Author Archives: Sarah

Capital Cuisine

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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?

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

In Search of Croissants in Pittsburgh

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Check out these 4 awesome places for a flaky, buttery snack in Pittsburgh – due to time and transit constraints the team didn’t make it to Jean-Marc Chatellier’s Bakery in Millvale – I promise you there will be a follow up on that.

(Beautiful pictures by Iva. Words by Sarah and Ray)

In order to bring you info on the best croissants in the city, the I Heart PGH gang went on a croissant tour, sampling four bakeries. (Eating delicious croissants all day was an enormous burden, but you’re welcome.) We chatted with the staff and rated each croissant by buttery-ness, flaky-ness and rip-ability.

La Gourmandine, Lawrenceville

This authentically French bakery has unique pastries and crazy buttery croissants. It’s owned and operated by a French couple who bring their recipes straight from the cafe of Paris. They make their own dough and bake each piece of buttery goodness fresh. They have a few different types of croissants, including a chocolate flavored morsel that perfectly blends cocoa, butter, and bread.

There’s a variety of pastries filled with the likes of pistachio and hazelnut cream and a basket of baguettes. But the real piece de resistance here is the croissants. Make sure the get there early if you want an almond croissant, they tend to sell out.

The space at La Gourmandine is also limited. There’s room to stand and eat your goodies at two tables, but if you’re with a big group, it’s maybe not the best hang-out space.

  • Price: $1.90
  • Buttery-ness: 8.5 (made with European butter)
  • Flaky-ness: 6
  • Rip-ability: 4

Crepes Parisiennes, Oakland

The croissants at Crepes Parisiennes are a delish, but a little more bread-y and dense. Their flaky and crisp outside are a nice contrast to some of the other croissants we tasted, especially when paired with a chocolate filing.

Crepes Parisiennes is a perfect place to meet a friend or two in Oakland. Its service was quite fast and its atmosphere was surprisingly relaxing for a busy cafe in the city. Anyone preparing for a French exam would be wise to study in Crepes Parisiennes for a few hours, so long as the delicious crepes don’t distract you.

  • Price: $1.75
  • Buttery-ness: 5
  • Flaky-ness: 6.5
  • Rip-ability: 6

Allegro Hearth Bakery, Squirrel Hill

Four words: bigger than your face. That’s how big these mega-croissants are at Allegro bakery. In addition to the lovely breads and pastries, there’s a small cheese case if you want to slap a savory topping onto your croissant.

Allegro is nicely situated in the heart of Squirrel Hill on Murray Ave next to the Pinskers Jewish book store. The staff is really friendly and the open space gives you a great view into the bakery. Anyone passing through Squirrel Hill should stop in to Allegro, even if its just to see the biggest Croissants in Pittsburgh.

Take your goodies to go though, this place doesn’t have anywhere to sit.

  • Price: $1.89
  • Buttery-ness: 8
  • Flaky-ness: 9
  • Rip-ability: 6

Paris 66, East Liberty

We all agreed that this was by far the best croissant that we tried all day. Although, we will admit, Paris 66 might have a slightly unfair advantage since they bake your croissants when your order them. Regardless, these babies are good. They’re aesthetically pleasing, in addition to having the most flaky crust and gooey inside we encountered all day.

Inside, the restaurant smells like heaven. Between the fresh bread baking filling the air, the authentic french cuisine, or the beautifully decorated walls, Paris 66 brings the full french cafe experience right to Shady side.  It’s more of a sit-down place, so it might be easier to plan on eating a meal rather than just a cup of coffee and croissant.

  • Price: $2.00
  • Buttery-ness: 7
  • Flaky-ness: 10
  • Rip-ability: 3 (it’s soo gooey)

La Gourmandine on Urbanspoon

Crepes Parisiennes on Urbanspoon

Allegro Hearth Bakery on Urbanspoon

Paris 66 on Urbanspoon

Eat Like a Southerner at Yinzburgh BBQ

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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

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

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.

California Taco Shop on Urbanspoon