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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Carson Street Deli - Southside

Slider Combo
I've only been in the Carson Street Deli a handful of times. They really know how to take care of their customers. First of all, they offer weekly free beer tastings. I think this is a wonderful gesture, particularly due to the amazing array of local craft beers on tap. Mostly beers from breweries like Helltown, East End and Troegs, but I was also surprised to see some other fantastic gems on tap such as the Delirium Noel.

In addition to the wonderful beer selection, I think I managed to sample about eight different sandwiches during my visit. Considering that the Carson Street Deli offers about thirty different sandwiches, I really appreciate that you can order slider samples of any three sandwiches for only $7.50. I tried the Godfather, the Montezuma's revenge and the Sicilian - pictured above. My favorite was the Montezuma's revenge, warm delicious buffalo chicken with green and red peppers and melted hot pepper cheese - like an adult sloppy joe but with actual flavor and texture. I always have trouble choosing between sandwiches, so the slider special was really great for me. No matter what choice I make, I'm immediately saddled with sandwich-envy as soon as a different sandwich appears anywhere in my vicinity. The slider combo did a fine job of placating my indecision.


FREE COOKIES
Finally, as if they hadn't done enough - the staff gave us some free cookies! I highly recommend stopping by the Carson Street Deli as soon as you find yourself craving a delicious sandwich or some local craft brews.

Carson Street Deli on Urbanspoon

Thursday, December 13, 2012

RedBeard's

Redbeard's Hot Wings

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year for chicken wings. Because honestly, every time of the year is my favorite time of the year for chicken wings. There are two locations in Mt. Washington known for their chicken wings. Redbeard's and the Bigham Tavern. Unfortunately, I cannot compare the two due to extenuating circumstances.

The wings at Redbeard's were very good. A great crisp texture, well sized and well seasoned. I tried the standard hot as none of the other flavors really jumped off the page. I think the number one pitfall of the hot wings at many restaurants is that they are too buttery. Redbeard's standard hot sauce was very well proportioned and the amount of sauce was also appropriate. Further, the staff did a great job of taking care of us and we really enjoyed their Christmas themed back patio adorned with stockings, a working fire place, cranberry centerpieces and all the Christmas trim.

After Redbeard's we took a short drive down the street to visit the lively Bigham Tavern. We had slated Bigham for happy hour the following week so we were stopping by to meet the owners and discuss a special. I've been told that the wings at Bigham are actually better than Redbeard's, so I was anxious to check the place out. After one beer and a spirited karaoke rendition of Total Eclipse of the Heart, our entire group was asked to leave the bar! There was some off the cuff altercation that we weren't really involved in and as a result the owner demanded that we leave. In nearly two years of conducting happy hours, we've never even been reprimanded for our questionable behavior, let alone asked to leave a bar. The owner of Bigham even went as far as to physically assault one of our patrons when he refused to close his tab. As a result, I have no choice but to describe the Bigham Tavern as a smelly, filthy stink-hole run by power hungry charlatans. I don't care if you have the best chicken wings in the universe, nothing gives you a license for douchery and physical assault.


Redbeard's Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon Bigham Tavern on Urbanspoon

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Rock Room


WOW! Regarding the Rock Room, just wow! This is possibly the cheapest place to eat and drink in the entire universe. Every night there is a one dollar beer special. The food specials throughout the week include: 40 cent whole wings, $2 burgers, 50 cent pizza boats, 15 cent pierogies, and 75 cent tacos. By my estimate, this means that you could potentially eat lunch and dinner for the entire week for approximately $21. This figure estimates the following diet and requires you to take some of your food home in your pockets:

Rock Room Champion's Diet

Monday: Lunch, 2 pizza boats. Dinner, 10 half chicken wings.
Tuesday: Lunch, 10 half chicken wings. Dinner, 1 burger.
Wednesday: Lunch, 1 burger.  Dinner, 2 pizza boats.
Thursday: Lunch, 2 pizza boats. Dinner, 10 pierogies.
Friday: Lunch, 10 pierogies. Dinner, 3 tacos.
Saturday: Lunch, 3 tacos. Dinner, 2 pizza boats.
Sunday: Lunch, 3 tacos. Dinner, 2 pizza boats.

Although this diet might sound entirely cost effective, your health care insurance premiums are bound to go up when you are diagnosed with type two diabetes. However, if you want to suffer a quicker death you could probably do the all pizza boat diet for a paltry $14 a week until you come down with scurvy.

None of the food at the Rock Room is fancy, but for the price I feel as though I have no room to critique the different things that I have sampled. (Not to mention that they were all perfectly fine anyhow.) The pierogies were served with sour cream and onions at no extra charge, the cheese fries were fantastic and the $2 burger was much better than most of the discount burgers I've tried  at other restaurants. The bar is probably about as smokey, dilapidated and dirty as possible, but like I said, when the drinks and food are this cheap - you can't complain.

The PGHHH participated in a pierogie eating competition along with Unlock Pittsburgh and Eat Pgh. I'm sad to say, our competitor Mark Bucklaw came in second place with 39 pierogies.

You'll get them next time PGHHH champion Mark Bucklaw.

Rock Room on Urbanspoon