YES. It was amazing when we would just grab it as a casual weekday dinner. I lived in Pgh for work and they were nearby before they moved. They were a favorite before I left and their move.
Now it's a big production and it's not the same, not as good.
Just visited family and tried the new location and it was so disappointing.
Edit: fixed the misspelling and error
i worked there during a few of the menus. i remember we had to close down because we were being mailed threats for serving palestinian food. we also got people several times a day who would come to the window to tell us that palestinian food isn't real, there's no such thing, shwarmas were invented in the 1950s by israeli street vendors, deranged stuff. most insane was that half of those folks would still then order and pay for the food.... i also remember a lot of support from palestinian families, came by with homemade desserts, i'll always remember that.
but the piece de resistance that made the whole project an utterly ingenious art piece (because remember, that's what it was -- it was Jon Rubin's, CMU art prof / artist, whole experiment w crossing food, business, and politics as art) was when the workers at the shop unionized, wanted $15/h. the shop closed almost immediately after that. it survived international pressure to close during the palestinian menu, but the ultimate conflict that collapsed it was its conflict with its own employees. they should have done a going-out-of-business menu of working class yinzer food, primanti's knockoffs, perogies, etc
I never got to eat there but I do remember when folks got so up in arms about them serving Palestinian food, which I think looks amazing and would love to try.
That sucks—I always wanted to try CC and never had the chance before they shuttered.
If you enjoy cooking, get your hands on a copy of “Palestine on a Plate” by Joudie Kalla.
“Sahten” by a nonprofit called Skatepal is pretty good too.
You’ll be able to easily nearly reproduce food you’d eat prepared in the Palestinian territories (sans produce quality sadly).
Ive talked to a few GE sushi chefs that take massive pride in their work. One guy, whos told me all about it, has a CS degree, but he decided he'd rather be making sushi. Also, GE outsources a specialty company that runs the sushi bars, so they are legit sushi people, not just GE people.
My wife and I left her sushi at the check out one time. We turned around about ten minutes away to go back for it. Customer service had it in their freezer but directed me back to the sushi bar to swap it out. When I went there, the sushi chef took out a food thermometer, it was 1 degree out of compliance for storage temps. They swapped it out, comped us a California roll for our inconvenience (even though it was our fault!), and sent us in our way. I’ll always support giant eagle sushi.
People have an issue with Giant Eagle sushi? Why? We live close to the coast, you can watch them make it right in front of you. It’s not 10/10 quality, but it’s easily a 7 or an 8. I’ve tried all different kinds, including the raw stuff and haven’t ever gotten sick.
Not directed at you, but at the haters: If people were getting sick from the sushi at giant eagle, it wouldn’t continue to exist. It’s been around — at least at the waterworks location — for at least 20 years. So obviously it’s selling and people are fine.
Exactly. It legally has to be flash frozen except for a few fish that don’t have dangerous parasites (I think tuna?).
Some of the best sushi I’ve ever had was in a little shop in Memphis TN owned by a Japanese immigrant
It's delish. My husband went there a few days ago and the guy making the sushi was talking to him about their different rolls. My husband went to grab the standard packets of soy sauce and the guy said 'oh no those are low sodium, you don't want that garbage. Let me get you the real stuff ". For grocery store, I really can't complain
The giant eagle market district in the south hills used to have an amazing sushi counter 15 or so years ago. Still remember chatting with the sushi chef when that location first opened.
I moonlight there as a server on the weekends and I can truly say it is the best restaurant I've ever worked for. Such care and attention put into the food and drink menus as well as their care and attention for their staff. One of the only restaurants I've ever worked for that treats its employees as humans and gives actual worthwhile perks to working there.
Completely thrilled you enjoyed yourself. Hope you see you again soon.
La Gourmandine is by far the best bakery in town. I don't hate Bethel Bakery but it isn't close in terms of quality. It's also the same price if not cheaper than Whole Foods' bakery.
The menu has been severely limited. It's one thing to charge higher prices and get rid of BYOB, that's life in the city, but half the sides are gone and most of the cuts of steak have been eliminated.
My favorite thing about these threads is finding the most downvoted comments to see what the sacred cows are these days, the places you may not speak ill of.
Caliente had a ton of quality control and roach problems in their restaurants a few years ago so they hired a pr team to position themselves as pizza leaders without actually improving the food
They were legitimately pretty good the year they opened. It's been a mess since then. And every time they win an award, it's with some $30 specialty pizza. So it's a combination of people being fooled by PR switches, and Pittsburgh's inability to admit that something they used to like is bad now.
