not your parents' Riesling. ← That's good to know! My mom's taste runs just a rung or two above wine coolers, so who the hell knows what she's been buying.

My parents really like Rieslings and that's what we had in our house most often. This must be why I associate white wine with sweet and a little bland. Thanks for the wonderful suggestions! I love to read about food, so I will definitely pick up that book, JohnL. I am also the opposite of shy and love to talk to anyone and everyone, so getting into the habit of talking to the employees at wine shops more shouldn't be a problem. I work at a gourmet chocolate store and I love it when customers ask me questions - it makes my shifts less boring. One of my favorite things to do, both because it's fun and because it's fairly cheap and I am poor, is to go to a nice restaurant and sit a the bar and sip an adult beverage and have an appetizer or some soup and chat with the bartender. I live in Pittsburgh, but we do have some good restaurants, so I will start picking the staffs' brains a bit more. I don't know of any really good wine shops around here, though, so if anyone here knows the Pittsburgh area and has suggestions, please PM me!

What a great idea! I will definitely start doing this.

I'm that person at the restaurant that asks the waiter to help me pick something to drink with dinner. When confronted with shelves and shelves of wine at the liquor store, or a wine list the size of a phone book at a restaurant, I just freeze up. I've had enough wine that I know what I like - most whites taste too sweet or just too bland to me - but beyond that I am totally lost. Is there some kind of list that every wine neophyte should go through and try? Are there Cliff's Notes? When I read a magazine like Food and Wine, I inevitably end up disappointed, because although they have lots of reasonably priced recommendations, I am never able to actually find them at the store. I don't want to bring some freaking Shiraz that I picked out because the label was kind of cool-looking to every party I attend for the rest of my adult life.

Baked beans, especially the kind from a can. The gross, mealy texture with the slimy, overly sweet sauce. EW. I'll eat brains, bugs, stinky cheese, pretty much any vegetable, but not baked beans. I'm also not a big melon fan. It's not to the level of total revulsion, but I just can't bring myself to like them, and it bugs the crap out of me that 80% of any fruit salad you buy is chunked stinking melon!

I like something with a good beat for cooking, especially the kind of cooking that requires lots of chopping. For that I go for De La Soul, Aesop Rock, The Roots, maybe even Jay-Z's The Blueprint, so I can use a spatula as a microphone and sing along with "Girls, Girls, Girls." MIA is good, too ("dash your curry like you're not in a hurry"). For a daunting task, or something that involves innards or bacon or very high heat, you need something that would blow the average person's ears off: The Hospitals, the Coachwhips, Die Monitr Bats, Cop Shoot Cop. For making desserts, you've got to go with something sexy: Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky (especially that last track on Maxinquaye), Diplo.

Ketchup or a chocolate milkshake/frosty when out. At home, a mixture of equal parts mustard and sour cream with chopped garlic and chili flakes. I like to make home fries with lots of onions and red peppers and then pour that stuff over top. Wow, I'm hungry now.

I loved this show! The fact that most of the interviewees had never heard of him was hilarious. I love that gray and black jacket he's wearing in the promos, too.

I caught this last night - powerful and respectful. Well done. Just watching your face as you talked about what you saw was more effective than a thousand canned reports on CNN. I cried like a little girl.

I know it's silly and overpriced, but some of that stuff is damn good! When I still lived at home and shopped with my mom at Whole Foods (not really something I can afford to do now, even if I wanted to), I'd always get the 365 brand oreo-type cookies and cheetos. Those two items are vastly superior in taste to the original. Probably not any better for you, and certainly not any lower in fat or calories, but GOD, the frosting on those cookies is so good. And yeah, I like them with organic milk!