TastyBurgher

Pizzutti
709 Bellefonte St
Shadyside 15323
412-687-1022
M-Sat: lunch 11-2 ; dinner 5-9 (10 on F and Sat)

“Automatic Pizzutti, Zero to Tutti Frutti”
-Beck, on ravioli

To please me, Pizzutti had a steep hill to climb. My original trip to Pizzutti was really a bust – my salmon was dry and salty, the zucchini melted our gums, and all but one of my dining companions had a complaint. I vowed I would never go back, for it was not up to snuff. But, at TastyBurgher we have a rule about having to eat somewhere twice before writing a review. For Pizzutti this meant some amount of salvation, because our second trip to Pizzutti was Bzooty! (more…)

Abay
130 S Highland Ave
East Liberty, 15206
412-661-9735
T-Sat 11:30-2:30 and 5-10; Sun 11:30-2:30 and 5-9

When we heard rumors that an Ethiopian restaurant was coming to little ole’ Pittsburgh, my friends and I were overjoyed. While waiting for months for the restaurant to open, we wound up promising everyone we knew that we’d go to Abay with them once it opened. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. People we were good friends with, people we made small talk with, people in totally opposite friend circles, parents, in-laws, coworkers…..everyone. When Abay finally DID open, we had three months of dinner-dates booked on our calander, as it seemed everyone remembered our promise. Three months of any cuisine might make a person sick of it, especially if it isn’t fantastic. But, fortunately for us (and the rest of Pittsburgh), Abay delivers in bringing exotic AND delicious Ethiopian fare at reasonable prices, and we didn’t get bored once! (more…)

Il Pizzaiolo
703 Washington Rd
Mt Lebanon, PA 15228-2004
Phone: (412) 344-4123
Mon-Thu 12-10; Fri-Sat 12-11; Sun 12-9

Well, well, well….maybe they didn’t read our review after all! Went back to Il Pizzaiolo again this weekend (did I mention that I am obsessed?) and EVERYTHING’S CHANGED!!! Well, not everything, but they changed the menu, both in items and in structure. What’s changed? Brace yourself… (more…)

Il Pizzaiolo
703 Washington Rd
Mt Lebanon, PA 15228-2004
Phone: (412) 344-4123
Mon-Thu 12-10; Fri-Sat 12-11; Sun 12-9

Well we just went to Il Pizzaiolo again this week, and it’s like they read our review or something! In any case it seemed that way, as two very specific notes I had mentioned in my original First-Time Review were addressed on this particular trip. (more…)

Point Brugge Café
401 Hastings Street
Point Breeze
412-441-3334
T-Sat 11am-10pm; Sun Noon-9pm

(Note: this is Reed’s first-time review of Point Brugge Café. If you want to see Erika’s first-time review, you can check it out here.)

Point Brugge Café is a small, neighborhood restaurant tucked into little-explored Reynolds Street area of Point Breeze. The emphasis is on things Belgian, and Point Brugge does a very good job, particularly when they stay focused: The fare, overall, is quite good. And, the more Belgian a menu item is, the better it tends to be. (more…)

Well, folks, I’ve more or less finished slaving away behind the scenes, trying to get TastyBurgher up and running.  I’m pretty happy with how it’s working now. That means I will hopefully have time to write some reviews of my own, before Erika does them all!

One thing about this site is that sometimes, for a given restaurant, Erika and I will each write our own “first-time review”.  In these cases, there will be some overlapping information, as our intent will be for each of the first-time reviews to be able to stand on its own.

In addition, we will sometimes write “follow-up reviews”.  In these cases, our goal will be to provide a quick update, or bit of news, or a tip about a place that has already had a first-time review.  When reading a follow-up review, it would probably be a good idea to check out our first-time reviews as well, so you can be sure to cover the basics.

On a technical note, all of the above suggested navigating should be pretty easy for our visitors when they are stopping in at TastyBurgher.com itself, though I do have some concerns about ease-of-use for any RSS subscribers who might be out there.  If anyone out there in feed-land wants to comment or make suggestions on how we could improve their experience, please feel free to do so!

So, without further ado, let me welcome you, on behalf of both Erika and myself, to the more-or-less complete TastyBurgher.com.

Point Brugge Café
401 Hastings Street
Point Breeze
412-441-3334
T-Sat 11am-10pm; Sun Noon-9pm

There was a time not too long ago when I really discovered the wonderful neighborhood of Point Breeze. I never knew there was that strip of shops on Reynolds or the few dotted along the pathway to Frick Mansion. I’d already been in love with Mellon Park, but I didn’t know that just across the hill was the little business district that I now find so indispensable. I love its funky conglomeration of shops: a needlepoint store, a Haitian art gallery, more salons than I can imagine that area supports, a vet, Pino’s (which I am not all that favorable of) has been there for I-don’t-know-how-long, a new coffee shop just opened (thank heavens), and Point Brugge Café popped up last year. Boy am I glad they set up shop: a quiet spot in a pleasant neighborhood within walking distance of my house. Point Brugge is absolutely my top pick for Best Recently-New Local Restaurant, serving Belgain-ish fare with European style, and a mighty beer menu with picks that rival the Sharp Edge. (more…)