Author Archives: Sarah

About Sarah

I'm a Cali girl, born and raised. I just moved to the Burgh, where I'm working as a freelance journalist and blogger. I love french fries and if you like pretty or nerdy things, you can follow me at my blog with a silly name: http://dapperblossom.wordpress.com/

Capital Cuisine

[note] The Capital Grille invited us to try their new small plates meals – here is a run down of the visit. What places downtown or elsewhere do you think offer a quick, tasty lunch? [/note]

One of the city’s tastiest (and more expensive) restaurants is making life easier for The Burgh’s lunch crowd.

The Capital Grille, which is located on 5th Avenue downtown, just added new seasonal fare to its “small plates” menu.

Launched in October last year, the small plates give diners the opportunity to choose any combination of a starter, entree and side — a completely satisfying meal for $18 (which is chump change at the Grille) and it’s quick!

Designed for a quick lunch, both courses are served in about 45 minutes, so you can down your martini and get back to the office.

Lucky for us, the Capital Grille gave the I Heart PGH crew the chance to sample a bit of the menu.

To start, we tried the carrot ginger soup and the clam chowder. Both were delectable. The clam chowder was definitely good, but not a stand out from other clam chowders. However, the carrot ginger soup was a whole ‘nother story. Not too carrot-y and not too ginger-y, this seemingly wacky concoction hit the spot. The carrot flavor is subtle and the ginger gives it just enough kick, without feeling like you shoved a sushi plate side-item in your mouth.

For entrees, we tried the lobster roll and beef tenderloin sliders. The Capital Grille lobster roll has no shortage of lobster-y goodness. It’s packed with fresh ingredients and is almost too big to finish. Even better are the tenderloin sliders. The beef is insanely tender and flavorful, and they’re served on soft, buttery mini brioche buns slathered in herb cream cheese. The truffle fries could stand alone, but still make the perfect complement to the rich sliders. No side of ketchup or ranch for dipping needed, which says a lot for this crowd.

If you’ve got enough time left, the Capital Grille has a saliva-inducing list of sweet treats to top off your meal (we recommend the creme brulee or the trio of homemade ice cream).

Here are some other small plate options:

Wagyu Cheeseburger with Fried Egg and Crisp Onions
Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese
Seared Sea Scallops with Sweet and Sour Tomatoes

Eat Like a Southerner at Yinzburgh BBQ

Pittsburgh is a city of many things, bridges, French Fries on everything, some of the friendliest people in America, and now with the recent addition of YinzBurgh BBQ, Pittsburgh is the home of an authentic Southern Barbeque. Located right on Baum Boulevard in Bloomfield, YinzBurgh is owned and operated by Richard Coursey, a native of Southern Georgia. Richard came to Pittsburgh originally as an engineer and decided to open his own restaurant and says he is as happy as he’s ever been.

YinzBurgh has three equally unique sauces it serves with all of its dishes, all having distinct Southern origins. All of the meat and tofu (YinzBurgh is proudly vegetarian and vegan friendly) is properly rubbed and smoked, keeping true to its Southern Roots.

After a little I Heart PGH field trip, we recommend the BBQ sandwiches. Not only is the meat delicious, but the sauce is served on the side so you can mix it up and dictate just how messy your eating experience is. And all of the sides are to die for. The coleslaw is creamy and delightful with just the right amount of tang, the black-eyed peas have the perfect texture and don’t even get us started on the mac and cheese! Also, a cold beverage from Burgh-based soda company Red Ribbon makes the perfect complement.

Rich is a very friendly man and if he’s not too busy, he will let you taste each sauce and happily talk with you about his restaurant and the food he is so proud of.

A California Girl Finds Tacos in Pittsburgh

[note] Say hello to Sarah! She has just moved to Pittsburgh from the west coast and will be blogging about discovering Pittsburgh[/note]

A recent misfortune that resulted in my getting lost for an hour around the West End Bridge led to a happy mistake: finding the California Taco Shop in Overbrook.

This place has been on my mind since I moved out here about two months ago from San Diego and it did not disappoint. And since I was the only person in the joint, I chatted with the owner, Gustavo, who’s also a fellow (former) San Diegan.

Gustavo opened the shop about three months ago and made it a point to serve “San Diego-style” Mexican fare, which means California burritos (meaning there’s a big-ole smack of fries thrown in), carne asada fries and the San Diego staple: the breakfast burrito.

Our friend Gustavo was born in Ensenada and because of this claims he makes a mean fish taco. I have yet to try one, but I can only imagine.

This place is pretty reasonably priced, a little out of the way along Route 51, but still worth it if you want to try a West Coast specialty.

I recommend my favorite, the pollo asado fries, they’re even great reheated the next day.

You can find the California Taco Shop on Yelp here.