Waffles InCaffeinated

 

With a broken refrigerator and no food to prepare at home, Stacy and I wanted to visit something new (to us) for breakfast this past weekend.  I'd heard of the WafflesINCaffeinated  restaurant in New Brighton Pa.  We've never made the trek because of the drive, but the newer location in the South Side made it an easy choice.

The restaurant is located on Carson Ave. in the Southside Works.  They have seating outside and the dining room is clean and pleasant although sparsely decorated.  We were seated at a two seat table that was very small (one of my pet peeves in restaurants) but that was the only misstep.

As their name imply's, waffles are the specialty but they also make a variety of other breakfast choice.  We both decided to try one of the waffle choices and Stacy went with the Souther' which is described as:

Some like it hot! waffle filled with chorizo sausage, fresh jalapenos and cheddar cheese, topped with fresh pico de gallo, a fried egg* your way and garnished with fresh cilantro.

I couldn't turn down the Benny, described as:




Classic eggs benedict with our own waffle twist! two perfectly poached eggs* nestled on top of a half waffle with ham, fresh hollandaise sauce. and crab meat!

Both were truly excellent!  My eggs were poached perfectly, and the waffle was a great compliment to the ham and hollandaise sauce. On top of that, the prices for each were quite reasonable at $8.95.

Without question, we will make this a regular weekend breakfast stop.  

WafflesINCaffeinated is located at 2517 E. Carson St in Pittsburgh.                                                             

The Highland, again

I stopped in at the Highland Bar in West View again last week and had to follow up with a note about their specials.  I don't recall what day it was (sorry) but the food special was this:

A steak with potatoes, green beans and garlic toast.  That in itself is not so special, but the price was.  $5.00!  Now granted, the beans were canned (and probably the potatoes too) but what a great deal.  I admit, I increased the tab by ordering mushrooms and onions for a dollar more....

NOLA

The recent renovation of Market Square has made it the location for several new restaurants within the past year. Joining long time tenants like Ruth's Chris, The Original Oyster House, and Primanti's, are at least five or six new eating establishments. In the past, The 1902 Tavern was one of my favorites, although admittedly it was desperately in need of some updating. Since the 1902 Tavern closed, it's nice to see NOLA on The Square in that space.

The folks that opened NOLA have done a great job of improving the interior while maintaining the charm of the original structure. The classic bar, beautiful tile floors and tin ceiling have thankfully been retained, but have been cleaned and repaired.

Finding good Creole or New Orleans restaurants is not easy in Pittsburgh. Since the James Street Tavern on the North Side closed many years ago I'm not aware of any really good options.

The menu at NOLA offers frog legs, crispy fried alligator, muffaletta, shrimp and grits, along with a number of Po Boys. The Chicken and Andouille Po Boy, described as "Grilled Organic Chicken, Cajun Andouille, Homemade Mozzarella, Fresh Baguette, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Creole Mustard" along with a side of Red Beans and rice made for a great meal. If you feel like a drink with your meal, they can make you a classic Hurricane!

NOLA is located in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh. As always, just click on the title to see their website.

Happy New Year!

As always, just click on the title above!

Pittsburgh fish sandwich...

I always thought that the people in Pittsburgh are just crazy about fish sandwiches. Now I know that you can get fish on a bun anywhere, but the 'Burgh seems to have it's own unique fish sandwiches. Here, almost all of the fish that you get in local watering holes is cod. I don't think that this is typical in other cities. They are also BIG! I'm talking a foot long! While most places will serve them either fried or baked, I don't think anyone has ever actually ordered one baked.

There's a local tavern that I can walk to on Mount Washington where I was enjoying dinner consisting of a fish sandwich and a malt beverage...The fish was just average (that's why I'm not naming the restaurant) and one of the locals must have overheard me saying that I wasn't really impressed with it. He said I had to go to a place called Bobby's on rt 51. Well, of course I was there in a couple of days. They have a regular and a small. I wasn't really hungry so I got the small...Holy Cow!!! This thing could have fit on three buns. I ask the bartender (I like to sit at the bar) if they had made a mistake and given me the regular and she assured me that I indeed had the small portion. It that's the case, I'll bet you could feed a family of four with the regular size. Anyway, it was good! I'm not prepared to say that it's the best I've had, but it was good enough that I'll go back. I really want to continue my search for great fish sandwiches in the area...Any recommendations would be appreciated!!!

Welcome to 'BurghFeeding!

I'm a BurghFeeder...All I mean by that is that I love to eat and drink my way through life, enjoying and savoring every unique eating establishment that I can find! It also means that I live in the 'Burgh, Pittsburgh that is.

The Burgh (as the locals call it) is loaded with unique and unusual foods. The home of chipped ham, (yes, chipped) steaks cooked "Pittsburgh Rare," Pirmanti's Brothers sandwiches, church's that cook and serve periogies and monster size fish sandwiches and many other local specialities. I'll talk about all of these as time allows, but now I'm getting hungry!

Now I know that this city can't compete with the culinary offerings of some of our larger city's on the coasts, but I just don't care! I like to go to some of the more popular food forums like Chowhound, Roadfood and a few others, but they just don't capture the spirit of this great area. I'm talking about unique, enjoyable, fun, and social eating.

I'd like to start some discussions on favorite local food and drink finds, and get all of your ideas on these and other subjects...Maybe even meet a couple of local foodies! Feel free to leave your comments!!!!!

Dave Clifton