Pittsburgh recs wanted

[rockhopper]

I'm going to pittsburgh for a week long business trip. Would anyone like to tell me their favorite places to eat?

I prefer eats to "cuisine".

[monavano]

You can't go to Pittsburgh and not get a Primanti Bros. sammich. It is an institution in the Steel City, and not to be missed. It's like going to Philadelphia, and not getting a cheesesteak. Or going to Buffalo, and skipping the Anchor Bar and beef on weck. Here's the website.

http://www.primantibros.com/

[rockhopper]

You can't go to Pittsburgh and not get a Primanti Bros. sammich. I

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That was the only place on my list and judging from the feedback I'm guessing it's the only place to eat in Pittsburgh

Primanti's seems to be Pat's to me. The place everyone knows. I wanted to know where their (metaphoric) Tony Luke's is. Or Rangoon. Or Capogiro, Or ...

I guess that there aren't many pittsburghers on this board?

[CherieV]

You can't go to Pittsburgh and not get a Primanti Bros. sammich. I

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That was the only place on my list and judging from the feedback I'm guessing it's the only place to eat in Pittsburgh

Primanti's seems to be Pat's to me. The place everyone knows. I wanted to know where their (metaphoric) Tony Luke's is. Or Rangoon. Or Capogiro, Or ...

I guess that there aren't many pittsburghers on this board?

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I am a Philly person but I do quite a bit of buisness in Pitt. There are some good restaurants. Check out Eleven, it on the Southside part of the city. It has a nice wine bar and great food. It's buisness casual. Also Monteray Bay just North of the city is great. Seafood rest that has a spectacular view of the city. In Shadyside there is The Casbah and Soba restaurants. They are funky Stephen Starr kind of places. Check out their website. www.bigburitto.com

[phlox]

I'm a big fan of Church Brew Works. It's a micro brewery (that also makes yummy birch beer) that serves both glorified bar food (good pizza, sandwiches, etc) and and fancier, more 'dinnery' food. Both are good. I was there on Friday and my gf and I split the bread pudding, and it was to DIE for. She's violently allergic to chocolate, which makes restaurant dessert menus tricky sometimes, but this was amazing.

Eleven is also great, but probably pricier and chi-chi-er than you want if you're on a business trip. But maybe that's just my starving college student mindset speaking.

Prantl's in Shadyside has delicious and cheap pastries if you want a quick breakfast (pop over to the Coffee Tree for some coffee to have with your danish or what have you).

Pamela's serves great greasy breakfast food, and their club sandwich isn't half bad either.

Kelly's in East Liberty is kind of a fun bar that serves a short but good menu. Their burgers are enormous and the sweet potato fries are delicious and come with this garklicky, mustardy dipping sauce. Mmm.

Spice Island is a fun pan-Asian place with kind of a quirky atmosphere. It's BYOB and students love it.

Casbah is fabulous - it's French/North African food. The last time I was there (thanks, mom and dad! haha) I had this homemade lamb sausage that nearly made me swoon with pleasure. I also had the best creme brulee I've ever had, and I've eaten my way through France a couple of times.

Feel free to PM me if you want more detailed info about any of these places or more specific suggestions.

[mjg]

What part of town are you staying in? Phlox gave some great suggestions for the east side of town (mostly), but as you may find in talking to Pittsburgh folks, most of us don't get around much. Crossing the rivers is like crossing an ocean.

Where to eat all depends on where you are staying and what modes of transport are available. Southside has some good eats, as does the Strip. Oakland/Shadyside is tops, I'd say, though I don't get out that way much.

[phlox]

Good point, mjg. I'm a Pitt student, and so a little East end-centric.

I haven't eaten much in the South Side - do you have any suggestions (aside from Mallorca, which I have been wanting to try, but is, at the moment, prohibitively expensive)?

[phlox]

Oh, and Pino's, in Squirrel Hill, is a nice Italian restaurant.

[Mel Altenderfer]

Oh, good god, if you are going to the Burgh and you prefer "eats" to cuisine, you need to go to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern for a Polish Platter. Kielbasa, haluski, galumpki, kluski, & pierogies all on one plate. For under $7.

Get some "Chicken on a Stick" down in the Strip on a Saturday daytime-- there is an Asian grocery-- I don't even know if it has a name-- right on Penn Ave. two blocks from Wholey's, and hot damn if their outdoor grill doesn't have some tasty Chicken on a Stick.

Go to the Sharp Edge Beer Emporium in Friendship for the best beer selection in the Burgh, with an emphasis on Belgian brew. Their pizza isn't half bad, and anything deep-fried there is good.