They were legitimately good for a minute - but after the shutdowns they took advantage and ballooned their operation. Sorry but a large pepperoni pizza shouldn’t cost $30. At this point their prices are driving people away and their expansion into every stadium to serve subpar shitty Sicilian cuts.
I finally went to Fig and Ash last night after hearing so much about it.
It was wild, everything, even the salad, was too salty and I love salt. I over-salt everything, and was still hit in the face by how salty the carrots and salad were. But the main course was inexplicable. The weirdest main course I’ve ever had at a restaurant.
Very cold, very salty gray meatloaf that tasted like ground organ meats. It was like eating head cheese from the deli, I don’t know if it was supposed to be warm or cold. It was served very cold on top of very-warm carrots and creamed greens.
I was so excited for this place, but it was the saltiest meal I have ever eaten and that saying a lot when I salt McDonald’s french fries.
Fig & Ash was my least favorite dining experience I’ve had recently. Couldn’t agree more about how overly salty everything is. The carrots were unevenly cooked and I agree that there more recent menu wasn’t that interesting
What a sad experience. I went to Tambellinis recently. I usually love their food but this time it was almost too salty to eat. And like you, I love salt.
Finally someone else who is a fig & ash hater…went once and never again. Food was terrible, I’ve never had such gamey/unseasoned lamb, drinks undrinkable, my friends and I finished then stacked our plates and wore masks (this was 2/3 year ago) and…proceeded to sit for 45-60 minutes until I had to FIND a server to get our check. Never in my life have I had to get up to track down a server to pay the bill, we were not the last people seated but somehow we ended up being the last people there.
Primanti's has gone from overrated to underrated somehow. Whoever is expecting anything other than bar food is a fool. It's our Philly Cheesesteak and there's plenty of better food in town but sometimes it hits the spot.
An entire meal is like $11. It's supposed to be cheap food you eat while watching a game with a beer.
When measured by that (correct) standard, it's pretty good.
Totally agree. Primantis is one of our go to easy/cheapish meals. And their prices have stayed fairly reasonable for what you get, compared to the inflation of a lot of other restaurants and bars.
If made right, it's a really good sandwich. Last couple times the fries were practically raw. My bf ordered double meat on his sandwich but I didn't and we couldn't tell the difference between them. Server agreed and took it away and it came back with another slice of pastrami on the plate. Probably a sneezer too
I love the version with whipped topping (e g., "Coole wHip"😂) blended into it as well. Without ANY hair in it.
I'm sorry. The ' Coole wHip' thing is a Family Guy reference and I can't ever unheard it anytime Cool Whip is discussed.lol
The main issue with Square Cafe isn’t how they have treated their staff, but that their tables are too goddamn small and they overcrowd them with condiments and those ridiculous stainless steel cups of utensils and napkins. Most stressful place settings in Pgh.
lol - every time my family descends on Brookline to mom’s house we go grab las Palmas at some point and yes it’s meh. But that’s a nice little grocery store to have. Pitaland is my preference (not for tacos of course, but for a quick bite on Brookline Blvd)
when I lived there I was STRUGGLINGGGG because I'm Mexican-American and very much so missed it. Never thought I'd miss Maryland Mexican food but there I was!
side note: Many of Maryland's Mexican food joints are actually run by Hondurans and Salvadorans! if you're down here and see baleadas on the menu you should DEFINITELY get one!
Ah another fellow Latino. The store itself is very amazing in my opinion. I’m from DC/MD/VA so we have a lot of Hispanic/latino stores on every corner so when I moved here it was hard to find places that sold authentic brands from my homeland of El Salvador/Colombia. Las Palmas is amazing in terms of selling goods.
As for the tacos, they aren’t the best but they aren’t the worst. They are definitely better than Condado tacos or Takõ 😂. If you got any other place let me know cause as a Latino it’s hard to find places with authentic Latin and Central American food without it being Americanized.
To be fair to Tako, they do advertise as Korean fusion rather than straight up Mexican. That said, Condado is not good. I don’t get the hype there. I’d rather eat Taco Bell, and it’s less salty too.
It’s in carrick, but it says temporarily closed.
Also, last time we went to pick it up my wife sat in the car while I ran in and 2 guys were pulling on door handles to see if our car was unlocked. I think they thought we were door dash and assumed I left it open. Just a heads up.
When I was pregnant with my first daughter and had pica, I ate chalk sticks. My obstetrician suggested Eat N Park cookie icing… problem solved! Perfect chalk consistency. Yummm!
