Places to eat in Pittsburgh

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When we were planning on going to Pittsburgh for the 4th of July Family Reunion weekend in 2011, I sent out a couple of emails to some fellow VTers who lived in the Pittsburgh area asking them for places to visit and eat. VT member Lacristina was very detailed in her responses and one of the places she recommended was Deluca's. In fact her response in the email was: "this reminds me of another great breakfast place I should have mentioned. Deluca's Restaurant in the heart of the Strip. It's a Pittsburgh classic." With a recommendation like that how could we pass it up.

We headed for the Strip District on a warm Saturday July morning, but since we had already eaten a small breakfast back at the hotel we weren't really hungry for another breakfast, but considered maybe we should do lunch here. As you can see from the first picture this is what greeted us as we approached the restaurant about 1:00 p.m. Not being too keen on lines, we headed down the block to Wholely's for lunch (another tip). However I made plans to come back 2 days later while we were still in town on July 4th and get there early enough to avoid the lines.

We arrived about 9:15 a.m. on Monday morning and were fortunate to secure one of the last open tables way at the back of the place. After going through their extensive menu and peaking around at what everybody else was having, Sue and I made our decisions.

Favorite Dish: Sue had one of their omelettes which came with just about everything but the kitchen sink. It also was served with your choice of bread and some jam. I opted for the Almond Joy Pancake (only 2 please) which was made with chocolate and coconut. Now, if I was really adventurous I would have gone for the pancake Almond Joy sundae which would have included tons of whip cream, ice cream and nuts, but because I had eaten plenty the entire weekend and had an 8 hour ride home following I decided to stick with the conservative side. Although all the other food I saw did look delicious.

I also had an iced coffee served in a Coke plastic (not glass). I didn't add any sugar which I usually do to kick the acid taste of American coffee. Fortunately this was a good iced coffee and all I added was just a little bit of creamer to sweeten the taste to my liking.

By the time we left about 45 minutes later the lines again had begun to grow outside the front door. Moral of the story - Get here early to avoid the lines.

CASH ONLY!!

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The Friday night spot for the Reunion we attended was dinner at the Bossa Nova Restaurant. The entire restaurant was closed to the public until 10:00 p.m. that evening as the 150 or so Rashid Reunion members took the place over. We arrived about 7:00 p.m. when the food offerings were just starting to come out. I'm not sure what the regular offerings are at the restaurant, but the different flat bread pizzas and a multitude of other Lebanese specialities and desserts seemed to satisfy the crowd for the evening. The only complaint I had was that they never seem to cook enough food for the crowds at the reunions and if you are not fast enough one or two of the items will be gone before you have had a chance to get in line.

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Having been in the Strip District from about 9:30 a.m. in the morning and browsing the various shops we were getting a little hungry for lunch and since it was 1:00 p.m. we had to decide which of the places along the strip we wanted to stop in for a bite to eat. They all looked and smelled wonderful, but we finally figured since we would have a full sit down meal at the Family Reunion about 7:00 p.m. that evening and since we had snacked while walking through the Strip District we did not want to have too full of a meal.

So, while we were walking through Wholey's we decided to try out a couple of there offerings and go upstairs and sit down for a while. Sue opted for their award-winning famous fish sandwich, which was a piece of cod fish and then some (they weighed it and added a bit more if below the weight). The cod was blended with some seasonings and then batter fried to a crisp light golden brown. Very tasty. I opted for the lobster roll sandwich which was a good compliment for the fried food that Sue had, because we always have a little taste of each other's meal so that we don't miss anything.

I'll also put another tip on Wholey's in a shopping tip because if I lived in the Pittsburgh area you would find me down here probably at least once a week shopping for all their wonderful offerings.

My food was amazing, but my husband says that his was just good. The view was amazing and the service was pretty good. The atmosphere was like a cabin- warm with lots of wood.

Favorite Dish: The Pino Nior was sweet and spectacular. Great steak!

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Although this is a chain restaurant that may be privately owned it's still has the ambiance of a chain store. The beer on the other had is good. I would get a sample before ordering to see what you like. They do have a happy hour Monday - Friday 4pm - 6pm Hours Monday - Saturday 11am - 2am Sunday 11am - 12am.

Favorite Dish: The fish and chips were an interesting order. It's not the normally battered white fish but smoked salmon fillets battered lightly and fried with french fries and cole slaw on the side.

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The Grand Concourse is one of Pittsburgh's fancier restaurants. The food is good, with the menu featuring a variety of meat, seafood, and pasta entrees. What is better than the food is the restaurant's architecture, which is worth the hassle of getting there (it's across the river from downtown Pittsburgh). The restaurant is located in the main lobby and waiting room of the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad station, and features a beautiful arched stained glass ceiling.

One of the best times to visit the Grand Concourse restaurant is for Sunday Brunch, when it is a bit more casual.

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The Original Oyster House is a local restaurant on Market Square just opposite of Primanti's. We stopped here because Primanti's was too busy for us to find a table. While we were obviously disappointed to miss a great Primanti's sandwich, the Oyster House has good food a fair prices.

When we entered the long narrow bar area, there were a couple of locals at the bar. By the time we left 45 minutes later, the restaurant had filled up quite a bit, mostly with Steelers fans. We ordered two cod sandwiches and a side of their "Pittsburgh chips" plus a couple of beers for about $25. The fish sandwiches were done to perfection, light crispy, fresh and flavorful.

The Oyster House is nothing fancy, just down to earth, good fried seafood.

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I ducked into Giovanni's for a quick lunch because it was right across the street from the Enterprise office where I was picking up a car that afternoon. The small restaurant has just six or so tables, but almost all of them had customers enjoying lunch. I approached the counter and spent a minute looking over their extensive menu with items such as pizza, hoagies, Philly cheese steaks, pastas, calzones, strombolis, wedgies, gyros, wings, and more.

I decided on the original steak Philly sandwich with provolone cheese for about $7, along with a bottle of Pepsi. The sandwich was ready in about 10 minutes, then was delivered to my table by the cashier. It was delicious. The meat was crispy on the outside and very flavorful. The sandwich was not too big, but plenty for a good lunch for one person.