Pittsburgh Foodies Thread (Philadelphia, Old Forge, Verona: centers, foods, ranked)

[+Daimon]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I loved his work at Elements--I'm very excited to try that place.

Justin is a great chef, but it was always his charcuterie that really stood out. Him having a place dedicated entirely to his niche would be amazing...I wish I had the opportunity to check it out before moving away from Pittsburgh.

[sskink]

Salt pretty much ruined my wife and I for anywhere else. But we keep trying.

Places we've been to relatively recently:

Went to Verde a few weeks ago. The potential is there, but I couldn't help but feel they're playing it too safe. I think if LBEE disengaged the governor, this place could really take off as a food destination instead of a cool tequila hangout. She's been tweeting a bunch of more creative specials lately that summon up concepts from places like Topolobampo, Maya or Oyamel. Hope that continues as the city really lacks a true Mexican restaurant - a place that serves stuff from states other than Sonora & Baja.

I'd like Winghart's better if they offered more options without blue cheese. They really love their blue cheese. But the fries are great and every restaurant should have a guy like Shipwreck.

Heard great things about Spoon from a reliable source. That's next on our list.

Golden Pig in Cecil. I've heard it's only 2nd best Korean in the area, but I think that's only because of the limited menu. Only so much one person can do. And the staff is only one person. We love it.

Paris66 is a great option for a leisurely brunch. They've recently added dinner. That's on the to-do after Spoon.

KousKous in Mt. Lebo is awesome Moroccan. The bastilla is a work of culinary art. In fact most all the mini-restaurant row in Mt. Lebo is quality: Il Pizzaiolo, Bistro 19, Little Tokyo. Maybe not so much Aladdin or Sesame Inn, but even those aren't bad for Americanized stuff. Orbis Caffe does a Sunday brunch featuring dishes from a different country each month, culminating with dinner from that country the last Friday of the month. This month is the UK. Unfortunately they're not going to try haggis. I don't think anyone here does haggis, do they? Mt. Lebo should rank as one of the best foodie burbs in the country.

I'm no vegan, but the seitan "wings" at Spak Bros might be the best finger food in the entire city.

Heard that Lucy is going to have to move. Apparently the new owners of the building (now Bar Marco) will be doing lunch, so they've asked her to move elsewhere. Not sure where, but I believe she'll be nearby.

Reyna's Taco Stand is better than Las Palmas' taco stand for one reason. Lengua. Las Palmas doesn't offer it. But everything else is great. And the market's prices are amazing. Produce is good quality, they smoke/season a lot of their meats (ready-made fajita/burrito fillings) and a lot of Mexican stuff you can't find even at Reyna's or up in Beechview. If only they had corn/marigold fed chickens like in Mexico, it would be perfect!

I'm usually loathe to say anything positive about a chain, but Anthony's Coal Fired is much needed out Robinson way. It's not up to Grimaldi's/Lombardi's/Pepe's standards for coal-fired fans, but surprised us by actually being very decent.

The calamari fra' diavolo at LaTavolo may be the best I've had around here. Sadly, that and being BYO is about all I can recommend about the place.

On the pizza front, Claudio's down on Painter's Run shot to our "top 5" pizza places. The meatballs are excellent. Pizza A'Badamo and Harry's are up there too. It may well be that the overall pizza scene in the South Hills is overtaking Sq Hill in quality, if not reputation.

10 years ago it used to be that we didn't go out much because we'd tried everything we'd heard was any good (and it often wasn't). Now we can't keep up with all the openings. Yay Pittsburgh food.

[newpgher]

Just wanted to comment on the tacos and sskink's comment that Reyna's is better than Las Palmas because they offer lengua. I'm a big lengua taco fan myself, but I have to say that Reyna's was somewhat disappointing for me. Yes, their lengua is pretty tender, but not all that flavorful. I've definitely had better, but not here in Pittsburgh, so I suppose if lengua is a must, then it is by that definition, better than Las Palmas.
Las Palmas, on the other hand, has great taco offerings that span the gamut, minus lengua: carnitas, chorizo, chicken, steak, ground beef, carne asada, and barbacoa (amazingly tender and made from beef cheek meat, which also means great flavor and some fat). I might have forgotten one. In any case, their condiments are the real thing- fresh, vibrant flavors that go beyond the standard tomato salsa or salsa verde, and the habanero offering definitely packs a nice burn. Another thing I feel that puts Las Palmas above the tacos at Reyna's is their grilling of the corn tortillas on the plancha, resulting in a slightly crispy and chewy texture. When I went with a couple friends very seasoned in consuming Mexican food, we all had to go back for more tacos before leaving the store.
Oh, not in any way affiliated with either place.
For anyone who likes tacos, both are worth the try.

[DurangoJoe]

Il Pizzaiolo is in my opinion highly overrated. I'll admit to being a bit of a pizza snob having grown up in eastern PA with all of the great east coast pizza available to me. The pizza was mediocre at best and way, way overpriced. The crust was not properly baked and the toppings sparse and applied with no balance whatsoever. The salad was again...mediocre at best. I really don't understand why people rave about this place. Nothing stands out yet the place was jam packed and we had to wait for a table for 20 minutes.

