How did I hear about them? I can’t remember my first sighting, but they’ve already made at least one appearance in the local food blogs and even found their way to the Tribune Review. Not one to fall behind, Post-Gazette food critic China Millman even gave them a shout-out in First Bites.  Oh, and did I mention that you can follow Ron the doughnut man on Twitter—because you can. Not too bad for a founder pushing…well, let’s just say he’s a generation removed from me.

Peace, Love & Little Donuts
peaceloveandlittledonuts.com
$8-12/dozen, based on toppings
4 out of 5 stars

2018 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 489-7693

Can I call it “PLL Donuts?” Or perhaps “PLLD?” The full name is just a little long to rattle off 20 more times in a review. Whatever you call it, PLLD is Pittsburgh’s most recent doughnut shop. The tiny little shop opened just weeks ago in a space formerly occupied by 21st Street Coffee—back when they were “Cafe Intermezzo.” PLLD’s claim to fame: tiny little donuts. According to The Tribune Review, the shop is owned by Ron Razete, of Moon. Based on my visit, I’ll say that at least on the weekends, the shop is a true family operation—with members of the family in to lend a hand with toppings to serve the weekend crowd.

Talk about laid back atmosphere. As always, I made a point to do a quick assessment of the little shop as soon as I walked in. Before long, Ron caught me staring at the menu to scope out possibilities. His response: “Don’t pay much attention to that. It doesn’t tell you much of anything, because, really, we’re just figuring things out.” That’s probably why you won’t find any pricing on the web site: Ron’s still kind of feeling his way around. For what it’s worth, I think he’s doing a great job. He brings all sorts of enthusiasm, a laid back atmosphere, and a great conversation with anyone who cares to comment.

$8 for a dozen plain…and go from there. The deal is, you can buy a dozen small-ish doughnuts for about $8. The only option when I arrived were the mid-sized donuts, which are a step up from the shop’s claim to fame: the bite size mini (13 for $3.15). But that’s just the baseline…the raw materials. From there, Ron offers up a dusting of cinnamon or powdered sugar. Or maybe you a fan of a topping…with some sprinkles on top. Go ahead, ask for it. It sounds to me like Ron would throw any combination of toppings you could possibly ask for—even if he hadn’t ever thought of it.

Remember funnel cake at the fair? Back in the day when you would place an order and watch a guy in the back drop batter into a bath of super-heated fat. Well, it’s kind of like that. Of course, Ron runs the donuts through a machine up front and sets them off on a cooling rack to temper just a bit. The flavor, though: it’s nearly identical. A quick bite instantly brought me back to the fair, in the days when caloric content really didn’t even cross my mind.

Analyzing the base case. I picked up a pretty wide assortment and sampled a bite from each one (remember, I am a bit of a health nut). To start with, I went basic with a bit of the plain doughnut. What I found was a not-quite-crunchy shell surrounding an interior similar to a cake doughnut. The exterior had just enough texture to keep it interesting and lock in a moist, flavorful interior—far removed from the dry, off-the-shelf garbage that might necessitate a topping. Remember, this was just the plain. Actually, the powdered was…really about the same.

Next up, the maple frosting. Ron called it a glaze, but it’s really more of a frosting on top—not the more traditional “glaze” that would fully engulf the pastry. My ultra-variety order included both chocolate frosting and maple frosting. I tried maple, which tasted much like the traditional maple frosting you (hopefully) know and love. That’s not to say it was lackluster, just that there’s not a whole lot you can do to maple frosting.

I missed the pumpkin frosting! I have to admit, it was word of some experimental pumpkin frosting that really inspired me to make the trip, though, sadly, it wasn’t commercially available when I showed up. The good news is, that Ron’s tweeted about the stuff a few times: it seems to now be in the rotation, and it’s just the sort of thing that might stand a chance at pulling me back to the shop (all health concerns aside).

