Monday, April 11, 2011
A second visit to Sauce and a skillet of warm chocolate chip cookies gets two thumbs up.
As promised, Jeremy and I revisited Sauce in Bridgeville, and we had such a great experience that we wanted to let you know as soon as we could. We went on a Thursday at about 4:30 p.m.; from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. every day in March the entire menu — except for drinks and desserts — was half price. Go to their website to join the mailing list; they’ll update you on new offers and specials. As hoped, we ended up in one of the plush leather booths in the main dining room, and what a difference in atmosphere. The booth was comfortable and roomy and we looked through the large window beside us onto the main street in Bridgeville. Much more pleasant than the back room we ate in last time. Our waiter was a star. In addition to his great sense of …
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Nothing beats a breakfast that you didn't have to cook, but they go above and beyond at Penny's Diner.
Our new thing is weekend breakfast dates. Ski season is over and with our Saturdays and Sundays suddenly free, Jeremy and I have been struggling to figure out what to do with ourselves…ah, the challenges of being workaholics. The breakfast kick started a few weekends ago when got a rare blue-sky day and Jeremy decided to fly us to DuBois for the pie at the Flight Deck Restaurant. (Dating a pilot is fun!) Anyhow, when we got to Beaver where we were to pick up the plane, we were starving and — long story short — it came out that Jeremy had never been to an Eat N’ Park. So we stopped in, had breakfast and pretty much decided never to eat cold cereal on a weekend again. Last weekend, we decided to try a more local breakfast spot, Penny’s …
Friday, April 1, 2011
Piccolina's at Pinebridge Commons serves up traditional Italian cuisine.
At the recommendation of a reader, Jeremy and I wandered into Piccolina’s one recent evening for dinner. When we saw the candled tables and chandelier-like light fixtures we feared being under-dressed — we were both in nice jeans; he had on a dress shirt and I a sweater — but were immediately relieved when the gentleman at the table next to us was also sporting denim. It’s definitely a dressier atmosphere than what we had expected and a return visit would have us leaving the jeans at home. For a weeknight, the dining room was busy, and we were by far the youngest in the crowd. Jeremy was rather impressed by the oil and vinegar pourer on the table, and to give him credit it was clever. Just a few inches tall and made of glass, it held…
40.346395
-80.082713
Piccolina's
1580 McLaughlin Run Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/date-night-week-12-piccolinas
1244902
/locations/3870942
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Jeremy and Sarah visit reader-recommended Sauce in Bridgeville on a quest for Pittsburgh's best burger and skillet mac and cheese.
At the recommendation of reader — and student — Liz MacLean, Jeremy and I ventured into Bridgeville on a Saturday night to check out Sauce and their top-rated gourmet burgers. Ok, Jeremy was there to check out the burgers. Liz recommended that I try the mac and cheese. We arrived around 7 p.m. and met with a 30-45 minute wait, so we tucked ourselves into the one tiny bench in the entrance area behind the door. The place was packed. The main dining area and bar are side-by-side in a long, narrow room, but managed to feel cozy and inviting with soft lighting and oversized, padded booths. The Pens played on the flat-screens above the bar and the noise level, while elevated, was far from overwhelming. The hostess called us after 20 minutes, …
Thursday, March 10, 2011
A little taste of Mexico just down the road.
It seems like so many restaurants in Upper St. Clair are some variation on an Italian theme, and last week Jeremy and I were craving Mexican. So we Googled our options around USC and were directed to El Campesino at Water Dam Center, 4175 Washington Rd. It was busy for a weeknight – several tables featured families, and a few booths brimmed over with giggling teens. We were seated immediately at a cozy booth near the parlor doors to the kitchen and presented with complimentary tortilla chips and salsa while we decided on drinks. El Campesino has a wide selection of Mexican beverages for the over-21 crowd. They import a number of beer options including XX Amber and Lager, Negra Mondelo, Tecate, and Corona. If you like margaritas, you’…
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Fine art and inventive cuisine make Cafe Georgio a must-visit.
