Why East Liberty might change even quicker than you think (closing, floor)

[LIRefugee]

Originally Posted by tabinekotaro

A Penn Ave. veggie corridor would be awesome! Salt is also quite vegan friendly. But my first and only visit to Quiet Storm was the worst "I paid for this?" food experience I ever had. (And I'm vegan--so it's not that I wasn't prepared for hippie vegan food.) The tofu scramble was dry and crusty like it had sat out all night, the potatoes were raw in the middle, the bread was stale, seitan sausage was a creepy mush, my boyfriend's non-vegan frittata had eggshells in it, the coffee was wretched. . . . On the bright side our stoned waiter was super nice and canceled our bill when we told him the food was not edible, so we left him a $20. Still, places like that give vegetarian food such a bad reputation.

I've only been there a few times, and though the food has never been fantastic, it's usually been no worse than okay either. How long ago was that?

I like your description of the waiter, it does capture the general feel and ambiance of the place.

[tabinekotaro]

Originally Posted by LIRefugee

I've only been there a few times, and though the food has never been fantastic, it's usually been no worse than okay either. How long ago was that?

I like your description of the waiter, it does capture the general feel and ambiance of the place.

This was in June. Maybe it was just a really off day.

[eschaton]

The seitan melt at Spak Brothers is fantastic. They use the only passable vegan cheese for the vegan version as well. The only negative, IMHO, is the default has lettuce and tomato on it, which I think due to the heat of the sandwich just doesn't fit well.

Quiet Storm, on the other hand, is consistently mediocre to terrible, and has been getting worse. I don't blame the waitstaff, as 90% of the time they are great. I don't even think the cooks are to blame. I think the owner doesn't know how to manage a restaurant. They have a repeated history of introducing some awesome menu item, only to later "streamline" it in some way which makes the entree unappealing or take it away entirely. For example.

1. I used to love the spicy peanut wrap. They switched the method they cooked the wrap from the old method (precooked interior wrapped in cold tortilla) to a sandwich press. Ever since the outer layers (mainly lettuce) have been hot, while the tofu interior has been cold. The flavors are the same, but it ruins the effect.

2. They used to have a middle-eastern themed wrap called the Fez, which was awesome. It had sliced bits of dates and apricots inside of it. Eventually it went away - I suspect because they decided the ingredients were too expensive to put in a regular menu item.

3. My most favorite recent item was a breakfast thing called the Nyam. Originally it was a Caribbean-inspired square of polenta-like cornmeal seasoned with raisins and coconut milk, topped with roasted sweet potatoes and bananas. Sometimes the cornmeal was a bit too hard on the bottom, but it was delicious and I was willing to deal with it. It's now been streamlined to be a bowl of corn mush with mashed sweet potato puree in it, with sliced bananas. The taste is identical, but all of the texture has been taken out, and it's just this gross pile of slop.

I really want to like eating there, because it's a reasonably kid-friendly, and vegan-friendly, restaurant, and Pittsburgh has few. But the best food on the menu is typically no better than what I could make at home, and much of it is significantly worse.

[tabinekotaro]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Quiet Storm, on the other hand, is consistently mediocre to terrible, and has been getting worse. I don't blame the waitstaff, as 90% of the time they are great. I don't even think the cooks are to blame. I think the owner doesn't know how to manage a restaurant. They have a repeated history of introducing some awesome menu item, only to later "streamline" it in some way which makes the entree unappealing or take it away entirely. For example.

1. I used to love the spicy peanut wrap. They switched the method they cooked the wrap from the old method (precooked interior wrapped in cold tortilla) to a sandwich press. Ever since the outer layers (mainly lettuce) have been hot, while the tofu interior has been cold. The flavors are the same, but it ruins the effect.

2. They used to have a middle-eastern themed wrap called the Fez, which was awesome. It had sliced bits of dates and apricots inside of it. Eventually it went away - I suspect because they decided the ingredients were too expensive to put in a regular menu item.

