Tag Archives: Lunch

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

The Red Oak Cafe is Rooted in Pittsburgh

Karen D. has the correct answer to the most recent photo trivia – this picture is the writing above the door at the Red Oak Cafe in Oakland.  Friend of IheartPGH suggested this place for lunch earlier this month and I have been back twice.  You can read my review of Red Oak Cafe here on Yelp.

Whats Yelp? – Yelp is a great website that lets users review all sorts of local places – anyone can write a review.  Sign up and help put Pittsburgh on the Yelp map.

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Links Worth a Look – September 3rd

Here are some links/articles/blog posts that are worth a look:

  • Designer Days: NCJW, – Each year the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women holds a massive clothing sale of new and used clothing at the Expo Mart. I have gottned some great things here in the past. If you are a clothing shopper this is worth a stop. The 2008 sale is on October 18 and 19.
  • Flavorville Cafe – this is the BEST place for lunch in Pittsburgh. Mike fed me lunch almost daily for a year. Mike is awesome and this place is tasty and affordable. I can't believe I haven't blogged about them yet. I will have to make a visit there and write more about Flavorville.
  • pairIncubator – World-Class Web Technology Incubator – this looks really cool – the folks behind pair networks are looking for a few good businesses to incubate. deadline is Jane 2, 2009.

Click here to see more links we like.

Brad Yoder @ Franktuary

Brad Yoder is a Pittsburgh based rock star. Brad performs all over the country, but most often here in Pittsburgh. True story – my dad happened to be in Colorado and ran into Brad performing. I am familiar with Brad’s music as my sister and her friends are huge fans and almost every mix cd in the car has some Brad Yoder tracks.
Brad was recently voted best solo artist by Pittsburgh City Paper readers.
brad
Tomorrow, Friday, January 4th Brad will be performing at Franktuary from noon to 1:30pm. Another great reason to leave your office, stop eating holiday left overs (christmas cookies don’t really count as lunch anyways) and head over to see the good folks at Franktuary.

Franktuary 325 Oliver Ave, Downtown Pittsburgh.

Check out Brad Yoder’s awesome website – www.BradYoder.com – awesome website with great design by Pittsburgh artist Mike Budai.