today i patronized one of downtown’s few independent and reasonably priced lunch vendors. hot dogma serves up fresh and tasty meals with a mission. today i had a veggie el greco- this is a veggie dog covered with artichoke hearts and feta cheese, and boy is it good. i like it so much that i haven’t ventured beyond it on the menu but, for the reasons mentioned above, i will be going back. there are salads and soups and smoothies for me to try too. plus, they give you one of those punch cards, so you can get a free dog one day. if all of that isn’t enough, it’s also a nice place to hang out. they’re on oliver avenue in the basement of a church. go check it out!
Category Archives: Food & Drink
JoJo’s in the Strip (NPR hearts Pittsburgh!)
Hear Jane and Michael Stern say nice things about JoJo’s in the Strip in this clip from The Splendid Table, a show you can hear each week on WDUQ 90.5 at 4 p.m. on Sundays. (Thanks to Lli on LiveJournal for the link.)
coca cafe, lawrenceville
ok, so i listed it as a fav under the 16:62 design zone this morning, but then i actually went there for lunch. once again, i was blown away by the food. i had a three mushroom omlette with oyster mushrooms, jarlsburg cheese and herbs. my fellow luncher had an egg white omlette with spinach, tomatoes, basil and goat cheese. i’ll venture to say they were both excellent, and reasonably priced. my chai latte was pretty good too. it took a good bit for the food to appear, but was worth the wait. as i implied in my earlier reference, their sunday morning brunch [with weekly specials] is amazing. you can find coca cafe at 3811 butler street. their hours: Tue.-Fri. 7AM-3PM, Sat. 8AM-4PM & Sun. 10AM-3PM. contact: 412.621.3171.
Best bar in the Burgh?
What’s the best bar in Pittsburgh? My vote goes to Duke’s, located in that no-man’s land between North Oakland and Bloomfield. Why?
1) It’s dirt cheap.
2) The clientele is a mix of tattooed lowlives, bicycle punks, homeless people, and grad students.
3) The jukebox isn’t exactly a music snob’s iPod, but for a bar, it’s good.
4) It’s dirt cheap. (amazingly, they carry good beer as well as the usual (delicious) crap– Arrogant Bastard or Franziskaner for way less than the Sharp Edge)
6) I’ve almost gotten into a fight there at least three times.
7) One time I roll in a midnight to find the bar packed with people, staring silently at the TV and watching… Lord of the Rings!
8) The current bartender looks like a short The Rock.
The place for Sunday brunch
When you think of the finest in Pittsburgh cuisine, you tend to think of delicious foods that go straight for the old ticker. Perogies and onions dripping in butter, sandwiches stacked six-inches high with fries. You probably don’t think of organic vegetarian fare served up on thick painted glass inside an antique store. The Zenith Café on 26th and Sarah in the South Side serves up some amazing grub. Sunday brunch done right. For 10 bucks, you get a choice of entrée, coffee, and access to the buffet. My recent Zenith experience was all about their egg and veg creation. Not sure what it was but damn was it good. Now there’s all sorts of stuff on the buffet, but the cake and pie selection is phenomenal. Vegan chocolate cake, peanut butter pie…
So the food is amazing but the vibe is what makes the place. I recently brought an out-of-towner to Sunday brunch and we sat at a table with four others. We shared eggs with two artists, a computer engineer, and bartender/singer. Good people, some hilarious stories, and helpful info (I learned about Free Ride — a non-profit recycle-a-bike shop in Point Breeze.).
Yeah, Pamela’s knows pancakes, and the egg sandwich at Ritter’s is immortal, but Zenith is worth a visit. Go there once and you’ll be back.
Check out their website at http://www.zenithpgh.com.