The one concern. After sampling Ron’s donuts, I found a single issue: greasy aftertaste. Like any fried food, I found myself walking away from a doughnut tasting with a greasy taste that would not go away. The frying takes place right in a vat of molten Crisco, so one can imagine the taste is unavoidable.  My eventual solution: a tart apple and a diet coke. What about when you run into the problem, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Would I go back? To sample some pumpkin frosting and check in on Ron, absolutely! Will I be making weekly doughnut runs from here on out? Not likely, but that’s no fault of Ron’s. In fact, Peace, Love, and Little Donuts is exactly the type of establishment that I want to support. Heck, they managed to get me even considering a trip to the doughnut shop. Anyone who either likes a good doughnut or wants to nurture a local upstart should definitely stop by and at least give the place a try. Just keep Ron and PLLD in mind the next time you’re in the mood for donuts—or perhaps have some guests who deserve a morning treat. It’s definitely worth a trip.

Rose’s Ice Cream
607 S. Braddock Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
412-247-3103

A little while back, I went out with a good friend for a drink at D’s Six-Pax & Dogz. For whatever reason, neither of us was really up to staying at D’s for more than a drink with dinner (okay, it was mostly the other guy). The result: a quick trip up the street to Rose’s for a scoop of ice cream to try them out. I’m not typically one for ice cream, but I made the trip. Despite my better judgment, I even bought a scoop of ice cream.

Big sidewalk presense; little shop. Based on drive-bys alone, my impression of Rose’s was…highly commercial. Influenced to some extent by the bright canopy and polished storefront, I almost expected the a big chain without much character. A trip inside shows that to be flat out wrong: the quaint interior shows reflect something closer to the ice cream shop I remember from my childhood—not even close to the sterile uniformity brought on by the era of Cold Stone. The main attraction would be the 23 flavors of hard ice cream, but they actually do soft serve and “food” as well (more on that later).

Hot dogs on the menu? Turns out, D’s isn’t the only establishment on Braddock to sport a hot dog on the menu. Of course, the menu is focused on the standard mechanisms to get ice cream into you (sugar cone, cup, waffle cone…you know the drill); except they go on to list hot dogs and even nachos. I’m guessing sales for those outliers are driven by families coming out of the park and looking for food, but who knows. I’d be interested to know if either menu item is any good or otherwise notable. My guess, D’s is still the place to go for your hot dog—or, better yet, Franktuary.

Virtually no web presence. Try searching for Rose’s—I dare you. At the time I wrote this, I found nothing above the noise level. No City Paper review, no Post-Gazette mention, certainly no web site. The only reference I could find was a listing of Regent Square businesses from the Square’s Civic Association. It’s not like Rose’s appeared last week, so I’m quite confused by the erie media blackout.

23 Flavors. Good ones. I count 23 different flavors of hard ice cream. Some of them are just the classics, but others seem to stretch and experiment. For example: blueberry pie, cotton candy, and the somewhat intriguing, Oreo cheesecake. Some flavors appear to be classics but vary the names: White House, anyone? Looks like strawberry to me—could they be geeky enough to reference dessert from the 2009 correspondents dinner? It’d be quite the reference.

Seemingly good. I’ll be honest here, I’m not an ice cream connoisseur. While I’m willing to put health asside for a quality pint of craft beer, I can’t convince myself to do the same for a scoop of ice cream. I don’t get the same enjoyment that others might. That said, I made a point to try a dish of Mocha Toffee Crunch from Rose’s. While I can’t, in good conscience, rate it good or bad, I can show a picture and proclaim a few technical merits. First, the flavor combo is a big win for me. Second, the toffee crunch was substantial but yet well distributed. Third, the ice cream itself was appropriately smooth: a clear indicator of some real, heavy on the cream, ice cream.

Will I go back.Well, I’ll go back about as frequently as any other ice cream shop. If I’m on braddock and with someone seeking ice cream, I’m there. That said, I don’t typically go to Braddock for the ice cream. Then again, maybe I just need to stumble out of the park looking for lunch.