Review: E2 (“E-Squared”)
Posted by mike | Filed under Reviews
I firmly believe that a good staff makes a restaurant. Front of the house employees play a big role in defining the overall atmosphere, and — for me — atmosphere is really what makes or breaks a dining experience. One even hopes that it reflects the chef’s or owner’s sentiments. That’s not to say food [...]
Review: Pi Coal Fired
Posted by mike | Filed under Beer, Reviews
I’m not typically a fan of pizza—mostly because so little of it is actually worth the calories involved. Then, every once in a while, I hear about a new pizza place—one that looks like it might actually serve some really good pizza. At that point, the pull of trying a new place overcomes the opposing [...]
Review: Ruggers Pub
Posted by mike | Filed under Beer, Reviews
I’ve been to Ruggers something like three times now, and I never seem to get a chance to actually write about my experience. Despite the lag since my last visit, I’m going to write up some thoughts—just because I really think they deserve more attention than they seem to get. When you’re looking for a [...]
Review: Thai Suan Thip
Posted by mike | Filed under Reviews
If anyone knows where the name “Thai Suan Thip” comes from, please let me know. That’s the name of the restaurant that has made their way into the old Mojo Bistro space. When Mojo Bistro was closing, the owners told me that a Thai restaurant would be moving in to replace them; they just didn’t [...]
Review: Salt of the Earth
Posted by mike | Filed under Reviews
Everybody has been talking about Salt of the Earth. Usually, I try to focus on places that don’t get enough attention, so I’m somewhat hesitant to post something about Salt…but I can’t resist. If you haven’t been paying attention, Salt of the Earth is the work of Kevin Sousa. He set out to open his [...]
The Food Blogger Meetup
Posted by mike | Filed under Community
Last night, a handful of food bloggers assembled over dinner and beer at Bocktown. I called it a Pittsburgh Food Blogger Meetup and threw the group up on meetup.com—mostly because it was a convenient tool for managing RSVPs and membership. Thanks to Lauren (@Burghilicious) and @iheartpgh, the event was even fairly well publicized. Even though [...]
Review: Smiling Banana Leaf
Posted by mike | Filed under Reviews
This one was a great find. I had never before even heard of Smiling Banana Leaf, but then randomly noticed a reference to the place in a Twitter feed. I can’t even remember who posted it, but I’m glad it caught my attention. I did some research, found some reviews, and decided I definitely needed [...]
Review: The Park House
Posted by mike | Filed under Beer, Reviews
Oozing with character. That’s my primary thought on the Park House. I had actually been hearing about this north-side standard for some time now—starting years ago when a former girlfriend was working up at the Children’s Museum. At that point, I just heard about excellent sandwiches at lunch time; I was jealous. Fast forward 3-4 [...]
Review: Sababa Grill
Posted by mike | Filed under Reviews
Not all that long ago, Mr. Willies Barbecue closed its doors (and, in retrospect, foreshadowed the closure of Kazansky’s). Willies never seemed to really pull together something that got people excited, and eventually shuttered—and, yes, the missing apostrophe bothers me too. Whenever a restaurant closes like that, I see opportunity: I see it as a [...]
Review: Juice Box Cafe
Posted by mike | Filed under Reviews
I think I have a new Pittsburgh favorite in the Juice Box Cafe. This is actually the tail of my queue—my most recent restaurant visit. I’m bumping it to the top of the order because they really deserve it. My backlogged posts tend to go up in priority order anyway. There’s a funny story in [...]
