Thanksgiving at Hyeholde

Posted by Kathryn @ 8:03 PM

For me, Thanksgiving is generally held at someone’s home, a time for family and friends. But this year, it was destined to be different. First I told my family that I would not be coming for the holidays, that this year we wanted to host our own holiday meals and that they would be welcome to come visit us. This announcement was made in March and little did my husband and I know we would be moving to Pittsburgh in November. So here were are in Pittsburgh, a great town that even had the cool holiday weather ( something Ian and I don’t generally experience when visiting our parents in Texas and South Carolina). I looked in the kitchen of our 1 bedroom temporary apartment and quickly realized that a Thanksgiving Feast was not going to spring forth from the flimsy plastic utensils and two baking pans provided. So the week before thanksgiving I sat down and contemplated my options. 1. buy a prepared thanksgiving for 2 from Whole Foods 2. Make just a regular meal with a couple of festive touches or 3. Go to a restaurant.

So I settle on a restaurant. I call my first choice, but they are all booked up. I saw a long list online of hotels with celebrations, but that seemed too impersonal. The name Hyeholde catches my eye. I go to the website and find out that it is an upscale family run establishment with a Thanksgiving Buffet. With a little persistence I was able to get a 3:15 reservation because someone cancelled last minute. So the day of we pile into the car and head toward Moon Township. With only a few mishaps we manage to arrive at the restaurant and a valet service meets me at the door. My husband notes that we may be the youngest couple there for dinner. We head inside hoping for a predinner drink, but we are dismayed to hear that they have no bar. Instead they seat us a few minutes early. We order wine and are surprised when they recommend a Kendall Jackson. The atmosphere and the price point of the restaurant suggested that they would have a more sophisticated wine list, but perhaps it was just for expediency on such a busy day that they did not offer one.

1st Course -

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Foam- Nice savory soup with a nice bright sweetness from the apple foam. It was a winner

Main Course-

Buffet with Chef Carved Turkey or Prime Rib, Cold Salmon, Green Beans with Onions, Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Smashed Skin on Red Potatoes, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Breads, Ginger Cranberry Sauce, Bread Stuffing. Overall I was pleased. The Salmon was proclaimed sacrilegious by my husband, but I found it perfectly moist and a nice addition to my meal. The green beans were older and tougher than I cared for, but the brussel sprouts which are not generally a favorite were quite nice. The stuffing was just what I wanted light not too dry or too mushy with a few crispy pieces where it had browned in the oven. We each took two trips and left the buffet satisfied.

Dessert Course-

Options of Cinnamon Caramel Tart, Praline Toffee Bread Pudding, Pumpkin Pie, and Calvados Cheese Cake. I order the bread pudding, while my husband, a recent convert to pumpkin pie, ordered the pumpkin. The pumpkin pie was a tiny sliver overwhelmed by a spiced whipped cream decoration, the flavor was fine, but were were expecting a more substantial serving because of the holiday. The bread pudding, was atrocious, the toffee sauce lacked oomph, the custard was too wet, and the hazelnuts on top were practically burnt. I heard one woman ask her husband “what does the pudding taste like?” His response was “Not Much.” I desparately wanted Hyeholde to offer a dessert buffet so that I could remedy my poor choice!

Despite the less that fabulous ending to our meal, we left satisfied with the restaurant in terms of service and entrees.

A Supposedly Fun Thing

Posted by Kathryn @ 9:41 PM

Have you ever been told by someone that you just must try something? Before moving to Pittsburgh my husband and I had been told to try Primanti Bros Sandwiches. So the second weekend we are in town, Ian and I head down Carson St. in search of brunch, while we had no luck locating a suitable brunch spot, we did see a Primanti Bros. I was hesitant since it wasn’t the original location, but I was hungry so I caved. I order the Pittsburgh Cheese “steak.” Being a newbie, I recognized that the quotations would probably lead to disappointment but the description as the “second most popular” menu item meant I had to order it. My companion ordered the pastrami. When the sandwhiches came out, the fresh Italian bread looked so promising. I quickly picked up a half of the sandwich. The cheese steak was apparently a 1/4 inch thick burger ( more like a Salisbury steak considering it looked like it had been simmering in a brown substance for a while). On top were the promised fresh cut French fries…. Slick with oil and a pale creamy color I realized there were not crunchy in the typical sense but rather under cooked under salted blah potatoes. The coleslaw was crunchy, but not particularly flavorful. Actually I would describe both sandwiches as tasteless. Soon after this incident I mention the “supposedly fun thing” to a colleague. He told me the secret. Go out with friends, drink at least 5 beers, head over to Primanti Bros about 1:00 AM and then it will hit the spot. So apparently I will have to do a revisit to Primanti Bros under the correct conditions and I will report back shortly.

About the Author

Posted by Kathryn @ 11:16 PM

I moved to Pittsburgh in the Fall of 2007 for a new job in Oakland. I am a cook with a habit of using recipes as guidelines rather than regulations. As an incurable foodie, my friends and family have said I should make food into a career, but I worry that might take what is a joy and turn it into a chore. Instead, I have decided to chronicle my Pittsburgh experience through food. This blog is a place to review restaurants, recommend recipes, describe kitchen disasters, mention the new kitchen gadget that has caught my eye, share and generally describe Pittsburgh from a non-native perspective. So pierogies and pizza here I come!