Blind Pig Tavern

Little slices of heaven.

For some reason the Blind Pig has the United States constitution written on the wall behind the bar (specifically the 18th amendment). Every time you do a jagerbomb or a grape ape it is basically like Thomas Jefferson is judging you. There are two things you need to know about the Blind Pig. First of all, their specials are incredible. I mean top notch. There is a beer discount everyday and on Wednesdays they even run an all day happy hour. The all day happy hour includes half off  ALL appetizers. Take that Thomas Jefferson and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board! 

The second thing that you need to know is that the little doughy calzone things they call rolls are just wonderful. My favorite is the one stuffed with rib-eye and cheese. I'd say they are pretty similar to D.P Dough, but much better. The dough itself has a better texture and the ingredients and cheese are also far more delicious. (Sorry D.P Dough, don't worry, it is still your fault that I am overweight because I ate you everyday in college.) I pretty much order the steak roll every single time I visit the Blind Pig as it is ridiculous-delicious. Also, I tend to enjoy cramming the pulled nachos in my face. They are fantastically non-mexican, as in, covered in barbeque sauce, pulled pork and cheese.

While I'm giving you tips, here are two more. Don't get the grilled chicken wings, they are a disappointment. Also, they call their sandwiches sammies and I think that is just great.

I DRINK WHATEVER THE HELL I WANT. THOMAS JEFFERSON IS NOT THE BOSS OF ME.

Melange Bistro Bar

Hot Honey Cajun

I've been in Melange Bistro a handful of times during my tenure as a professional drinker in downtown Pittsburgh. It has a different vibe than the rest of the bars located in the golden triangle. As a matter of fact, many of the happy hour guests were perplexed by the scene as there was a birthday party for "Philly Phil" and the beats were going full blast at 7 p.m. Melange Bistro has more of a full-on party vibe as opposed to the sex-in-the-city-old-lady-cocktail-bar image that most downtown bars rock.

Melange offers several specials throughout the week, but the wings are the selling point. I generally don't like breaded wings. Melange wings have a light breading that actually works out very well -  I'd say they are comparable to the wings at Senor Frogs in Dormont. The hot honey cajun wings were wonderfully seasoned and perfectly prepared. (I ordered them extra crispy in true Mark Turic fashion.) Nice and sticky with just the right amount of bite. This is not one of my usual complaints, but I really didn't like the ranch served with the wings. It seemed especially heavy on the mayo.

Melange is a refreshing change of pace for the downtown bar scene, but come prepared to dance and be sure to go on one of the many nights when they have awesome specials.

Here's to you Philly Phil!

Birmingham Bridge Tavern

The wonderful folks at Tendo Review did a write-up of our boneless wing eating competition with Unlock Pittsburgh on valentines day. I'd talk more about the competition, but I think they've already done a fantastic job.

http://www.tendoreview.com/2013/02/birmingham-bridge-tavern-southside.html

If you haven't been to the Birmingham Bridge Tavern (the real BBT), go try the golden boy wings. The sauce is a buffalo honey mustard hybrid and it really hits the spot. More importantly, the wings here are consistently great. They are always adequately prepared and perfectly crisp. Although I've had wings here at least twenty times, I've never once suffered severe butt trauma like I did at Local Bar and Kitchen. The boneless wings aren't really my style, but these fatties sure wolfed them down on valentines day. Here are photos of the respective winners for each competition.

Mike: Seven Minute Competition Champion

Tracey and Matt: Couples Competition Champions

Scott: Overall Champion and The People's Hero

New Amsterdam

Pierogies and Kraut

I've unilaterally decided to shorten the name of New Amsterdam to, "Newammy's."  I think it has a better flow and style. The first thing you should know about Newammy's is that they have a very attractive Asian bartender. She's got this alternative look going on and she's a very polite and spry little minx. I believe that three separate happy hour goers, including a woman, mentioned their affections for this bartender.

The second thing you should know is that the food is overrated. The locals seem to cherish the culinary happenings here for some unknown reason. (Further proof that Lawrenceville residents are dummies.) The pierogies were fine, but they were obviously Mrs. T's pierogies. The Mediterranean plate was the real disappointment.  Some lousy artichoke spinach dip and hummus served with olives and a surprising lack of bread. I asked for more bread two times. It never showed up. The night slowly crept away and then the waitress stole my Mediterranean plate while I wasn't looking. Don't they know they shouldn't waste food! There are starving children in Dormont!