Stepping into Café Georgio, a converted house on tiny Donati Road, you’re not sure whether you’re entering a restaurant or an art gallery, but the food and décor are both inventive and full of flavor. Jeremy and I were seated in one of the two downstairs dining rooms – farthest from the entryway, bar, and kitchen, where a handful of tables are tucked in beside a fireplace and a collection of artwork by the owner, Grace Hopwood. There’s an upstairs dining room as well, also uniquely decorated with artwork for sale. Our reservations were for 6:30, and when we arrived, we were the only two in the dining room. By the end of the evening – a Monday night – both downstairs dining rooms were near full, and the recommendation to make a reservation…
Friday, February 25, 2011
USC teacher Abdel Khila shares his passion for Moroccan food and culture with the community at his Kous Kous Café.
A friendly face awaited us in the tiny kitchen at the back of the Moroccan restaurant at 665 Washington Rd. in Mt. Lebanon: Abdel Khila, former French and Arabic teacher at the high school who took a leave of absence from teaching to follow his dream and open his own restaurant -- Kous Kous Café. At 6’8’’ tall, Abdel towered over the glass partitions that separate the kitchen from the intimate 28-seat dining room. He gave Jeremy and I a wave and a smile and then went back to his cooking -- he’s the only chef in the restaurant, aided only by two servers (one being his mother, Mrs. Habiba), and he had two other tables of hungry guests. Food, for Abdel, is a family affair. He grew up in Marrakesh, Morocco and lived there until 1997, when he …
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Modern, casual feel and large, reasonable menu impress Sarah and Jeremy on this week's 'Date Night.'
Jeremy drives by StonePepper’s Grill on Washington Road when he drives from his place to mine, and so he actually suggested that we check it out for this week’s column. I had heard that it was a pretty chill sports bar, but when we came into the contemporary entryway and had the option of sitting at the pasta and wine bar, main dining room, or the tall-stooled bar surrounded by the Pens on huge TV screens, we knew immediately that we had underestimated our evening out. We were seated by Jimmy, a now-highschooler at Bethel who was my first babysitting charge when I was a teenager. He, his younger sister Lexi, and I used to make crafts in their basement and tents in their living room while his parents were out, and now he stands at over six …
40.354317
-80.05017
StonePepper's Grill
1614 Washington Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/date-night-week-5-stonepeppers-grill
1668135
/locations/3364112
Friday, January 28, 2011
Eat in or take out, Ardolino's Pizza is just what the doctor ordered.
Has anyone else come down with a case of the wintery blues? It’s the end of the semester at school - the piles of grading on my kitchen table eyeball me every time I walk by, and it’s as though some tornadic force had a pre-Super Bowl party in my apartment. Jeremy beat me home from work yesterday and was on the couch doing homework when I struggled through the door with a bag of final exams. When I sat down next to him and pulled the throw from the back of the couch over my legs, Emma (my dog whose need for daily hour-long walks I neglect terribly during the winter months) began pawing unrelentingly at my arm, begging for a W.A.L.K. I shoved her paw away and yelled at her to lie down, then was overwhelmed with guilt for being a horrible …
40.31772
-80.11004
Ardolino's Pizza
1141 Boyce Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/date-night-week-3-ardolinos-pizza
1244900
/locations/3200754
Friday, January 14, 2011
Good things will come to you at Wild Rosemary Bistro.
Jeremy and I had set aside a Friday night after the holidays for our first official “Date Night” but he left the choice of restaurant up to me. Uncertain as to where to begin our culinary adventure, I asked around the staffroom at lunch for suggestions. A colleague mentioned Wild Rosemary – that she drives past it’s full parking lot often and has been wanting to pay the tiny eatery a visit. She said we absolutely needed reservations; friends of hers had waited weeks to get a table in the 28-seat dining room. I picked up the phone to call about reservations for that evening, already making a list of back-up options in my head, when the voice on the other end said that there had been a cancellation and asked for a name to hold my …
Cindi Lash
11:05 am on Monday, April 11, 2011
"Sauce" is out of this world. We love it. It's embarrassing how often our family is there, but we've become addicted to their chili in the tortilla-shell bowl. Try it topped with melted cheddar, jalapenos and fried onions -- the best, and it will fill you up. What a great neighborhood draw .... more ›