Pittsburgh Fish!

In my quest for the best fish sandwich in Pittsburgh, I stopped in the Carson City Saloon on the South Side the other day. I know I've ordered fish there before, but I just forgot how good it really is! The things a monster too. Since its fish fry season, I thought I'd post this for those of you that might be looking for an alternative to you local church or fire hall.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Pittsburgh Fish Sandwich, this city has a history of serving up monstrous filet's, almost always fried, and usually cod. It's common to get a fillet a foot long served on a standard hamburger bun. Some places offer an additional bun for a little more cash. Because of the large Catholic population in the area, hundreds of local church's hold fish-frys during Lent. Volunteers will prepare, cook and serve hundreds of dinners and sandwiches each night to lines of people at these churches.

To get an idea of whats available, or to locate a fish-fry near you, click on the title "Pittsburgh Fish" above.

And yes, that is broccoli....I eat healthy!

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.