Additionally, the mediocre chicken wings are mediocre and the bar is very loud. At least that one bartender is really hot.

That one piece of bread is so sad. Where are his friends?

Doubleday's Famous Burgers

Turtle down

Doubleday's is a no nonsense establishment. When you step up to the bar you are expected to order. Out of fear for my life, I ordered the first chicken sammy I saw. The fiery sweet crispy chicken sandwich. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't famous. I think there were just too many flavors at play between the jalapenos, the cheese and the sweet chili sauce. I also tried a burger, it was not famous either. I can't really say that I had very strong feelings about the food at Doubleday's, other than I loved the tots. There's something about a perfectly crisp tot that just makes me want to chub out.

This is one of the few great neighborhood style bars that exist in downtown Pittsburgh. If I wanted a really good burger I'd head to Winghart's or Meat and Potatoes. But if I wanted some really good company, remarkably cheap beer, snarky bartenders and some perfectly crisp and reasonably priced tots - I'd be at Doubleday's in a heartbeat.

What is your favorite neighborhood style bar downtown? I love Bar 110, but Doubleday's provides a similarly wonderful atmosphere.

Park Bruges Cafe

Introduction by Pittsburgh Happy Hour 

Krista Bland wrote this weeks review due to my untimely absence from happy hour. The Flemish and the Walloons are a hardy people. Knowing very little of their culture, I attribute their hardiness to their taste for chocolate, beer and strange liquors unbeknownst to a simple Pittsburgh man raised on river water. My favorite story involving the Belgians is when my friend Meredith insisted that my friend Wade was Belgian because of his blonde appearance and heavy accent after consuming a bottle of vodka. This is to say, I know very little of the culture. Let's hear what Krista Bland has to say about Park Bruges Cafe:

By Krista Bland

There are a huge selection of Belgian beers (about 20-30) Try the Rodenbach! One of my personal favorites. The style is called Flanders red, but the beer is slightly sour due to the yeasts used in the fermentation process.  A coppery-red color and dry finish. The tart flavor is thirst-quenching and it goes well with food.  Park Bruges doesn’t have a big enough bar for large groups - there are about 15 seats. Don't invite too many friends. 

The burger looked pretty good (I stole a glance at Matt’s, and it had a nice amount of char and melty cheese) However, for the $10 price tag, I decided on the tartes flambées. Basically large flatbreads (about the size of a dinner plate.) Crème fraiche, caramelized onions, and ham dotted the thin, crispy crust. Tarte flambée refers to a thin crust dough baked, usually in a wood oven, and topped with traditional Alsatian toppings, exactly like what I ordered. The flavors worked well, although being a salt lover, I wished there was a little more ham.  Personal preference.

I've had the frites before (editors note, this is fancy for french fries and I always order them as french fries to anger the waiter), and those are always excellent. Presented extra crispy due to the double fry. They are served with mayonnaise (garlic here, although sister restaurant Point Brugge offers basil mayo) in the European style. 

Smokin' Joes - Southside

Thumbs up on the sliders bro!

My friend Mark calls Smokin' Joes -  Smokin' Bro's. I do not believe that this title is entirely unwarranted as this is a massively bro dominated bar situated in the historic Southside of Pittsburgh. You can't really fault the bros though, Smokin' Joes has one of the best craft beer selections in the city. Bros love bro'ing down on some craft beers! Their website claims that they have over 60 beers on draft and 350 bottled selections. As an avid PBR drinker, I think all of these selections are expensive and cause confusion, but you can't fault the bro's for bro'ing.

In addition to their highly esteemed bro collection and draft beer assortment, Smokin' Joes offers some fine food specials. On Thursday they have seventy five cent sliders and forty cent chicken wings. The chicken wings are top-middling. The sauces are notable (in particular the smokin' parm) but the texture, presentation and size leave much to be desired. I've heard Smokin' Joes chicken wings called the best in the city many times, I disagree. The wings are often accompanied by a greasy puddle of sauce and I find this to be a turnoff. (But not enough of a turnoff to stop me from consuming all of the wings.)

I thought the sliders were just great and appropriately priced. The pork sliders were a bit dry and they could have used some sauce, but the pork itself wasn't that bad. I partially consider this my fault as I didn't realize it was possible to order the sliders with free toppings. Luckily, the waitress brought me a nice basket of pickles and onions later in the evening. The beef sliders were like heavenly little sweet meatloafs. Moist meat, a balanced and sweet flavor with an adequately sized slider patty.  Each one a small angel inevitably leading me to heart disease.