Pipers Pub

In my quest to find the best fish sandwich around Pittsburgh, I've often heard mention of Pipers Pub. Now I've been there in the past but I don't recall ever trying anything off the menu. Frankly, I'm not a real big fan of British food in general but I couldn't resist when I read a review where the writer claimed that their fish sandwich should have it's own zip code and national anthem! Well, I knew just what to order. This fish is huge. It's a large fillet of Haddock, not Cod as is usually served in Pittsburgh pubs. They fry it with a beer batter that is light and very tasty. I don't like it when the batter is so heavy that it overpowers the fish, but this was very well done. It comes with an order of fries and some very good home made tarter sauce as well. If you try this you might want to bring a friend because it's plenty big enough to share. Of course I brought Stacy and still managed to just about finish the entire thing. In addition Stacy ordered some Paprika Chicken soup which she really liked. We also ordered some Scotch Eggs. For those that are not familiar with this health food, it is simply a hard boiled egg, covered with ground sausage, breaded and then deep fried. They were great!

In addition to the food, Pipers is well known for it's great beer selection with at least 20 or 25 quality drafts and a very impressive bottle selection. Another very unique offering is their Cask Ale which is a fresh draft offering. As explained on Pipers website: "Cask Ale or Real Ale is defined as:Beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of pressurized gas. When the beer arrives at the pub it needs to undergo its secondary fermentation before it can be served". This months selection is Arcadia Brewing Hop Mouth. While I don't have much knowledge of craft beers it was tempting to give this a try. Maybe next time.

Carson City Saloon

The Carson City Saloon is a place in the South Side that I go to occasionally for a beer and a sandwich. It's in an old bank building and a lot of the the interior has been saved. I really like it when people save or restore the old and still turn it into something new! The walls are covered with a beautiful green marble and the bank vault is still there although it's been converted into a rest room...With a real heavy door!

Anyway, this week was the huge snowstorm in Pittsburgh where we got about 22 inches of snow on Friday and Saturday and another 8 or so inches a couple of days later. A couple of friends of ours, Bonnie and Gary lost their power on Friday night. They stuck it out for the night but by Saturday they still didn't have any electricity or heat. Stacy and I told them to pack up and come on over! They showed up with lots of beer and food that they had planned to use for a Super Bowl party on Sunday. When we woke up on Sunday morning our street in Mount Washington hadn't even been touched. Luckily, Gary has a four wheel drive Jeep and we tried to venture out for breakfast. We soon found out that most of the roads from da Mount were closed so it took about an hour to get to the South Side, which usually takes about five minutes. By this time we gave up on breakfast and decided to find a place where we could have lunch and watch the Penguin game at noon. A lot of places were closed, but not Carson City!

The Carson City is usually pretty packed for Pens games, but not in the middle of a major snowstorm! We found seats at the bar, ordered Bloody Marys and settled in. The menu is big, full of a variety of sandwiches, appetizers, and salads. While the food is good, keep in mind that this is not a health food menu. Salads tend to be Pittsburgh style...A good healthy food that is then topped with french fries and cheese. I don't have a problem with that and neither does Gary so we both ordered fish, breaded and deep fried of course! Stacy ordered a blackened salmon sandwich. It came with smoked applewood bacon (it's Pittsburgh, remember?) and she said it was really good. Not over cooked, the way salmon tends to be in bars.

Gary and I both agreed that the fish sandwich was tremendous! It really is one of the best I've had in Pittsburgh. A large piece of cod that could have filled two buns easily, breaded nicely and fried to perfect golden brown. The breading wasn't overbearing and let the flavor of the fish stand out.

While I have been to Carson City several times before, the menu never really intrigued me. next time I won't hesitate to eat with my beer. It's probably better that way, anyway!

Rhythm House...R.I.P.

It's a sad time for all of you music lovers out there...The Rhythm House in
Bridgeville is closing at the end of this month. I've seen hundreds of bands there. Everything from current rock to country to being a regular on Sunday evenings for the Pittsburgh Jazz Society. For the past nine years this has been a great place to grab a meal (well, not always great) but it sure was a good bar! Daryl tells me that it will soon be a GetGo gas station ) :

It seems that he has no plans to reopen anywhere else at this time.

Here is Daryl's posting from their website:

Friends, All good things must end, and the end for a dream that started nine years ago will hold its last party on February 27, 2010. The Rhythm House will be torn down and a Get Go will stand in its place. Don't be sad; embrace this last month, spread the word, and celebrate an era with me as we close with the last big party on Saturday, February 27 with Donnie Iris, Joe Grushecky, B.E. Taylor, Scott Blasey, Bill Deasy, and Velveeta. The nightlife landscape will have a drastic void, leaving behind only the great memories. The first dates, the first kisses, the engagements, the bachelor parties, the weddings, a couple of Super Bowls and a Stanley Cup, great live music, and the friends we have met along the way. I am proud of what we have done here and we will be going out in style, things have been very busy here for the last few months and I expect it to be crazy busy as we come to silence the music. It has been an honor to be your host for the last nine years and proud to say we put on some of the greatest parties any where in the world. I have to thank the support of Froggy Radio, WDUQ, and WDVE for making us a landmark. I could never thank Frank Bell, Jimmy Krenn, Sean McDowell, and Tony Mowod enough. The great shows of Darius Rucker, Billy Currington, Josh Turner, Jason Michael Carroll, Blake Shelton, Quiet Riot, Warrant, Rod Piazza, the late night parties, the quiet nights with friends. The celebrity appearances: Lou Gossett Jr., Jason Gedrick, and Matthew McConaughey. The many sports legends to tip one back here. The Nashville Star Auditions, The DVE Morning show, and Jenna from Survivor hanging in the office because no one could know she won. Countless memories that we all will take with us. I hope you all agree that there is no other place in the world like The Rhythm House Cafe. I hope to see you here before we go. I will keep everyone posted of the special events we have planned for February. Let's get this party started until February 27, officially, "The Day the Music Died". Thanks for the Memories! Daryl Price The Rhythm House Cafe