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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Jack's Rose Bar

I once threatened to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau because someone stole my Steelers headband from Jacks. It was an idle threat. Jacks is one of my favorite bars in Pittsburgh. They boast a surprisingly large menu, but you wouldn't want to eat most of the food. As a matter of fact the menu doesn't even exist in one concise location, it is just a variety of food offerings posted around the bar on hand drawn posters. I couldn't even find an entry for Jacks on UrbanSpoon. One poster on the wall offers the one dollar "boneless chicken dinner." This consists of three hard boiled eggs. The food at Jacks is not flashy. Take these happy and sad cheeseburgers for example.

Who's a sad cheeseburger?    

Despite the sympicity, the bar food offerings are fine. I've never gotten sick from the deep fried meals I've consumed at Jacks and the cheeseburgers aren't bad at all. If you are really important, or extra nice, you may be able to negotiate some of the off the menu delicacies such as sweet potato french fries, generally reserved for staff only. Also, I once had the "nachos a la Ben" which is a specialty nacho dish made with pickles and ranch dressing.

Jacks is somewhere you go to drink. The bar is open 365 days a year and the prices are cheap as hell. (Someone once threw up on my coat at Jacks on Christmas day.) You are likely to encounter individuals from every walk of life including the homeless, city councilmen, motorcycle gangs, frat boys and vivacious hipsters. I would recommend grabbing something to eat before you go, but if you are extra nice the bartenders will make you food at any hour of the night, provided that they aren't too busy.

Jacks is a bar for best friends. 

Jack's Rose Bar on Urbanspoon


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Sammy's Famous Corned Beef

I liked Sammy's Corned Beef the first time I walked in the place nearly a year ago. It is dark, it is dirty and the service is below average. The bathroom is gross -  it makes me feel right at home. As for the corned beef, it isn't bad at all. I've enjoyed every corned beef sandwich I've ever had at Sammy's. Don't get me wrong, it is no Slyman's (My first, and most intimate moments with corned beef were at Slyman's in Cleveland), but Sammy's can hold their own.

Pittsburgh has never really been much of a corned beef city.  I think the texture of the Sammy's corned beef is fantastic, but the amount you get, and the flavor are just not as good as other corned beef restaurants I've been to. The bar itself is truly amazing though, a real last stop before the end of the world. If you don't understand what I mean by, "Pittsburgh isn't really a corned beef city," here is a picture of some guy at the bar eating an egg salad sandwich.

Egg salad is gross.

Sammy's Famous Corned Beef on Urbanspoon