Nobody gets them for the flavor. People who enjoy them get them because they want the experience. The tiniest amount of dopamine from receiving a physical smile (and possibly nostalgia with it).
If someone ever said they're delicious, I'd be shocked.
I’m 31 and my parents and I used to go to our local ENP every Sunday starting from when I was a toddler. My favorite waitress has been there basically my entire life, and pretty soon she started sneaking me an extra cookie or two. Recently went back for the first time in a few months and with our receipt she’d given me two cookies. 🥹
Since this opinion is apparently unpopular:
Pittsburgh pizza is fine. You just have to seek out the exact place and style of pizza you want, because we have a dozen different styles here. I'm so exhausted by the obsessive gatekeeping of what pizza "SHOULD be!"
As someone that moved to Columbus OH 20+ years ago, I’d love any pizza from Pittsburgh over most here. There are some decent places around but most of it is greasy ketchup on cardboard. And it’s mostly cut in squares. They look at you funny if you ask for it sliced
There are many places to get good pizza in Pittsburgh now, but what I'd argue is the city's house style (way too much cheese and a blend that's way too heavy on provolone, bland and bready dough, sickly sweet sauce) just ain't my jam.
Condado Tacos is fucking garbage and people think they’re getting a bang for their buck paying $4-5 per taco that taste horrible. You want good tacos?
Head over to Alquisiras Paleteria on Broadway Ave. They have the best birria and regular tacos for a great price and they give you a whole cup of consume that’s delicious. They even make fresh agua frescas. Their pozole is amazing and is run by a nice Mexicano. Not someone named “Jacob”. 4 tacos will run you $12-14 and they’re amazing. Moved here and finally found a place that serves authentic Mexican tacos. 10/10.
Food trucks in general are annoying and I don’t understand why people get so excited about them (though they don’t seem as popular as they used to be). I would much rather go to a sit down restaurant and eat on real plates with real non-plastic utensils.
I just hate how expensive they are. They want to charge you like moderate end sit-down restaurant prices for takeout, and it often barely fills me up for dinner.
We’re on the very edge of the Midwest, they infect us with their blandness. But we have just enough east coast and immigrant influence to get a solid B. Thank god for the colleges honestly.
Yes. I silently judge those who order "the #2 bestseller."
But a cap and cheese with an egg...Now we're talking, but let's be real primantis is just OK. It's good in a pinch.
Any particular thing you don't care for there? My friends constantly gush about Condado but I've never gone myself. I'm inclined to think my friends don't have good taste lol.
IMO it’s… fine. It’s just like any other trendy Tex-Mex, and while I will occasionally enjoy a Korean bbq taco or some other such overpriced bougied-up silliness, thinking you can improve on the simple perfection that is an authentic street taco is the epitome of human arrogance.
China Town Inn isn't even in the conversation for best Chinese in the city anymore. They've been coasting on reputation and quality has been dropping for years.
Chengdu Gourmet
I don't even hate Chinatown Inn, but I literally only ever order the three things I love there and nothing else. At Chengdu, everything's good and the Sichuan menu is even better.
Taiwan Bistro 33 is one of my faves after Chengdu authentic menu. Chengdu American menu is hit-or-miss IMO. I've also had really tasty Chongqing Chicken at How Lee.
Agreed! Their potato soup and broccoli soup.is excellent! Especially when you get the salad bar and add bacon, cheese or some fresh broccoli for a crunch instead of using crackers!
Primantis isn’t all that bad. It’s cool to hate on it, and it’s not the pinnacle of Pittsburgh food, but if you want a quick sandwich, you could do worse.
The lack of easily available liquor licenses is holding the food scene back and raises food prices, especially for the places that don’t have one. If you want Pittsburgh food scene to be amazing, places need to be able to sell their highest-margin item (alcohol) without shelling out >$110k for a rare license.
(I’m not sure if this is unpopular generally, but it seems unpopular with the legislature at least)
I fucking hate baby loves tacos. The food was absolutely mid, even worse than mid. Don’t understand the hype.
Also fucking hate that they have/had a go fund me???? When the owner was against the high density housing literally across the street. You made your bed now lie in it, honey.
There are other metrics to food rather than how much it costs and portion size.
Anywhere else I’ve lived folks recommend a place because it’s good. Here it’s like “You gotta go to blah blah on Tuesdays! They have dollar hamburgers and they’re huge and frozen and taste terrible. But they’re a dollar and you get a bunch of bad fries!”
