The Yard Gastropub - Shadyside - the good the bad and the juicy

The Good

Now, I can't prove this, but I'm pretty certain the Yard used to be a fancy Italian restaurant.  In the space currently occupied by Yard Gastropub at 736 Bellefonte I can vividly remember an anti-pasta bar, white tablecloths and ordering some type of clay pot chicken. This was over twenty years ago though, so I might just be remembering a trip to an Olive Garden. It is hard for me to say, but the memory of that delicious clay pot chicken remains.

The Yard is one of Shadyside's newest beer bars. There seems to be this basic recipe for commercial success in Shadyside. Large draft beer selection + big televisions + postmodern decor + lackluster craft cocktails + contemporary food options = GREAT SUCCESS!

 I suppose for the most part that these are basic bar amenities, but there is a peculiar quality to the bars of Shadyside. There's something a little too vanilla right beneath the surface that you can't adequately describe. The bars lack genuine character which they attempt to mask with a veneer of mojitos and hot waitresses.

The best dish I sampled at the Yard had to be the prosciutto wrapped shrimp. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and benefited greatly from the saltiness of the prosciutto. I think they could have used more prosciutto, but the dish was only about $5 for happy hour -  leaving no room for complaint.

The Bad

This was supposed to be poutine. Poutine is a Canadian dish that typically is made with a light brown gravy, a smaller sized french fry and cheese curds. This poutine was made with a burnt dark brown gravy, soggy potato wedges and what appeared to be shredded cheddar cheese. This was probably one of the worst things I've been served at a bar in the last several months. I couldn't even give this dish away, nor could I get the taste of the burnt gravy out of my mouth. I'm pretty sure this poutine, as prepared by the Yard, is responsible for the unrest that has been occurring in Canada.

On the menu the Yard claims that the cheese is made in-house. If that is really the case, they might as well just go buy the low fat cheddar cheese at Aldi and save a few bucks.

The Juicy Lucy

On Thursday the Yard offers a decent special. For $10 you get a Juicy Lucy burger and a beer. Considering some of the beers you are allowed to choose from are in the $7 to $8 range, this really is a bargain. I have to be honest, I could not bring myself to order anything else from the Yard after indulging in their gut busting craptastic poutine. However, I did try a bite of a friend's Juicy Lucy and it was not bad at all.

Go for happy hour and the Juicy Lucy, skip the poutine! 

 

Stack'd - Shadyside

The Johnny Jakes Special Fire Burger

Before I come across as a negative jerk, I want to say that I really liked Stack'd. The staff was awesome, I really liked the upstairs bar and the drink specials were incredible! Discounted yuengling pitchers throughout the evening and two dollar well drinks later in the night. That is honestly about as good as drink specials get, especially for Shadyside. One point of interest, they were willing to serve their well drinks as shots for two bucks. I've found that most bars aren't willing to do this for a well drink special. Mad props Stack'd.

It looks better than it was.

Here is my burger, I named him wimpy because he looked so small compared to the Johnny Jakes Special Burger, pictured above, and because he was a particularly sad burger. The nice thing about Stack'd is that they allow you to fill out a worksheet when ordering your burger, similar to a sushi restaurant or the pizza worksheet provided by Bites N' Brews on Elwood Street. I thought this concept was remarkable. Before visiting Stack'd I probably spent about twenty-five excruciating minutes carefully designing my dream burger. You can find a copy of the menu worksheet here.

After extreme deliberation I went with the double stack with provolone cheese, spicy ketchup and mustard, bacon, egg, banana peppers, extra pickles and slammin' bbq sauce on the side. Although the toppings were great, the burger itself was particularly dry and lifeless. Stack'd claims that they grind their own meat in house, but if they do I'd agree with my friend Dave that they are probably wasting their time.

I believe that a similar result could be achieved from a frozen store-bought patty. In terms of just the meat, I've had better burgers from Wendy's. Additionally, the bun tasted like it was at least a couple of days old. Kind of like a hamburger bun you might expect from a cookout at the soup kitchen. It seems very unfortunate that they take so much care in providing such a large variety of incredible toppings and so little care in the preparation and freshness of the meat and bun.

Deep fried Mac n Cheese!

Early in the evening I asked the staff what I should try other than a burger. They readily suggested the deep fried mac n cheese. It was particularly bomb and I was appreciative of the recommendation. A wonderfully crispy exterior with delicious gooey mac n cheese on the inside. I loved the sauce they served with the mac n cheese bites as well. Until Stack'd gets their burger situation worked out I'd recommend sticking with the mac n cheese bites and the outrageous drink specials.  Additionally, it is worth noting that they've also opened a cheesesteak restaurant that operates with the same made to order strategy. Hopefully they get their beef from a different supplier.