Bad Indian Lunch Buffet tour

Posted by Kathryn @ 1:35 PM

This is a long standing tradition with my friend Aman. Unfortunately, now we are separated by hundreds of miles and therefore cannot get large groups of friends together for lunch. Essentially the concept was that we would go to as many Indian buffets as possible in the suburbs of DC and then decide what was the worst buffet. I figure Aman's votes should have counted double at least at the Punjabi options, but as you might expect. We didn't really ever make it to the voting stage of this endeavor. After trying a plethora of places we all just fell into a comfortable format of one or two favorite locations. You can tell how serious we were about the "bad" portion of the tour. Once one of our favorite places had a fly in with the lentil soup that you eat with Idli and we realized that we were back to our original plan after all... the bad Indian buffet had crept up on us, when we least expected it.

So with my fond memories of checking out all of the Indian options, I decided to try a similar adventure here in PGH! My first outing with the Indian buffet group (although this time without the desire to find the worst) was a small but cordial bunch of coworkers. We all had previously had Star of India and thought it was time to branch out a bit. We decided to trudge through the slush on Craig up to Namaste (at Centre ave). When we got there, to our surprise... there was no buffet! A buffet table yes, but actual buffet, no. So we quickly turned around and visited Tamarind on Craig. Apropos of little, the name reminded me of the tamarind paste I love on South American snow cones, oh how I look forward to those. It was a Friday during lent, so I was quite happy with the vegetarian selections at this South Indian buffet. In comparison to Star of India I liked the vegetarian selections better at Tamarind, but the naan is far superior at Star of India. My meat eating companions seemed like the meat entrees could be better... aka meatier, but considering the other foods on the buffet were quite diverse, and the regional influence this did not surprise me. I was terribly disappointed with the fried lentil patties ( look like yellow indian falafel) that were reminiscent of hockey pucks. I had expected so much more from this mouth searing south indian delight that I had enjoyed from Amma's Vegetarian Kitchen in Virginia so many times. The potatoes with coconut were my hands down favorite of the day. In general though, I would say it is worth stopping through until I do find the veritable best Indian buffet in town.

So now the question is, where should the next stop be on the Indian buffet tour of Pittsburgh! I am contemplating Prince of India or Peoples. We will have to wait and see.

Il Valletto

Posted by Kathryn @ 10:37 AM

Today I had a networking lunch with someone who helped me find a job here in Pittsburgh. As she had been a student at CMU but had not been around campus much recently she recommended that we check out Il Valletto on Forbes. She couldn't quite remember the name, only that some of the guys at school called it "Romantic's." Which I suppose is a fitting name from a college student's perspective. Il Valletto is right about Panther Hollow next to a vintage clothing store. I had peered in the window several times and wondered about this curiousity that combines card tables and folding chairs with white table clothes.

My friend was held up looking for a place to park, so I had a chance to peruse the menu and note the special prix fixe options for Valentines Day. While I don't think is on my romantic list, it was a good lunch option in Oakland. I had the veal and pancetta tortellini in vodka sauce with a cup of spicy white bean soup. The soup was not spicy as advertised, but had good flavor and was perfect on such a chilly day. The tortellini was generously sized, with a nice flavor, but also did not knock my socks off. So for an average italian meal at a student size price, Il Valletto's is a place to consider.

Orient Express

Posted by Kathryn @ 3:27 PM

So I have passed the Orient Express almost every day since beginning work in Oakland.  I always dismissed it because I am not a big bubble tea aficianado.  Today though, my husband suggested we try it out for lunch.  It is a simple restaurant with more ambiance then the neighboring Little Asia but less then Lulu's Noodle. 

I opened the "dinner" menu and found on the last page a lunch menu.  The typical suspects were present but I was pleasantly surprised to see Chinese Casseroles and other combinations on the adjoining page.  I ordered beef curry with rice.  The beef was pleasantly tender, there was no grizzle or visible fat to speak of, the sauce was nice but not over powering, and the portion was enormous.  It could just be that beef potato and rice are filling, but it seemed like a mountain of food.  For under 6 dollars I essentially bought myself two meals, which while not gourmet were nice winter comfort food.  My husband ordered his perennial favorite at all Chinese restaurants, the lo mein lunch special.  The vegetables looked fresh, the chicken was tender, and it seemed slightly less greasy than his favorite version, but on the whole had less soy flavor than he expected.  One the side came a chicken teriyaki skewer.  My husband thought it was good, but I thought it was rather bland and on the tough side.  We both agreed that we would come back for the beef curry though!