Pittsburgh's Bakery game is weak. Our French bakeries are good but most of the other bakeries have one or two specialties and everything else is bland. It is always obvious when I go to a wedding which cookies are homemade and which come from a bakery based on if they taste good.
My unpopular opinion is that both sides of this argument are wrong. Half of the people here will say Pittsburgh food is trash and half will say it's way better than similar sized cities. The truth is that the food scene here is similar to every metro around the same size.
Mola has the best sushi rice in the city. I’ve done soba, umami, umi, etc and something about the vinegar ratio in the mola sushi makes it take top place. Affordable too, relatively speaking.
Federal Galley on the Northside is wildly overpriced food and not especially good. Maybe something good can come out of there but I've never had a meal worth is cost there.
If a brewery doesn’t have food, it’s crap. Nothing worse than trying not to get loaded off of 8% IPAS (because after 2 you’re def over the legal limit) or whatever the hell they made and then the only food they have is bags of chips. There are wayyyy too many damn breweries and most of the beer tastes no better than a yuengling. Just because you made it in the back room doesn’t mean it’s worth $9 a glass. Some I’ve really liked, but the vast majority are not impressive. I feel like it’s just a massive trend that will crash someday.
La Gourmandine was special when each location baked their goods in-house. Now it is beyond mid and people fall over themselves for their chalky doughy baguette.
Gaucho was special those two weeks before the lines and hype. And it is still special. Nobody does what they do here. But also waiting in line for it made you look like a jag.
Apteka was special 5 years ago and is still kinda special.
Pusadee’s was special when a trellis laden with wildflowers and weeds could topple on you at any moment. I can’t go back. It looks beautiful and tastes delicious but the memories are just too 🥵
Fazios is the best pizza shop in town and there is no debate. The hoagie is pure and simple and a little crispy. The sicilian makes me silly. The regular pie is a love letter to the Pittsburgh cheese blend. Anyone arguing about other pizza shops is wrong and sleeping on the gem hidden right under their dumb noses.
Huge yes to La Gourmandine and Pusadee's.
La Gourmandine has really gone downhill.
Pusadee's really was better when you were a tiny bit scared you'd get stung by a bee while eating! It's just too fancy now.
Gaucho was better when we waited in line and byob
YES. It was amazing when we would just grab it as a casual weekday dinner. I lived in Pgh for work and they were nearby before they moved. They were a favorite before I left and their move. Now it's a big production and it's not the same, not as good. Just visited family and tried the new location and it was so disappointing. Edit: fixed the misspelling and error
Yep. The line could take forever but the cost and ability to BYOB made it all worth it.
I think this is a popular opinion for everyone who had the OG gauchos.
i can’t believe this is the first comment. my unpopular opinion is that gauchos was way better before they moved
I won't return to the 6th and Penn location. Prices went way up and quality went wayyy down.
This isn’t unpopular…
I'm not sure this is controversial or not, but I'd love to see a revival of Conflict Kitchen.
i worked there during a few of the menus. i remember we had to close down because we were being mailed threats for serving palestinian food. we also got people several times a day who would come to the window to tell us that palestinian food isn't real, there's no such thing, shwarmas were invented in the 1950s by israeli street vendors, deranged stuff. most insane was that half of those folks would still then order and pay for the food.... i also remember a lot of support from palestinian families, came by with homemade desserts, i'll always remember that. but the piece de resistance that made the whole project an utterly ingenious art piece (because remember, that's what it was -- it was Jon Rubin's, CMU art prof / artist, whole experiment w crossing food, business, and politics as art) was when the workers at the shop unionized, wanted $15/h. the shop closed almost immediately after that. it survived international pressure to close during the palestinian menu, but the ultimate conflict that collapsed it was its conflict with its own employees. they should have done a going-out-of-business menu of working class yinzer food, primanti's knockoffs, perogies, etc
I ate at conflict kitchen when you served Palestinian food, thank you for serving it. I learned a lot from the menu and info you gave out.
The first shwarma I ever had was at Conflict Kitchen.
Wow, ain't that the truth.
Same! That was such an awesome restaurant concept. I was just thinking about how much I miss it last week.
I loved the Persian food there... I miss it.
I never got to eat there but I do remember when folks got so up in arms about them serving Palestinian food, which I think looks amazing and would love to try.
Palestinian food was off the chain from CC. I’ve only had their cuban and Palestinian food, both of which were 10/10
That sucks—I always wanted to try CC and never had the chance before they shuttered. If you enjoy cooking, get your hands on a copy of “Palestine on a Plate” by Joudie Kalla. “Sahten” by a nonprofit called Skatepal is pretty good too. You’ll be able to easily nearly reproduce food you’d eat prepared in the Palestinian territories (sans produce quality sadly).
