I hit the ground running in January. I did so much that I spent time off social media for a week, except to post an occasional story about the cool thing I was doing. January is my birthday month so I always do something big like reserve an entire bar. I also spent a fantastic weekend in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands with a group of great content creators, which I’ll mostly cover in a separate post. I had so much fun doing all the eating and exploring that it’s unfortunate my full time job still keeps me busy too.
Restaurants
For the third year in a row, I started the year at Cinderlands Warehouse Hair of the Hog New Year’s Day pig roast. This year, they took a more Southern barbecue approach and it paid off. It was a fantastic buffet of pulled pork, BBQ chicken, kielbasa, and a handful of sides. It was an amazing meal.
Fried Chicken Night is finally back at Kaya. I was so glad this special returned after years off. On the first Thursday of every month, Kaya offers a fried half chicken with mashed potatoes, coleslaw and tortillas. You can get regular and Nashville Hot. I got the Nashville Hot. It packs a little bit of heat and the breading was still very crispy. I’m sure I’ll go for this special every few months.
Before a night out celebrating my birthday, I had dinner at The Warren Bar & Burrow. This is easily my favorite place for a cocktail in Pittsburgh. I ordered the smash burger and sweet potato tots. Their food is great too. I was back at The Warren later in the month to try out some new cocktails they have on the menu.
I went to dinner at Alta Via in Market Square. I got the Chicken Parmesan for the first time there and it was one of the best I’ve eaten. I’ll be ordering that again at some point. I would almost suggest getting it to share at the table.
I used my Big Burrito birthday certificate at Casbah again this year. I went big this year and ordered the lamb shank. I’ve never gotten it before at Casbah. It was massive and so tender. I don’t think I could order this often, but it was worth it.
It was one of the many cold days of January, and I decided to return to Fujiya Ramen in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside for a hot bowl of ramen. It was restaurant week so we each for an app, bowl or ramen and a dessert. First, we ordered the chicken karaage and pork buns apps. The karaage was fried so perfectly crispy on the outside and soft inside. My tonkotsu ramen was delicious. The pork belly chashu was so tender and I loved slurping my noodles. I enjoyed the Japanese matcha cheesecake a lot.
I went to happy hour at Eleven. They have certain cocktails and small bites on special. I didn’t fully stick to that menu. I think the most exciting part was my dessert, a blood orange raspberry tart.
I was invited to try Duo’s Taqueria and it was delicious. This restaurant, which is part of Duolingo, opened about a year ago and I don’t know why I hadn’t eaten there to this point. They feature authentic Mexican cuisine and street foods. My favorites of the evening were the suadero tacos made with slow cooked brisket and the pollo rostizado coated in salsa pasilla and black beans. They also have over 120 rare and hard to find tequila and mezcal from Mexican owned distillers, which are featured in their cocktails.
I finally went to Wise County Biscuits and Café on the North Side. I am so mad at myself for taking this long to get there for a meal. I used to get Wise County Biscuits all the time at farmers markets around the city. Some of the earliest photos on my account are of beautiful, messy breakfast sandwiches. I was so happy to see them open up a restaurant, but I don’t go out to breakfast often. After that meal, I really need to go out for breakfast more. I missed these biscuits. I knew right away I needed to order the Fried Chicken Biscuit. I used to say all the time at farmers markets those biscuits would be amazing with fried chicken. I was right. I loved my sandwich. Now I need to return more often to keep working through all the meals Wise County Biscuits offers.
I got pizza at Alta Via Pizzeria as part of happy hour. I ordered their special of the week with pancetta, fresh mozzarella, fontina, and bottarga.
I went back to Soba for a fun dinner with my friend Beth, who arranged an evening of romanticizing Pittsburgh with Arjun Manjunath. He had never been to Soba before and it was a lot of fun to get to know him a little better and introduce him to a new restaurant.
I celebrated Lunar New Year a little early at Many More Asian Market. We ordered a ton of amazing food from their hot food bar. I think the stand out items were the roast duck, roast pork and the dumplings. However, everything was great. I want to go back and order so much more. The market was also amazing. So many imported goods.
I went out in Sharpsburg with Abby, @foodismysavior_pgh to The Brinery and Love, Katie Distilling. Sharpsburg is becoming quite the food neighborhood. Abby is one of my OG Instagram foodie friends and it’s always nice to catch up outside of events.
I bought a bunch of first timers to The Parlor Dim Sum. It’s one of my favorite restaurants so I love going there with people that can try all the great dim sum and Cantonese dishes. There is also a Lunar New Year menu and got to experience a few great specials.
Events
I celebrated my birthday at Cease & Desist, a new private space in Downtown Pittsburgh. It was exciting to be able to bring friends together in a space practically hidden in plain sight. This speakeasy-style bar is elegantly decorated and includes memorabilia and murals to give it a casual vibe. They can serve everything from quality cocktails to beers to whatever drinks you request within reason. It was a fantastic evening filled with cocktails and friends.
I went to the Science of Pixar exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center. It was an interesting exhibit that goes into detail about the process of making a Pixar movie. There were several interactive stations to get a hands on perspective of each phase. I was hoping there would be more props to pose with, but I still got a few good photos.
I accidentally entered a baking competition. Jenny Lee Bakery created new baking mixes. I baked them with other Pittsburgh food content creators at Flour Power in Allison Park to see who can make the best baked goods. I got to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie mix at home and they turned out pretty good. At the competition, I was tasked with making the Tavern Bread. I made a cheddar and pepperoni tavern beer bread. It could have been the winner if it had just a little more time to bake.
Hop Farm Brewing held a 90s party. It was a lot of fun dressing up in my flannel and having a few beers. They are planning on doing more theme nights like this in the future.
Laurel Highlands
I spent the weekend in the Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania hosted by Go Laurel Highlands, the region’s destination marketing office. I was there with a group of travel content creators. I was there to discover a lot of the food in the area. A full blog post and more videos about the food will be coming soon. Here is a list of everywhere I visited.
- Out of the Fire Café
- Bittersweet Café
- El Vaquero Mexicano
- Carol and Dave’s Roadhouse
- Brewed Awakenings Coffee
- Shortys on Rt 30
- Silver Horse Coffee
- Hillbilly’s Grub and Pub
- Ohiopyle Coffee Company
- El Diablo Brewing Company
- All Saints Brewing
- Flight 93 Memorial
- Living Treasures Wild Animal Park
- Wicked Googly
- Ohiopyle State Park