3. My most favorite recent item was a breakfast thing called the Nyam. Originally it was a Caribbean-inspired square of polenta-like cornmeal seasoned with raisins and coconut milk, topped with roasted sweet potatoes and bananas. Sometimes the cornmeal was a bit too hard on the bottom, but it was delicious and I was willing to deal with it. It's now been streamlined to be a bowl of corn mush with mashed sweet potato puree in it, with sliced bananas. The taste is identical, but all of the texture has been taken out, and it's just this gross pile of slop.

That's a really useful assessment—thanks. Most of the issues with the plate that I got were textural ones. Flavors weren't bad at all, in fact the seitan sausage tasted pretty good, but the texture was wrong. Like you described above, gross and sloppy. And I couldn't detect any seitan in it. Seemed more like mashed beans mixed up with TVP and seasoning.

Originally Posted by eschaton

I really want to like eating there, because it's a reasonably kid-friendly, and vegan-friendly, restaurant, and Pittsburgh has few. But the best food on the menu is typically no better than what I could make at home, and much of it is significantly worse.

Forgive a non-Pittsburgh recommendation, but if you and your family ever find yourselves in Morgantown for some reason, there's a really good, veg-friendly and super kid-friendly wrap/burrito joint called Black Bear. I mention it only because I know those places are hard to find.

OK—sorry for the vegetarian diversion!

[eschaton]

Speak of the devil...

Not that it's in East Liberty, but since people were talking about it.

The place really deserves to close. If only something with the same vibe, but good food, opens to take the market. Other cities seem to be able to do it.

[LIRefugee]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Speak of the devil...

Not that it's in East Liberty, but since people were talking about it.

The place really deserves to close. If only something with the same vibe, but good food, opens to take the market. Other cities seem to be able to do it.

I see now reason why a veggie place like that couldn't work here, all it takes is someone with the desire and means to set it up. Until then, there is always Eden in Shadyside, albeit with a completely different feel to it.

[doo dah]

I have just learned that the AVA Lounge will be moving into the former Luna Bar & Grill on N. Craig
Final Days | avapgh

and, apparently, " To utilize the building during the day, Justin is partnering with The Quiet Storm who will operate a coffee shop there from 8am until about 1pm. Sunday brunch will be offered sometime in the future." August 2013 - Bellefield Area Citizens Association (BACA)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Speak of the devil...

Not that it's in East Liberty, but since people were talking about it.

The place really deserves to close. If only something with the same vibe, but good food, opens to take the market. Other cities seem to be able to do it.

Shelter for the Storm? Bill Peduto to the rescue! | Blogh

The café "has become a community center," Peduto tells City Paper. "And to so many people in Pittsburgh, it's an institution. I used to take my nieces there, because it was the hip place Old Uncle Bill could take them. Now they're older, and they go there themselves. It's the Ritter's of a new generation."

I'm not sure he's making a very good case there...

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by doo dah

I have just learned that the AVA Lounge will be moving into the former Luna Bar & Grill on N. Craig
Final Days | avapgh

and, apparently, " To utilize the building during the day, Justin is partnering with The Quiet Storm who will operate a coffee shop there from 8am until about 1pm. Sunday brunch will be offered sometime in the future." August 2013 - Bellefield Area Citizens Association (BACA)

The QS / Ava partnership hasn't been officially announced yet.

[selltheburgh]

The bad news:
The Odeon project might be falling through.

The good news:
Another developer is likely to do something else with that block, but unfortunately not a movie theater.


Some positives for the area:

culturecloz just opened yesterday on Penn near Sneaker Villa across and down from Union Pig and Chicken.

A dentist's office opened in a smaller upper portion of where Borders was. Something else is being built out next to it and I heard it was a Chipotle.

The Highland Ave bridge is supposed to open in less than a month (though it was supposed to be open last week).

The boutiques on the Broad St Mall seem to all be open now.

The residential real estate market seems to just as strong as last year. Possibly of better quality than before, but with less inventory. Lots of gut rehabs going on in Southern Highland Park and all over East Liberty. I can count about 20 total rehabs that have either just finished or that are started between Penn Circle and Wellesley. These each need a bare minimum of $125,000 - more likely $150k - 175k in renovations each. That's at least 3 Million in private money being invested into this section of the city not counting acquisition costs.