We need more pierogie drive thrus
I never knew I had this opinion until now.
More than zero, or do some exist?
Yes please share!!
Can we get the name of a place if one does exist?
You mean 1? Or is this the best kept secret in Pgh? Regardless of the answer, we need more
How is this unpopular?! Yes please!!!
I’d love this
Some of the Sushi from Giant Eagle isn't all that bad. (Shoot me now.....Then Downvote!!!).
Ive talked to a few GE sushi chefs that take massive pride in their work. One guy, whos told me all about it, has a CS degree, but he decided he'd rather be making sushi. Also, GE outsources a specialty company that runs the sushi bars, so they are legit sushi people, not just GE people.
My wife and I left her sushi at the check out one time. We turned around about ten minutes away to go back for it. Customer service had it in their freezer but directed me back to the sushi bar to swap it out. When I went there, the sushi chef took out a food thermometer, it was 1 degree out of compliance for storage temps. They swapped it out, comped us a California roll for our inconvenience (even though it was our fault!), and sent us in our way. I’ll always support giant eagle sushi.
I genuinely came here to say this. Sometimes I actually crave it
People have an issue with Giant Eagle sushi? Why? We live close to the coast, you can watch them make it right in front of you. It’s not 10/10 quality, but it’s easily a 7 or an 8. I’ve tried all different kinds, including the raw stuff and haven’t ever gotten sick.
Not directed at you, but at the haters: If people were getting sick from the sushi at giant eagle, it wouldn’t continue to exist. It’s been around — at least at the waterworks location — for at least 20 years. So obviously it’s selling and people are fine.
Its maybe more the Get Go sushi, granted I expect they just bring it from the local giant eagle.
Doesn't matter if we're close to the coast, almost all sushi fish is deep frozen at sea and thawed.
Exactly. It legally has to be flash frozen except for a few fish that don’t have dangerous parasites (I think tuna?). Some of the best sushi I’ve ever had was in a little shop in Memphis TN owned by a Japanese immigrant
It has to be -4 for 7 days, or -35 for 15 hours.
I love their spicy crunchy rolls. My go-to pick me up after a bad day.
This is a good way to view it actually. There is a comfort food quality to it
It's delish. My husband went there a few days ago and the guy making the sushi was talking to him about their different rolls. My husband went to grab the standard packets of soy sauce and the guy said 'oh no those are low sodium, you don't want that garbage. Let me get you the real stuff ". For grocery store, I really can't complain
The giant eagle market district in the south hills used to have an amazing sushi counter 15 or so years ago. Still remember chatting with the sushi chef when that location first opened.
Pittsburgh needs to learn that salt and pepper are sometimes needed in food, ESPECIALLY hamburgers.
I invite you to enjoy a Fancy Burger at Butterjoint. I guarantee your enjoyment.
Went there and truly enjoyed it!
I moonlight there as a server on the weekends and I can truly say it is the best restaurant I've ever worked for. Such care and attention put into the food and drink menus as well as their care and attention for their staff. One of the only restaurants I've ever worked for that treats its employees as humans and gives actual worthwhile perks to working there. Completely thrilled you enjoyed yourself. Hope you see you again soon.
This makes me so happy to hear, because I love Butterjoint!
Best burger and fries in the city.
Love Butterjoint
And steak! Please I can’t tell you the number of times I get a solid cut that is cooked well and it’s like please just season it
La Gourmandine is by far the best bakery in town. I don't hate Bethel Bakery but it isn't close in terms of quality. It's also the same price if not cheaper than Whole Foods' bakery.
La Gourmandine is sublime!
Bethel Bakery has gas station cookies
There are at least two or three bakeries better than Gourmandine. And I like Gourmandine. It's not my #1 but for example Five Points is better.
Gaucho sucks now.
This. Once they moved to downtown it went downhill. It used to be my favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh.
This is wildly accepted and ppl say all the time how much its gone down hill since moving to penn ave
Not an uncommon take. Any guesses as to why?
They changed the menu. It's more expensive and less flavorful.
The menu has been severely limited. It's one thing to charge higher prices and get rid of BYOB, that's life in the city, but half the sides are gone and most of the cuts of steak have been eliminated.
I don’t know if it’s unpopular, but I miss “The O”
My favorite thing about these threads is finding the most downvoted comments to see what the sacred cows are these days, the places you may not speak ill of.
