B52 Lawrenceville

Moussaka

I estimate that I probably eat a vegetarian diet about two times a week. Avoiding meat isn't just hypothetically better for your body, it's also better supposed to be better in terms of environmental sustainability. (There are great arguments on both sides of the fence. Vegetarians would probably like to crucify me for this statement but it would be counter-intuitive to their mission.)

That being said, I just can't get as excited to go out to vegetarian restaurants as I do for more specific dining experiences. If you tell me we are going for sushi, Tex-Mex, bbq or Thai, I begin to salivate. If you tell me we are going to a vegetarian restaurant, I lose my vigor.

The moussaka, pictured above, was absolutely beautiful, but underwhelming. The dish tasted as though it had been prepared well in advance of the evening and was likely re-heated. It was one of the few dishes I've seen returned in the history of happy hour. (The waitress asked, and the kind patron tried to refuse.)

Onion Flatbread

Some of our favorite dishes were the stewed tomatoes, the onion flatbread and the fried cauliflower. All were masterfully prepared with a fantastic array of middle-eastern spices. The flatbread came covered in sumac, pine nuts and caramelized onions. It is actually hard to imagine how they were able to sell if for $6 considering the amount of pine nuts heaped on the dang thing!   (At the time this article was published the average price of pine nuts was $18 per pound.)

One of the great options available at B52 is that they allow you to select a complimentary sauce with each order. Your choices include the harissa. which is a smoked hot pepper sauce,  the zhoug, which is a cilantro parsley hot sauce and of course, tahini. The harissa seemed to be the group favorite.

Baklava

The staff was very accommodating, especially for putting up with the nightmare known as the Pittsburgh Happy Hour. They helped us take over most of the restaurant without much resistance and even managed to muster a few smiles.

Some great perks to keep in mind, B52 is BYOB, the space is gorgeous and you may even run into local celebrity Rick Sebak! He just happened to be dining there during our little soiree.

RICK

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Park House

CRISPIER

Park House is apparently Pittsburgh's oldest bar. The place has style and character. It is kind of hard to believe that any one place can be a bar for over one hundred years, but I'm sure it has happened before. Also, I guess it kind of makes sense since they give away popcorn and people love that shit. Oddly enough, they serve middle eastern food.

The middle eastern food scene in Pittsburgh is lackluster at best. I used to rave about Krystal's in the Strip District, but rumor has it that ole' Krystal was down on her luck and had to sell the place. The new owners cut some corners with the food, and now I'd rather eat at Arby's. HORSEY SAUCE BRO.

Now made with real horses!

Anyhow, the food at the park house isn't bad. I really enjoyed the homemade spicy hummus, but the kibbeh was all wrong. I think they used too much bulgar wheat, I absolutely hated the consistency. (You can't feed a Lebanese man bad kibbeh, he will know.)

Additionally, I should add some negative comments. Although all of the beers were discounted $2 for happy hour, they were still very expensive.  I had to order my kibbeh three times as they kept giving it away to strangers for over an hour. However, after noticing their error and my extreme disappointment, they paid for my sandwich! So, hey, not everything is terrible. Be warned though, the small kitchen is very slow at peak hours and this place gets packed.  I recommend this bar over Arby's. Unless you can find an Arby's that is over one hundred years old, then I would go to that Arby's.