Heart in Hand

Posted by Kathryn @ 10:14 AM

Yesterday, we ventured down to the South Side Works for the McCormick and Schmick Happy Hour and a movie. Little did we know that neither would come to be. Apparently everyone else in Pittsburgh had also descended on this small section of town with similar ideas. We found a parking spot and because we had a few minutes ( so we thought), we went into the book store to look around. Once again I got sucked into the cookbooks, while Ian looked at what was in science and math writing. After the relaxing trip to the book store we entered McCormick and Schmick hungry for a 2 dollar burger and quickly realized that there was no way we could get served in the bar area before happy hour ended. Not sure where we should head next we considered our options. I decided that to continue to the bar food theme , Claddaugh's would be our best option. We get there and there is a line, but it is not as crowded as M&S.

I ordered Guiness and fish and chips. The fish was crisp and typical cod. The table had the requisite malt vinegar. The plate came with a very vinegary tartar sauce that was called "irish tarter".... I had hoped that this would be the pleasingly pink concoction sometimes called Rose Marie.... but no luck there. I think the chips may have been sitting a bit and had some sort of unnecessary coating on them. I would suggest that Fish and Chips fans stick to Piper's pub, but in a pinch these were ok.

DH chose a turtle sandwich which had turkey, irish rasher, hard boiled eggs, lettuce, tomato, mayo. It certainly looked appetizing and was well liked. I am happy to report that our Guiness and Harp were very tasty. Unfortunately service was not very responsive and did not bring everything that was requested. In fact compared to a recent excellent experience at Red Robin ( and I usually avoid chains) the service was downright crummy.

We did try to go to the movies but the place was a zoo and we didn't think we would get good seats, so instead we walked around a bit and I spied a new coffee place. Big Dog. I wasn't in the mood for an espresso so we just went over to see whether they had any dessert and what the ambiance was like. The place had a lot of character, colorful walls, comfortable seating, and a fun selection of sweets. I picked out a bakery made version of a HoHo.... it was really really good. So consider this a qualified review of Big Dog.... the sweets are good... the atmosphere is nice, but I can make no comment on the coffee quality.

To Repeat or Not Repeat

Posted by Kathryn @ 4:43 PM

Have you ever been accuse of not repeating things? I think this is the particular woe of the true foodie. There are so many recipes to try and restaurants to visit. Even though I love many of them dearly, I have a tendency to forget about these favorites and instead blaze a new trail. So this blog is to some respects to help me remember the tremendous successes, so I can make sure to revisit them.

This past Monday was my husband's birthday, so I made reservations at a lovely French bistro called Le Pommier on the Carson Street in the Southside. To be honest, visiting this place had been on my mind since the Primanti Bros trip when I passed Le P's window and saw they were serving Thanksgiving Dinner. As we had just moved to Pittsburgh and knew practically no one in town, we had decided to eat out on Thanksgiving day. So I called Le P and was completely crushed to find out they didn't have any seatings left. So Le P was destined for a birthday celebration.

We arrived at 7 PM and realized that the restaurant was kind of quiet, we shouldn't have worried because by 8 PM the restaurant was humming nicely for a Monday evening. We hung our coats in the coat room and sat down near the window. It was chilly, but we both wanted to be able to see the people and traffic pass by. We both chose the $35 four course prix fixe but with different options along the way. We chose a new wine, a Chanin, something I had never tried before. It had a wonderful color and with a few minutes of exposure to air a nice full bodied flavor. I had the squash soup with creme fraiche and chives, a salad verte, cumin crusted bass, and nice little raspberry pot de creme. The crusting on the fish was perfect and even though it was heavy on the spices it had a nice clean fresh taste. He chose the pate, salad verte, roasted chicken with truffle risotto, and macadamia nut ice cream. The risotto was truffley and the chicken had a nice melt in your mouth quality. At the end of the meal, my husband declared that was the best roast chicken he had ever had and that we must come back. While I thought the fish and the pot de creme were perfectly prepared, neither were the best I had ever had and I am afraid the best chicken I have ever had still remains a little restaurant I don't remember the name in Rome. The salad verte could have used a bit more inspiration, but for $35 and four courses at least they made their budgetary cuts on the salad course. I am eager to try some of their regular menu items. So the verdict is that we will definitely be repeating this restaurant! Although we didn't know this when we went, Monday is a fantastic budget night to go because they have a BYOB night where they reduce their corkage fees!

Piper's Pub

Posted by Kathryn @ 10:25 AM

Pittsburgh is a smoking town. As a nonsmoker I fully respect other's right to enjoy a cigarette, but there are those days when I don't feel like coming back from a bar smelling of smoke. On those days I like to stop by Piper's on Carson Street (one of two non-smoking options I know about in that area). I can't say enough about this place. It has a great selection of draughts, good food, and friendly bar tenders. My personal favorite item on the menu is the Ploughman's platter: loaf of bread, gherkins, apple chutney, apple slices, and two cheeses. The cheeses are usually a sage derby and a Guiness Cheddar and both stand up nicely to a pint. I think the platter is enough for two to share for a light dinner. If you are in the mood for more pubby fare I recommend the fish and chips. They will give you a hoagie roll on request, but frankly I don't know how you would put the two massive perfectly beer-battered fish fillets on a roll. The fish is crispy, moist on the inside, and not too greasy. So if you are down on Carson, definitely stop in at Piper's.