The Park House on the North Side on East Ohio St. has really, really good potato salad and corned beef sandwiches, as well as a fabulous old-style Pittsburgh atmosphere, and free peanuts and popcorn.

At Fathead's on the South Side you can get sandwiches that have fried eggs on top of them. The wings are good there, too.

For hangovers I recommend Pamela's crepe-style pancakes. There's a Pamela's in Oakland, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and the new one in the Strip.

[mjg]

Phlox, the Southside has some great places for those on a college budget...Thai Me Up, Fatheads, Carson Street Deli. Spend a little more and you've got Piper's Pub and Bruschetta. A little more than that, Old Europe.

As a PSU graduate, it pains me to admit that I got my masters degree from Pitt, but I can tell you that I do miss some of the restaurants in Oakland. I spent an awful lot of hours drinking beer at Fuel & Fuddle when I should have been in class. Uncle Sam's...Primanti's...the "O"...Lulu's Noodles.

[KOK]

I'm going to pittsburgh for a week long business trip. Would anyone like to tell me their favorite places to eat?

I prefer eats to "cuisine".

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The Original Hot Dog Shop (The 'O', or Dirty 'O') is a Pitt classic.

A fish sandwich at Wholey's or Benkovitz in the Strip should also not be missed (I'm partial to Wholey's).

A burger at Tessarro's is always voted best in the city, though try to go at an off time or it's very crowded.

Thanks,

K

[lambretta76]

Oh, good god, if you are going to the Burgh and you prefer "eats" to cuisine, you need to go to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern for a Polish Platter. Kielbasa, haluski, galumpki, kluski, & pierogies all on one plate. For under $7.

Last time I was in, BBT had gone downhill markedly - the duck blood soup gamey (in a bad way, not in its usual tastiness), the haluski flavorless, the galumpki cold with a sad, watery tomato sauce on top, and even the kielbasa tasted a bit off.

I'd recommend Tessaro's up the road for huge, tasty burgers. Head up to Mount Washington for dining with a view. I haven't been in years, but I imagine some others could pipe in with recs. And Eleven and Lidia's (Lidia Bastianich's place) in the Strip are both quality restaurants.

Edited March 9, 2005 by lambretta76 (log)

[Mel Altenderfer]

Oh, good god, if you are going to the Burgh and you prefer "eats" to cuisine, you need to go to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern for a Polish Platter. Kielbasa, haluski, galumpki, kluski, & pierogies all on one plate. For under $7.

Last time I was in, BBT had gone downhill markedly - the duck blood soup gamey (in a bad way, not in its usual tastiness), the haluski flavorless, the galumpki cold with a sad, watery tomato sauce on top, and even the kielbasa tasted a bit off.

I'd recommend Tessaro's up the road for huge, tasty burgers. Head up to Mount Washington for dining with a view. I haven't been in years, but I imagine some others could pipe in with recs. And Eleven and Lidia's (Lidia Bastianich's place) in the Strip are both quality restaurants.

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They had a bad cook there for a while. She had some-- well, mental problems.

I would go to the BBT on a Saturday night-- my sister's boyfriend (a real Slovak Hunky) cooks there on Saturdays. And he's good.

[JPW]

They had a bad cook there for a while. She had some-- well, mental problems.

I would go to the BBT on a Saturday night-- my sister's boyfriend (a real Slovak Hunky) cooks there on Saturdays.  And he's good.

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Do the Spuds still play there regularly?

Now there's a Pgh institution.

[lambretta76]

They had a bad cook there for a while. She had some-- well, mental problems.

I would go to the BBT on a Saturday night-- my sister's boyfriend (a real Slovak Hunky) cooks there on Saturdays. And he's good.

That's good to hear - I noticed the woman in the kitchen and she did look, umm...., unbalanced. Just something in the way she was holding that meat cleaver....

I forgot to mention the worst part of our last visit there - they were out of pierogies! Such blasphemy.

Next time I'm in town I'll have to stop by on a Saturday evening...

Edited March 15, 2005 by lambretta76 (log)

[fchrisgrimm]

Chiodo's in Homestead (just off the bridge) for a Mystery Sandwich. It's a nice companion visit to Primanti's!

[littlebear]

Chiodo's in Homestead (just off the bridge) for a Mystery Sandwich.  It's a nice companion visit to Primanti's!

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The discussion on Roadfood.com is that it's on the verge of closing.

[nckd]

Chiodo's in Homestead (just off the bridge) for a Mystery Sandwich.  It's a nice companion visit to Primanti's!

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The discussion on Roadfood.com is that it's on the verge of closing.

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Yes, it's going to be turned into a Walgreen's.