Over and underrated local establishments? (Pittsburgh, Forest Hills: price, sushi, eat)

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Overrated: Mancini's Bread. I mean it's alright, but not "Grandma would buy nothing but Mancini's every week" good like some make it out. Breadworks and Sunseri's bread are tons better.

Underrated: Teppanyaki Kyoto. If we're talking authentic, this is the authentic Japanese restaurant in Pittsburgh. Bomb ass takoyaki and okonomiyaki. The problem is that people automatically assume Japanese = sushi/hibachi. When they realize this place does neither they poop a little.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Meh. Lidia's is a chain. The food is very good, in my opinion, but I think it receives the right amount of hype for what it is. It's always been fairly crowded whenever we've been there.

There might be good reasons to avoid Lidia Bastianich properties, I don't know. I've heard that her attitude is she is doing a favor for the little people by having the restaurants here and Kansas City. Everything else is NYC. And yes there are 4 or 5 restaurants there but all different.

I don't think it counts as a chain. It's actually less so than some of the other celeb chef properties. Possibly the one here and KC are similar enough but I don't think two properties makes "chain" in a meaningful way.

It's like saying Eleven/Kaya/Umi/Soba/Casbah are a chain. Or Six-Penn and The Porch. Or Meat and Potatoes and Butcher and the Rye. Sure, common ownership, but that is different than manufacturing and duplicating the same concept to many outlets.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by greg42

It's like saying Eleven/Kaya/Umi/Soba/Casbah are a chain. Or Six-Penn and The Porch. Or Meat and Potatoes and Butcher and the Rye. Sure, common ownership, but that is different than manufacturing and duplicating the same concept to many outlets.

Those are concept restaurants operated under the same subsidiary. They won't become chains unless those same restaurants are opened in other cities. Lidia's is a chain the way The Prime Rib is a chain (great steakhouse in Philly, Baltimore, and DC).

[SteelCityRising]

OVERRATED: Primanti's, as has already been mentioned.
Eat 'n Park: (Bland)
Steak 'n Shake: (Horrid customer service)
King's: (Bland)
Del's: (It's "super rad awesome" now just because it was on TV).
Sun Penang: (We think it's overpriced for what you get).
Alexander's (A "Bloomfield institution" my arse).
Thai Cuisine (good food, but I'm always still hungry).
Gooski's (grouchy bartender)
Mad Mex (are there ANY Mexicans working here?)
Mineo's (good---but not THAT good!)
Industry (way overpriced; service was awful the last time we went)


UNDERRATED: Piccolo Forno, as has already been mentioned.
William Penn Tavern (good wings)
Los Cabos (authentic, reasonably-priced, yummy)
Tana (seems like nobody even knows where it is)
Max's Allegheny Tavern (cheap, good food; nice atmosphere)
Giovanni's (nobody in the East End has heard of this place, but we love it!)
Village Trattoria & Tavern (great food, great prices, great atmosphere)
Antney's Ice Cream (seems like only West Enders know about this place)
Coriander (above-average Indian food, decent pricing, never crowded for some reason)

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

OVERRATED: Primanti's, as has already been mentioned.
Eat 'n Park: (Bland) [agreed; if you want good diner food, schlep out to Drew's Family Restaurant in Forest Hills. Puts Ritters to shame]

Steak 'n Shake: (Horrid customer service) [Only been once or twice. It's fast food; I take it for what it's worth.]

King's: (Bland) [Agreed {see "Eat 'n Park"}]

Del's: (It's "super rad awesome" now just because it was on TV). [It was Barilla pasta + Progresso sauce when I went. Have they now upped the ante to Rao's--or at least Newman's Own? ]

Sun Penang: (We think it's overpriced for what you get). [Never been.]

Alexander's (A "Bloomfield institution" my arse). [One of the first restaurants I went to in Pittsburgh. It was a touch better than Del's. Pittsburgh has a terrible little Italy, which is an absolute shame, because the city has no shortage of Italians {though many of them seem to know very little about their own culinary culture }]

Thai Cuisine (good food, but I'm always still hungry). [I don't eat Thai very often. If you ever get the opportunity, try Burmese food. It's like a "best-of" fusion between Thai and Indian.]

Gooski's (grouchy bartender) [Never been.]

Mad Mex (are there ANY Mexicans working here?) [I like Mad Mex for happy hour every now and again. Otherwise, nothing special. The one in U City is much larger/nicer than the one in Oakland.]

Mineo's (good---but not THAT good!) [I find "Pittsburgh-style pizza" of any stripe to be abominable. Piccolo Forno makes good artisan pies.]

Industry (way overpriced; service was awful the last time we went) [Never been.]


UNDERRATED: Piccolo Forno, as has already been mentioned. Excellent food at an excellent price.

William Penn Tavern (good wings) [Never been.]

Los Cabos (authentic, reasonably-priced, yummy) [Never been.]

Tana (seems like nobody even knows where it is) [Never been.]

Max's Allegheny Tavern (cheap, good food; nice atmosphere) [YES YES YES!!! It's a surprisingly well-kept secret, at least it tends to be a well-kept secret from the younger set. Great place to take dates. ]

Giovanni's (nobody in the East End has heard of this place, but we love it!) [Never been.]

Village Trattoria & Tavern (great food, great prices, great atmosphere) [Never been.]

Antney's Ice Cream (seems like only West Enders know about this place) [Never been.]

Coriander (above-average Indian food, decent pricing, never crowded for some reason) [Never been.]

You've given me some places to add to my restaurant list next time I'm in PGH.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

You've given me some places to add to my restaurant list next time I'm in PGH.

Naturally my list was all subjective. I may try Union Grill and dislike it just as you may order a pizza from Giovanni's (6th Ave., Downtown) sometime and abhor it.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Naturally my list was all subjective. I may try Union Grill and dislike it just as you may order a pizza from Giovanni's (6th Ave., Downtown) sometime and abhor it.

All these lists are subjective. But I am an ice cream connoisseur and I've spent preciously little time in the West End so I think I'll check out Artney's (I promise not to come after you with a pitchfork if I'm dissatisfied ).

And come to think of it, I did have Giovanni's pizza once. A high school acquaintance raved about it. I was underwhelmed, though not disgusted. I usually do like Greek-owned pizzeria pies ("pizza + pasta" is usually a giveaway), at least the pan-baked ones. But I think this one was hand-tossed?

[greg42]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Lidia's is a chain the way The Prime Rib is a chain (great steakhouse in Philly, Baltimore, and DC).

Yes the two of them might be like that, but I don't think people are dismissive of The Prime Rib as "Oh it's a chain". But the rest of Lidia's restaurants (i.e. Felidia, Becco, etc.) though are just as I described in those other groups, several different concepts under common ownership and in her case all in NYC. Or maybe not even truly common ownership sometimes, more like common name recognition. (Sometimes the star chef types will have different investors in each property. I don't know if that is the case for Lidia.)

In terms of over/under hype, it is probably neither, as noted. I just found it a little odd to go "Meh, a chain" as if it's freakin Olive Garden. Or, for that matter, as if there's something automatically different about food prep if it's not a chain. A lot of non-chains are also crap. All told I'd rather eat at an independent place. Something like Lidia's, well, it falls somewhere in the middle. It's not a particularly large restaurant group. But there is an additional business empire of sorts around the figurehead.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Mad Mex (are there ANY Mexicans working here?)

Whether or not you think Mad Mex is overrated, it was never intended to be authentic Mexican food.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Whether or not you think Mad Mex is overrated, it was never intended to be authentic Mexican food.

There are better places for Tex Mex (Steel Cactus for example).