Monterey Bay Fish Grotto

When you ride the glass elevator up to the dining area of Monterey Bay, you know you are in for a memorable evening. If you haven't been in a while, I recommend stopping by to checkout the new decor. They recently did a massive three million dollar overhaul and the space looks beautiful. It has a very elegant aesthetic that is not common in the Pittsburgh area. I doubt I need to mention the great view of the city from Monterey Bay, but it is astonishing!

Pictured above is the kobe beef tartar on crostini, the salmon ceviche roll with spicy mayo and the veggie roll for the losers. (Just kidding, it was pretty good - I'm just more of a fish man.)

I particularly enjoyed the salmon ceviche roll, but the beef tartar was my absolute favorite. Very flavorful and fresh, I think I ate about half of the platter by myself. In addition to the renovations, Monterey Bay has been making some additions to their menu as well.

It's nice to see that a restaurant that has been around for a while isn't afraid to try new things, just the other week they were offering a ceviche taco at the Pittsburgh Farm to Table Conference that was remarkably good.

The Ichiban skewers pictured above were one of my favorite dishes we tried at Monterey Bay. They made them with bite size pieces of marinated filet, tuna and swordfish. The dish had a great array of flavors and textures and I love anything that's slightly charred.

Monterey Bay also put together some great cocktails for us! My absolute favorite was the strawberry basil pepino with tequila, lime, strawberries and jalapeno. It was a total knockout. I can't thank the staff of Monterey Bay and Eileen French from Revive Marketing enough for such an awesome evening. I can't wait to go back. It's always nice to be pampered.

Vallozzi's - Downtown

Our wonderful spread.

I believe this was my fourth or fifth visit to Vallozzi's for happy hour in the last year. Quite frankly, they have one of the best happy hour setups in Market Square. A spacious bar with plenty of high top seating and room for mingling. Without even taking into account how great their food is, here are some reasons why Vallozzi's should be one of your top choices for happy hour in Market Square if you have a large group.

1. The Oyster House really isn't that good.
2. Nola gets very crowded and it is hard to find a spot at the bar. (You have to be seated at the bar to get happy hour prices at NOLA.)
3. Perle has very strange older singles vibe. (So this might actually be your spot after all depending on what you are into.)
4. Los Velas is not quite as good as Taco Bell.
5. The Yard can be insanely noisy and crowded.

SNACKS

Some of the wonderful dishes we tried included the flat breads, the cured meat plate and the fried risotto balls. Although the flat breads were my favorite snack, I was remarkably impressed by the fried risotto balls. They had a wonderful creamy texture and were a perfect vehicle for consuming Vallozzi's marinara sauce.

WHAT NICE LOOKING PEOPLE

I also have to tell you about my favorite drink from the Vallozzi's happy hour menu. It was an Italian drink I've never heard of called sgroppino. I was actually not sure how to say the word so I think I just pointed to it on the menu. Apparently it is a Venetian drink typically made with lemon sorbet, Vallozzi's served them up with lemon rosemary syrup, vodka and prosecco. Three of them is an excellent way to start and end your night!

Station - 4744 Liberty Ave

TAGLIATELLE

I've rarely had a satisfying dining experience in Bloomfield. Tessaro's is overrated. The last time I stopped by the sandwich shop there was a fist fight involving the entire restaurant and it took about two hours to get my runny omelet. Del's (now deceased) and Pleasure Bar always served their food with a great deal of Italian "gusto" but I've found the quality of the food to be very lackluster. Restaurant goers in Pittsburgh have always prized quantity and value over quality. I believe this trend is finally shifting.

Station is the brainchild of Justin Janosko. I've known Justin since he was pouring beers at Tad's on East Carson and saving up to start his catering business which would eventually springboard him into his wonderful new location in Bloomfield.

I was extremely skeptical of Station and quite worried that I would be writing a nasty review. After all, the cheapest item on the menu is the $8 chicken liver mousse and the cheapest entree is a $16 burger. By way of comparison,  $7 will get you a huge fried bologna sandwich and a side at the lovely Bob's Garage which we visited a few weeks prior.

Justin recommended I try the tagliatelle. I don't typically enjoy ordering pasta dishes at most restaurants. I generally believe that I can make pasta as well as the next guy -- I was wrong. The house made tagliatelle was perfectly textured with a wonderful thick sauce. It was very well complimented by the smoked pork shank as well as the one hour egg. (Read soft runny egg that adds a great deal of complexity to any dish.) After crushing the entire entree, I slurped the sauce like a goblin. It was really that good.

Wingz

Somehow, I found myself entirely outside of my comfort zone on my visit to Station. My dear friend Ed suggested that I order the $11 chicken wings. Although this price seems criminal for just 5 chicken wings, I had no regrets. The wings were prepared in a tapioca coating and then flash fried. The resulting texture is almost too much to handle, especially when paired with the wonderful chili sauce and aerated parmesan cheese.  The wings basically seemed breaded and had a delightful crunch. I'll be going back just to get an entire order for myself. My friends PITTSBURGH TENDO REVIEW would either praise these wings or hang themselves. I really don't know which, they are kind of manic.  I would absolutely love to see their review.

My chief complaint about Station would be that some of the dishes are just a little too rich and too complicated.  I would have a hard time describing the beef tongue and the ravioli other than to call them "busy." There was just too much going on with each dish and too many competing flavors and textures. I believe that with the quality ingredients they are using some of the menu items could be simplified. I would also like to complain about the the price points, but I can't. Sometimes good food is absolutely worth the money.

The Pittsburgh Happy Hour: A Year in Photos - 2015

We shared some fancy meals together - Smoke.