People rave about it but for a town in which great pizza is few & far between, I'd much rather go to Vincent's or any of the small wood fired oven pizza restaurants. At least they're striving to give their customers great product. Il Pizzaiolo looked to me like a restaurant that was doing nothing more than cashing in on reputation, and for me it wasn't a deserved reputation.

I wouldn't go back.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by SoButCounty

I'll admit to being a bit of a pizza snob having grown up in eastern PA with all of the great east coast pizza available to me.

You drove to places like Grimaldi's, Lombardi's, Pepe's, Sally's, Di Fara, Tarry Lodge and Santarpio's all the way from Eastern PA for pizza?? Impressive dedication.

Originally Posted by SoButCounty

The crust was not properly baked

To say you didn't like it is one thing and perfectly acceptable. To say it wasn't properly baked would imply you have the same training as a pizzaiolo as does Ron, which is highly dubious.

Originally Posted by SoButCounty

I really don't understand why people rave about this place.

You'd be very surprised just how many Il Pizzaiolo regulars have been to Italy multiple times. It draws a more worldly crowd from all over the Pgh metro than what you'll find at Vincents or any other local joint. Not saying that to imply snobbishness, just that a large percentage of their customers actually have the experience to compare Il Piz's pizzas favorably to what they've had in Napoli, Roma, Bologna, wherever.

For un-Americanized pizza, no place in PA does it better, IMO. Maybe Neapolitan pizza is not to your taste, which is fine. Many people here like Beto's and Campitis, both of which would be jokes in the NJ/NY/CT/RI/MA pizza corridor. Pizza Hut and Domino's are still growing by offering increasingly grotesque ways to package dough and cheese. Vocelli regularly wins best pizza polls locally because they're everywhere and more people know the name than say, A'pizza Badamo or any other one-shop indie that would be far more deserving.

You're more likely to see Southern Baptists, Unitarians and Scientologists agree on a presidential candidate than get agreement on what the best pizza is.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by sskink

You're more likely to see Southern Baptists, Unitarians and Scientologists agree on a presidential candidate than get agreement on what the best pizza is.

Hahaha. This.

Pizza is SO subjective.

I'm reasonably certain the pizza at Il Pizzaiolo was cooked correctly. It's just that you didn't care for true Neapolitan style pizza sounds like, which is fine. Not everyone does. I like various different styles of pizza, and while I don't get down to Mt Lebo that often, and I haven't been to Italy to compare, I do enjoy their pizza.

There's no one perfect ideal style of pizza IMO. There's room for many different types.

BTW, don't go to Dinette. That pizza is also thin and floppy, not traditional Neapolitan, but the crust is rather similar in my experience.

[newpgher]

Originally Posted by sskink

To say you didn't like it is one thing and perfectly acceptable. To say it wasn't properly baked would imply you have the same training as a pizzaiolo, which is highly dubious.

Why would one need specialized training to proffer an opinion on a crust? If a crust is noticeably under or over baked, it's fairly easy to tell: the under baked crust flops and/or won't cut and is somewhat gummy underneath the toppings; over baked, best case scenario is dry, worst case is burnt. For instance, last night's pie that I got from Mineo's was under baked. Claiming that one would require specialized training to detect what is easily observable is highly dubious.

[greg42]

In my experience, if one is not familiar with Neapolitan pizza, one might assume that its crust was under baked. But it isn't.

[Mtl-Cns]

Originally Posted by SoButCounty

Il Pizzaiolo is in my opinion highly overrated. I'll admit to being a bit of a pizza snob having grown up in eastern PA with all of the great east coast pizza available to me. The pizza was mediocre at best and way, way overpriced. The crust was not properly baked and the toppings sparse and applied with no balance whatsoever. The salad was again...mediocre at best. I really don't understand why people rave about this place. Nothing stands out yet the place was jam packed and we had to wait for a table for 20 minutes.

People rave about it but for a town in which great pizza is few & far between, I'd much rather go to Vincent's or any of the small wood fired oven pizza restaurants. At least they're striving to give their customers great product. Il Pizzaiolo looked to me like a restaurant that was doing nothing more than cashing in on reputation, and for me it wasn't a deserved reputation.

I wouldn't go back.

Honestly, when in Naples Italy 2 summers ago we had a taxi driver take us to an "Authentic Neapolitan Pizzeria." The one he chose (it was called "Pizzaiola del Presidente" because Bill Clinton had eaten there) had the very same "Vera Pizza" sign that Il Pizzaiolo has in Mt. Lebanon, and I can verify that it tasted EXACTLY the same in Naples as it does in Mt. Lebanon, which is pretty amazing. I guess it's just a matter of taste and you're not a fan of that style of pizza. But if you want the real thing -- it's it and it is absolutely spot on, albeit very different from an American style pizza.

Incidentally, you can also try to recreate this pizza at home. The type of flour that is used in Naples (and Mt. Lebanon) is called Ca**** Tipo 00, and it's available at Penn Mac. $5 for a 5 lb bag. I've played around with it it's great -- it makes for a very elastic dough.

[greg42]

LOL It censored the name of the flour. Wonder what word is in there?