Pittsburgh eats for traditional taste buds

[txaggie]

I have a friend who is going to Pittsburgh this weekend with her boyfriend and his daughter (8 years old). She's looking for a couple of good places to grab breakfast/brunch and dinner. Her boyfriend and his daughter are willing to try new things but they generally like traditional foods. I saw the thread 'Pittsburgh Food? Am I the only one here?' and suggested she take a look at that. The places that I've tried in Pittsburgh are DeLuca's, Square Cafe, and Church Brew Works. Do you have any other suggestions?

[Kahrs]

Very traditional? What about the "Oakland Original" -- hot dogs and fries. (and beer). Just don't go very late at night. Kids of all ages love it.

Something truly 'burgh-ish? What about Primanti's? They have the sandwich with the fries inside.

[JPW]

Where will they be in Pittsburgh?

[txaggie]

She's staying at the Holiday Inn Select-University Center in Oakland.

[JPW]

With a focus on places for the 8 year old....

In Oakland, I would definitely suggest lunch at the Original (aka Dirty O). Word of caution - perfectly safe during the day, not a *dangerous* neighborhood at night, but you may see some activity an 8 year old shouldn't really see at night in terms of drunk college kids and the things drunk college kids do. There is a Primanti Bros. outlet near the "O" (both on Forbes Ave). There's also a pretty good Tex Mex place a few blocks off of Forbes (the name of which escapes me).

Across from the main entrance of Carnegie museum there is a little shopping street, South Craig, that has a couple of decent joints (none of which I've been to in ages). Ali Baba's is decent Middle Eastern, although it may still be BYOB which in the land of the PLCB takes some planning ahead.

A bunch of the places in Shadyside have been mentioned on the other Pittsburgh thread.

2 other quick notes - Best burger in town - Tessaro's, Liberty Ave. Bloomfield. Best pizza - Mineo's, Murray Ave Squirrel Hill (although I like the subs at Aiello's 3 doors away better than Mineo's, and some people prefer Napoli's which is about 1/2 block further up the street). Both of these neighborhoods are about a 10 minute drive from Oakland.

[Kahrs]

Mysterious mexican = Mad Mex?

(Haven't tried it meself)

I agree 100% with JPW's comments.

(I adore the crust on Mineo's pizza, but I am sure this is a matter of intense disagreement)

[JPW]

Mysterious mexican = Mad Mex?

Believe that is correct.

Thanks.

[tharrison]

Mineo's crust tastes like chlorine. This fact is even more noticeable when you eat it left over. Ick. It would be much better if they filtered their water.

I remember noticing in Pittsburgh how after 9/11 they pumped up the chlorine levels so much even a filter couldn't completely remove the taste. I had to use brita'ed water to make pasta and rice or it was inedible.

Edited April 16, 2004 by tharrison (log)

[Kahrs]

I said that commenting on pizza would lead to intense disagreement. Guess I was right. I neglected to add that an obvious place to take children of all ages is Dave and Andy's Ice Cream on Atwood.