Category Archives: Restaurants

Pittsburgh Restaurant Week 2012: January 16-22

Next week forget about cooking and cleaning up your kitchen, and make a reservation somewhere for Pittsburgh Restaurant Week! From January 16-22, participating Pittsburgh restaurants will be offering discounted specials and dining options for locals to get out and enjoy some delicious food at inexpensive prices.

It’s a chance for people from the city, suburbs, and surrounding areas to eat out at some great local restaurants even if they’re on a budget. OpenTable has teamed up with Pittsburgh Restaurant Week to make your dinner plans even easier by letting you make reservations online for select restaurants.

The following is a list of restaurants that we are hoping to check out next week, the full list can be found here.

Alma Pan-Latin Kitchen Regent Square $25 Fixed-price Three-Course Meal
Bite Bistro Bellevue $15 Fixed-price Three-Course Meal
Bocktown Beer and Grill Monaca and Robinson $20.12 Tapas-style Meal with Beer Pairings
Braddock`s American Brasserie Downtown Pittsburgh $25 Fixed-price Three-Course Meal
BRiX Northside $30 for Four-Course Dinner for Two
Meat & Potatoes Downtown Pittsburgh $30 Fixed-price Three-Course Meal
Mediterrano Millvale $30 Fixed-price Three-Course Meal
Pino’s Contemporary Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar Point Breeze $30 Fixed-price Three Course Meal
The Porch at Schenley Oakland $30 Fixed-price Three/Four-Course Meal
Toast! kitchen & wine bar Bloomfield $30 Fixed-price Four-Course Meal
Verde Mexican Kitchen & Cantina Garfield $25 Fixed-price Three-Course Meal

Hot Dog! 5 New Restaurants to Open in 2012

Over the holidays, the Post-Gazette reported that over 30 restaurants opened in Pittsburgh last year! Which new restaurant was your favorite? We are looking forward to trying a bunch during Pittsburgh Restaurant Week.

2012 is already looking like another great year for the Pittsburgh food scene as well. Here are a few openings to look forward to…

Station Street Hot Dogs
Salt of the Earth’s Kevin Sousa and partners are reopening the hot dog shop that is located behind the new Target in East Liberty. Pittsburgh food blogger Cooking For My Dad has been tweeting with Station Street about their new menu.

Union Pig and Chicken
Kevin Sousa is also working on opening a BBQ place on Highland Ave in East Liberty. Discount gift cards are available online here.

Winghart’s Burger and Whiskey Bar to Open South Side Location
While we haven’t had a chance to visit the Market Square Location, we have been hearing rave reviews of this place. The Post-Gazette’s Bill Toland is tweeting that they will be opening a South Side location soon.

Wild Purveyors to Open a Market in Lawrenceville
Brothers Tom and Cavan Patterson have been selling their Certified Organic and/or sustainable farm fresh produce, and meats at the public market and directly to restaurants since 2009. With the help of a very successful Kickstarter campaign they will be opening their own storefront in Lawrenceville in the next month or so.

Walnut Grill to Open in Mt. Lebanon?
The Post-Gazette reported that Molly Brannigans in Mt. Lebanon closed in early December. The building has been purchased by the owners of the Walnut Grill.

Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible in Town to Makeover Bloomfield Restaurant

Earlier this year I stumbled upon the Food Network show Restaurant Impossible. In each episode the host, Robert Irvine, steps in to help a struggling local establishment with a kitchen, menu, staff and decor makeover. This show is interesting to watch because part of it is about helping local restaurants learn to succeed. And it is fun to see the extreme makeover of the place happen on a $10,000 in just a few days.

We have just learned from the Yelp Pittsburgh message board that Restaurant Impossible is taking over Del’s in Bloomfield today and tomorrow. Del’s is a third generation Pittsburgh institution that we have long been a fan of, but honestly haven’t dined there in a few yeas. But from the looks of the recent reviews of Del’s on Urbanspoon it seems things are struggling a bit at Del’s. Hopefully a visit from the Food Network will mean good things for this Bloomfield Establishment.

Here is a clip of Restaurant Impossible:

Also interesting is that a local chef and author of the blog Pittsburgh Hot Plate will be assisting with the Restaurant Impossible makeover. The Forest Hills Patch is reporting that Chef Chuck Kerber will be part of the show. The Food Network contacted Kerber because of his not so great review of Del’s. Kerber will be featured on the show and will write a new review after Del’s re-opens.

Restaurant Impossible (ourdinnertable.wordpress.com)
‘Restaurant: Impossible’ Gives a Mexican Sports Bar a Makeover (VIDEO) (aoltv.com)
Restaurant? – Impossible? (k8edid.wordpress.com)

Cafe Reopens at The Union Project

We are thrilled to learn that the cafe space at The Union Project has reopened as Cafe Ola Appetite! The Union Project is a former church that through a lot of volunteer work has been transformed into a community space. The cafe closed a few years ago and they have been searching for the right person to take over the cafe space.

The Union Project is located at the corner of Stanton and Negly Avenues in East Liberty. It is a great place to meet for a lunch or coffee meeting because there is a bus stop right out front and plenty of street parking.

Image by 18brumaire via Flickr

You can read more about the cafe on the Post-Gazette’s Walkabout blog here.

Cafe Ola Appetite Hours:

Monday-Friday 8am-3pm
Saturday 8am-5pm

The Waffles Are That Good

Image via Wikipedia

“The waffles are that good” was a line from the email sent to me by my friend Lesley – she stopped into Waffalonia for a quick dinner and was delighted with the entire experience. I suggested she write a little review of Waffalonia – here is her rave review of the place.

Waffalonia is located on Murray avenue near Forbes in Sq. Hill – this is the space where Dozen cupcakes used to be located.

You may not have noticed, but Squirrel Hill is home to another delicious new eatery. Tucked in between Coldstone Creamery and Razzy Fresh, you could easily miss Wafflonia, the recently opened Belgian waffle shop on Murray Avenue. I strongly caution against this. I lived in Belgium for two years. Over there waffles are street food, made fresh, served in wax paper, and eaten while strolling around town. They are considered more for snacks or dessert than breakfast. Folks, Wafflonia is the real deal: delicious, cheap, and easy-going. I visited Wafflonia recently at the end of a long work day. The waffles are crunchy on the outside, warm and sugary on the inside. I quickly devoured mine, then licked my fingers clean. My spirits brightened instantly. With its understated décor and warm lighting, Wafflonia is the perfect place to duck into on a chilly late winter evening. When the weather warms up, we will simply adapt by ordering the waffle-ice cream combo. Or maybe the waffle with nutella and bananas. Wafflonia deserves to be a huge success. Go there. Go there now.

Check out Lesley’s photo blog Plum for the Road with lots of Pittsburgh photos.