Fire Side Public House - East Liberty

The Fire Side Public House is located at the old site of Station Street Hot Dogs in a part of town I like to call, "the end of the world." Honestly, it is just the edge of East Liberty, but the spot is somewhat isolated. On the bright side the location has a parking lot which is sort of like finding a magical unicorn in Shadyside/East Liberty.

Fire Side is owned by the folks who own Sidelines Bar and Grill. Sidelines has locations in Sewickley and Millvalle and is absolutely worth a visit. One thing I found interesting about Fire Side is that none of my friends from the Shadyside area were familiar with the restaurant although it has been open for quite some time.

The space itself is very open and welcoming. The large bar encircles a fantastic wood fired grill and Fire Side offers a number of daily specials. (Thursday night is $10 beer and flight night.)

The wings at Fire Side are fantastic! They are very similar to the high quality wings I've come to expect from Sidelines. Unlike Sidelines, you can order your wings grilled or fried. I always get fried wings, I find them vastly superior to their grilled brethren.

On my two visits to Fire Side I've only tried the wings. They are always great - a nice size, a decent crisp and well sauced. Be sure to check out their extensive craft beer list if that's your thing. I usually have one and switch to Bud Light.

Archie's

Wingz

Let me tell you something, Archie's has stepped up their wing game. The last time I tried wings at Archie's I was not entirely impressed. I thought the wings were pretty average.

However, upon my last visit I am thrilled to report that the wings were arguably some of the best in the Southside. Some of the flavors I enjoyed included spicy thai, spicy parmesan, cajun, hot and spicy ranch. All were fried to perfection and perfectly sauced!

Archie's real selling point is that you can enjoy 35 cent wings Monday through Thursday. (They jack up the cost on the weekends for all the tourists.) I believe this is what they call a lost leader. Boss man Archy gets you in the door with cheap wings and profits on your need for alcohol. Because, let's be honest, you can't eat chicken wings and not have a beer.


 

William Penn Tavern

Wade is an amazing food model.

The William Penn Tavern is a staple of Shadyside debauchery.  Unlike many of the larger and more corporate Shadyside establishments, the William Penn is more of a neighborhood bar. The staff is friendly, helpful and often extremely busy. (Good luck getting a drink on a crowded night.)

The William Penn is known for their chicken wings. I have no problem calling them the best wings in Shadyside, as it is actually quite difficult to think of another serious contender in such an upscale anti-chicken-wing neighborhood.

The go to William Penn Tavern wing sauce is one of those everything sauce varieties they call, "kitchen sink." Kitchen sink sauce tastes of garlic, celery salt and onion powder. There are probably lots of other ingredients as well, but they were hard to discern. The sauce has just the right amount of kick and the wings are almost perfectly crispy every time.

Thursday happens to be taco night and these tacos were worth exactly what I paid for them. (Maybe a little bit more.) They reminded me of the tacos my mother made in the 1980's from the Ortega kit. Cold tortillas, salty meat, iceberg lettuce, mild cheddar and some limp tomatoes. Not great, but absolutely worth $1.25..

TACO NIGHT

Fanattics - Squirrel Hill

TACO PIZZA

The crazy lady bartender at Fanattics told me that they want to close Fanattics and turn it into a fancy craft beer bar. (I'd like to note that they chose to spell the word fanatic as fanattic and I am a learned man.) I used to like craft beer bars. Now I realize that there are just too many of them popping up and I really don't like many of the beers they offer anyhow. When did dive bars and juke joints go out of style? Why do I need fancy beer when I can get Yuenglings for $1.50 each at Fanattics? That's roughly four to six Yuenglings for the price of one cheap craft beer.

At a craft beer bar I typically expect a bunch of dumb shit on an illegible menu written on a chalkboard like wraps, some dish containing the words "thai" and "salad," and $26 hot dogs. You know what I don't expect to see at a craft beer bar? Motherfucking taco pizza. This grilled taco pizza was exquisite. A great cheese blend, plenty of meat and a nice grilled crispy crust.  Taco pizza is in fact so good that it has an entire Facebook page dedicated to its resurrection. Hey Pizza Hut, Bring Back Taco Pizza

Find me one Facebook page dedicated to bringing back craft beer bars. I dare you. 

These are arguably the finest chicken wings in Squirrel Hill. Additionally, they are some of the only chicken wings I've had in Squirrel Hill. I thought the wings were obviously better than Silky's or the Squirrel Hill Cafe. Very crispy with some interesting sauce choices. I went with the spicy triple cheese and I adored them.

I don't want to go overboard with my disdain for craft beer bars. I'm just saying that if they continue to reproduce at this alarming rate there will be nowhere left for me to smoke a ton of indoor cigarettes and drink $1.50 Yuenglings.

EDITORS NOTE: Fanattics no longer exists. It is now a beer bar called the Independent.