TastyBurgher

Merante Groceria
3454 Bates St
Oakland, 15213
412-683-3924

This tiny little grocer, in an impossible location in the backwoods of Oakland, has a surprise waiting inside for you.  It may mostly an Italian grocer, but deep in the back of the store they have a little tiny deli where they sell meats and will make you only one kind of sandwich: the Italian Sub.  The Italian Sub a classic sandwich that has lost its identity in a sea of Subways, Quiznos and pizza places.  But at Merante, you can get an authentic Italian sub the way it’s meant to be: just meats, cheese, peppers, and bread. (more…)

Gypsy Café
1330 Bingham Street
Southside. Pittsburgh. PA
412.381.GYPSY (4977)
Sunday Brunch 12-4
For dinner hours, check: http://gypsycafe.net/html/location.html

I have a previously posted review for Gypsy Café in which I detail the consistent deliciousness of their brunches, but where I also make a statement about their dinner dishes, which I found to be fairly boring.  At the time, I had only been there for dinner once, and I made a statement to the effect that I’d post a real review for Gypsy Café as a dinner joint once I’ve been there a couple times more.  Well I’ve done it and the results are in: it’s hit or miss and still kinda boring. (more…)

Kaya

2000 Smallman St
Strip District, 15222
412-261-6565
M-W 11:30-10; Thurs-Sat 11:30-11; Sun 12-9

OK, so I don’t like Kaya. I’m not saying their food is putrid, or that their atmosphere is not delightful, but I think I have decided I don’t like it. I realize that everyone else in the world loves Kaya, but I’m going to go against the grain. For me, Kaya has just been a series of disappointments - I really can’t say that I’ve ever had anything I’ve loved there. And this isn’t one of those cases where I’ve only been once or twice. I’ve been to Kaya a lot, and not only was it better 5 years ago than it is now, but also I don’t think it was that amazing to begin with. Kaya, you have to do more than just use an interesting ingredient – you have to live up. (more…)

Aladdin’s Eatery
5878 Forbes Ave
Squirrel Hill, 15217
412-421-5100
M-Th 11am-10:30pm; F&Sat 11am-11:30pm; Sun 11am-11pm

Aladdin’s has it goin’ on. Voted Best Hummus of 2003, 2004, and 2005 (by Me), and purveyor of good, cheap eats galore, Aladdin’s has become a sort of comfort food for the good people of Squirrel Hill (and perhaps its other locations as well). It isn’t exactly straight-up Mediterranean, but more like Mediterranean with a twist. Aladdin’s says the twist is that the food is more healthful than other ‘faster-food’ eateries, but the giant cakes you see when you first walk in would beg to differ. I’m not totally clear on what exactly the twist is, but one thing’s for sure: Aladdin can rub my lovely lady lamps any time. (more…)

Zenith
86 S 26th St
South Side, 15203
412.481.4833
W-Sat: 11-9; Sun 11-3

It is hard to be a vegan.  I myself am not one, but I watch friends struggle as they try to find a bite of eat out on the town.  Not many places can say they have a vegan option.  You can buy some pre-made products at Whole Foods and the East End Co-op.  Also, I know Mad Mex has a mean vegan burrito.  Most of the Indian restaurants have a couple vegan items and will make nan without the ghee upon request.  Quiet Storm is another spot that has some pretty good offerings.  But the best, most well-rounded place to get a square vegan or vegetarian meal has got to be Zenith.  Sure, you can go there Wednesday through Saturday and get a good meal in their part-antique-store in the South Side, but the brunch on Sunday is truly hard to beat.  True meat eaters should stay away, but anyone who is a mostly-to-all veggie eater will probably love this joint for its vast offerings and its low low price. (more…)

Everyone has an opinion about hot chocolate. You might think you don’t have a ‘thing’ for hot chocolate, but you still probably have something you would say is your ideal. The way it ‘should’ be. Well, I have listened to a lot of people’s preferences, and I’ve boiled it down to at least three main styles: the Traditional, the Uber, and the Steamy. Well, it turns out you can get pretty good versions of each type, right here in Pittsburgh! (more…)

Tango Café
5806 Forward Ave
Squirrel Hill, 15217
412-421-1390
Sun-Th 10-10; F-Sat 10-11

Forward Avenue has a lot of character with its funky little stretch of shops. There is the movie theater, where you to think that Terminator 2 must be playing in the next theater over until you realize its just people bowling in the upstairs alley. Then there is Pizza Amier, who now refuses to deliver to my friends who live up very many stairs…because of the stairs. There is that crazy real estate building that is entirely covered in a dark wood façade made of diagonally placed slats, and which has a forest of houseplants covering all the windows in the place. A European grocer, a funky antique store, the apartment building with the pointy screened-in porch….Forward Ave is a veritable sketchbook of genius. With this as the landscape you’d think it would be tough to fit in, but Tango Café just adds to the charm. (more…)

Ibiza
2224 E Carson St
South Side        15203
412-325-2227
M-Sat 4pm-2am

I’ll tell you straight up, I am a tapas-skeptic.  Every time I have them, the portion is too small and the price too high, leaving both the stomach and the wallet too empty.  They might be delightfully delicious, but most of the time I get the sneaking suspicion that American restaurants inappropriately use the flashy word ‘tapas’ in the place of making a quality appetizer.  “If you say ‘tapas’, they will come.”  But, I am a trooper and I keep trying just in case.  I keep my ears peeled for new places to try, and when my friend Jessica N. raved about the tapas at Ibiza, I listened.  She has good taste (only the best of snacks at her house), but when she went to Ibiza her tab was paid for, and having a meal be free can change your perceptions.  I wondered, did she think it was good because it was tasty?  Or was it because it was free?  Well I had to find out.  I took my ‘baggage’ packed with my tapas-skepticism and my free-food-hypothesis and made my way to the South Side.  Conclusion?  I paid through the nose, but the portions were hefty and the tapas went beyond my expectations. (more…)

Coca Café
3811 Butler St
Lawrenceville   15201
412-621-3171
T-F 7-3, Sat 8-4, Sun 10-3

I’m going to do something I don’t normally do: be straightforward.  Coca Café is one of my new favorite breakfast huts in town.  Not only is it cheap and delicious, but the menu has all sorts of items covering a little bit of every breakfast spectrum: healthful to fatty, savory to sweet, vegetarian to meaty, and plain to interesting.  Coca Café is in an awesome part of town, Lawrenceville, and it supports local artists, selling their work on their walls and during occasional art openings.  Their coffee is good, and they also serve a delectable lunch.  This time, it isn’t too good to be true. (more…)