This past Saturday the Food Network’s Sunny Anderson of "Cooking for Real" was at the Robinson Giant Eagle Market District for a cooking event. It was pretty awesome! Sunny did almost a complete show of cooking an app, to salad, to main course, and then dessert. Check out Sunny’s blog to read about her recent trip – http://sunnyanderson.blogspot.com/2010/07/from-party-to-after-party.html
I’ve seen the Double Wide Grill in the South Side many times as I pass by, but never really had the chance to stop in and I also never really heard from too many who have eaten there. Yesterday my cousin Bobby, Vic and myself wanted to try something new and landed on Double Wide Grill. Before I went I checked out the website to see the menu, and trust me when I tell you that you have to watch the FYI video they have on their main page before you visit because it will get you ready to go! CLASSIC!
Food
Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls- filled with wood grilled chicken, red peppers, jalapenos, corn, onion, spinach and cheddar-jack cheese. The best thing about these were that usually when I get an egg roll outside of a chinese restaurant they usually use flakey wraps that are crisp but not a traditional egg roll. Double Wide uses the real egg roll and you can tell its the real deal cause the grease soaks up in all those nooks and crannies! On the side is a chipotle ranch for dipping and it didn’t really enhance the southwest flavor, but it provided a nice balance.
Bessy’s Best Bar-B-Q Brisket Sandwich- Double Wide Grill says it’s dry rubbed, slow roasted, melt in your mouth beef brisket. YES IT IS! You could tell just by one bite that the brisket was slow roasted because you got so many different layers of flavor from it. Instantly I was hit (not overpowered) by the smokeyness of the slow roasting, then the spice of the dry rub, and then if you choose to use it on the side you get a thing of bbq sauce and man that gives you a nice kick to your throat! And just to reiterate, when I say it hits or kicks you, these aren’t bad things! I also had a side of fries and cornbread, the fries were typical fresh cut potato fries but the cornbread was very good. I like when cornbread actually has kernals of corn in it and that was what I got in double wides, however the price for 1 piece was about $2 and the size was not worthy of $2.
Final Thoughts
I was really surprised how much of a BBQ menu Double Wide Grill offers, I just really didn’t expect it but I guess some of the best things in life are unexpected. You gotta try Double Wide Grill, but you gotta watch the FYI video on their website first!
Location
2339 East Carson Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203-2109
Phone- 412-390-1111
Web- http://www.doublewidegrill.com/
The reason for my trip to Pino’s was because my cousin came home after being away for a month doing Navy training and my family wanted to grab a quick bite. Pino’s is located in the Point Breeze area and even though I live very close to it I am not too familiar with the restaurants around the area except for a few that have been recommended to me. Pino’s was completely new for me and provided a very relaxed atmosphere inside. The entire restaurant is very small but offers a great selection of sidewalk seating as well. There is a small bar area inside and from what we were told it is generallty BYOB but they have aquired a liquor license and will be adding onto the bar in the future.
Food
Artichoke Fritters & Vegetable Remoulade – this was our appetizer and if you have ever had fried cauliflower this dish reminded me a lot of that. Don’t get me wrong the artichoke and cauliflower are 2 completely different types of food and taste but the overall deep fried presentation was along the same lines. The vegetable remoulade had a great flavor that didn’t take away from the artichoke and just enhanced it.
Seafood FraDiavolo w/ Casereccia Pasta- Jumbo Shrimp & Diver Scallops, Mussels & Calamari, Hot Banana Peppers, Garlic, Fresh Tomatoes & Marinara – I love seafood, I guess that is the italian in me and when mixed with pasta it really can be a meal. This dish was large and was probably too generous of a seafood portion. For me it was too overkill with seafood, one thing I wonder about the dish after having it is if any fish stock was used in creating it because every bite had seafood flavor to it, and in the end that is all I could really taste. There were times that I was eating calamari and didn’t know it because of how well it blended into the pasta. The best part of this whole meal was the scallops, I do not think I have ever had scallops so perfectly cooked!
A few of my family members ordered different flatbread pizza and really enjoyed them, I think next time that might be what I go with. My meal didn’t leave me dissatisfied with Pino’s, it however didn’t leave me satisfied either. I would really like to go back and try again and see what Pino’s really does best. One thing I do know is that next time I will be bringing a bottle of wine!
Location
6738 Reynolds Street (Point Breeze Business District)
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Phone- 412-361-1336
Web- http://www.chefpino.com/