Burgers were consumed despite the looming fear of the gout.

There were podcasts.

 There was charity!

Many late nights led us to the streets.

Some of the bars we visited are no longer in business. Circolo Wood fired circa April, 2015.

Some white elephant gifts weren't very good and were subsequently re-gifted.

There were marriages.

There were engagements.

There were bratwursts.

Rashan got everyone flowers one night.

We had a lovely weather for outdoor seating month.

There were many warm embraces.

Howled.

We howled at the moon.

MANY warm embraces.

Any  Kopy's.

And Bar Louie.

And pizza at the gay bar.

And a wonderful mardi gras celebration compliments of Riesa.

Mitchell's became one of our favorite downtown destinations.

Christy hung out with us a lot!

The Yard.

Fat Tommys.

Bob's Garage

Fried Bologna

I'm extremely proud to be the first food blogger in Pittsburgh to review Bob's Garage. (That is, as far as I can tell.) The majority of bloggers seem to revel in reviewing the most trendy spots while neighborhood staples like Bob's are entirely ignored. The truth of the matter is that Bob's has been around longer than most of the hip spots in the 'Burgh and it will likely outlast many of those spots as well.

The online reviews of Bob's are quite humorous. People complaining that they weren't seated properly and that service was slow. Let's be clear about one thing, Bob's Garage is absolutely a dive bar. They may put extensive work into their holiday decorations (it looked like St. Nick threw up on a reindeer) but really the place is just a juke joint that is catering to the 50's-60's crowd in the burbs.

Despite the numerous online complaints, our bartender, Dino, did a great job and was very personable. He said that they have been putting up Christmas decorations for at least the last 16 years since he started working and that the decorating begins immediately after Halloween each year. I honestly believe that Bob's is worth a visit just to check out the decorations.


I really enjoyed my bologna sandwich for the price tag. ($7) It was nothing fancy, but it provided a nice base for heavy drinking with thick cuts of fried bologna, lettuce, tomato and onion. It also came with some unremarkable but edible coleslaw. Let's be honest, $7 won't get you an appetizer at many downtown bars these days. For example, we are slated to visit Station in Bloomfield in 2 weeks where there is not a single menu item for less than $8. 

Christmas forever.

I'd say that Bob's is a must visit for the cultural experience. Additionally, it is worth noting that I have never been to a dive bar with such clean bathrooms in my life.


 

Wine Room: Market Street Grocery

Snacks!

Having lived in Pennsylvania for the majority of my life, I am not accustomed to the luxury of enjoying a glass of wine when visiting the grocery store. Such an experience seems like an extravagance reserved for Parisians -- or, you know, people located basically anywhere else in the United States like say, New Jersey.

Eating an entire chicken by yourself has never been more classy or acceptable.

One of the really cool benefits of drinking in the Wine Room at Market Street Grocery is that you are allowed to go purchase and sample whatever you want from the grocery while you are downing the vino! In addition to all of the wonderful appetizers provided by Wine Room, we indulged in two rotisserie chickens and a number of tasty macaroons. There is honestly nothing better than paying grocery store prices for an entire chicken while you have some drinks with your friends.

So many meats.

The Wine Room at Market Street Grocery offers a variety of cheese and meat through a small menu available in the Wine Room. I believe we sampled some blue cheese, gouda, manchego and a soft sheep's milk cheese. All were fantastic and well priced for snacking. The prosciutto was the first to go, followed by our sobriety. The staff also graciously provided the entire bar with some soft pretzels close to closing time.

Don't whine, wine.

The wine at Market Street comes from Collefrisio Wines. The night we visited I had the opportunity to try a number of different montepulcianos. The wine menu itself is rather limited as all offerings are exclusively from Collefrisio. However, this is also works to the benefit of the casual wine drinker as bottles were very reasonably priced, with happy hour pricing many of the different bottles could be purchased in the $16-$25 dollar range. Although I do not pretend to be a wine connoisseur, I can say that I enjoyed the Collefrisio wine as I purchased several bottles.

Overall I highly recommend visiting Wine Room for the intimate atmosphere, the great staff and the wonderful opportunity to eat your groceries while you drink!

The South Paw - Southside

Pizza for days.

I've been hanging around the building that houses the South Paw for at least the last decade. I remember attending an Unlimited Magician show there once when it was a hookah bar called "H-khan" and I spent many blissful evenings there when it came to be known as the Blind Pig.

I was disappointed to hear that the Blind Pig didn't make it, but the South Paw is a worthy successor. Drinks are reasonably priced ($2 draft beers) and the food was great.

I was very impressed by the "Guido Gati" large pizza ($14 pictured above.) It came absolutely piled with toppings and cheese. Hearty heaps of sausage,  peppers, garlic and chopped tomato. I particularly enjoyed that they used a cheese blend as opposed to just mozzarella. As a side not, garlic may be the most underrated pizza topping of all time perhaps only surpassed by bacon.

The Guido Gati is easily one of the better pies on East Carson which myself and food economists have dubbed a recovering pizza desert. ( Google defines a food desert as, "an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food." A pizza desert is a much more extreme first world problem that the media is afraid to discuss.)

I'M SO HAPPY TO EAT THESE WINGS

In addition to pizza, sandwiches and appetizers, the South Paw also specializes in smoked wings. Old Mendo was having a great time wolfing them down! I tried one myself and although I'm not really a smoked wing guy, I have to say they weren't bad. They even had a good 15 different flavors.

Overall a really great bar with some delicious food. Not much of a crowd though on a Thursday night, so be sure to bring some friends to help you finish the large food portions and listen to your sad stories about how you have been hanging around the same building on East Carson for the better part of a decade.