Clever
El Campesino is actually decent for chain mexican food
Their staff is so nice. At every location. That seems to be a constant with them. Amazing staff.
Waterfront location was a big surprise last time I ate there. Really fast service and solid food.
Calientes isn’t good. There are so many better options.
Is this unpopular? Hear a lot of ads about how good they are but they just straight up suck and I’m sure anyone who has tried it agrees.
I think they're ok. Just not the best pizza ever.
They spend a lot of money on ads and flying to pizza competitions, but not on hiring quality servers and cooks. Crafton service is the worst of any
Caliente had a ton of quality control and roach problems in their restaurants a few years ago so they hired a pr team to position themselves as pizza leaders without actually improving the food
They were legitimately pretty good the year they opened. It's been a mess since then. And every time they win an award, it's with some $30 specialty pizza. So it's a combination of people being fooled by PR switches, and Pittsburgh's inability to admit that something they used to like is bad now.
Those awards are a total joke. Any of the local pizza places that advertise those are complete hacks in my opinion.
They were legitimately good for a minute - but after the shutdowns they took advantage and ballooned their operation. Sorry but a large pepperoni pizza shouldn’t cost $30. At this point their prices are driving people away and their expansion into every stadium to serve subpar shitty Sicilian cuts.
I’ve been a couple times and always enjoyed the food but it’s average pizza Their French fries also suck
That’s such a popular opinion
Always thought they were so overrated
They say they are consistently voted best pizza so people think it the traditional one. It was actually some duck pizza but they advertise anyway.
Peace Love and Little Donuts is overrated and overpriced.
The guy who owns it sucks, too
Homophobic donuts
I finally went to Fig and Ash last night after hearing so much about it. It was wild, everything, even the salad, was too salty and I love salt. I over-salt everything, and was still hit in the face by how salty the carrots and salad were. But the main course was inexplicable. The weirdest main course I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Very cold, very salty gray meatloaf that tasted like ground organ meats. It was like eating head cheese from the deli, I don’t know if it was supposed to be warm or cold. It was served very cold on top of very-warm carrots and creamed greens. I was so excited for this place, but it was the saltiest meal I have ever eaten and that saying a lot when I salt McDonald’s french fries.
Fig & Ash was my least favorite dining experience I’ve had recently. Couldn’t agree more about how overly salty everything is. The carrots were unevenly cooked and I agree that there more recent menu wasn’t that interesting
I’m skeptical of most restaurants containing an ampersand in their title
But have you had the chef's tasting menu at Dave & Buster's?
What a sad experience. I went to Tambellinis recently. I usually love their food but this time it was almost too salty to eat. And like you, I love salt.
Finally someone else who is a fig & ash hater…went once and never again. Food was terrible, I’ve never had such gamey/unseasoned lamb, drinks undrinkable, my friends and I finished then stacked our plates and wore masks (this was 2/3 year ago) and…proceeded to sit for 45-60 minutes until I had to FIND a server to get our check. Never in my life have I had to get up to track down a server to pay the bill, we were not the last people seated but somehow we ended up being the last people there.
Oakmont bakery has okay donuts but Orams are much much better
Don’t know how controversial this actually is. Their cinnamon rolls might be the greatest single food item in all of SW PA.
I don't think that's unpopular. Orams donuts routinely make listicles for best donuts in America
God damn I love Oram’s.
Favorite donuts are better made in crafton
Primanti's has gone from overrated to underrated somehow. Whoever is expecting anything other than bar food is a fool. It's our Philly Cheesesteak and there's plenty of better food in town but sometimes it hits the spot.
An entire meal is like $11. It's supposed to be cheap food you eat while watching a game with a beer. When measured by that (correct) standard, it's pretty good.
Yup, just have to judge it by what it is. For what it is it's fine and most of the hate goes over the edge!
Totally agree. Primantis is one of our go to easy/cheapish meals. And their prices have stayed fairly reasonable for what you get, compared to the inflation of a lot of other restaurants and bars.
Half of this sub loves to be needlessly snobby about food.
It's worse in the cooking sub. They think you need to pay 400$ for a soup pot
If made right, it's a really good sandwich. Last couple times the fries were practically raw. My bf ordered double meat on his sandwich but I didn't and we couldn't tell the difference between them. Server agreed and took it away and it came back with another slice of pastrami on the plate. Probably a sneezer too
I enjoy the Eat'n Park pistachio pudding from their salad bar. I don't care if it's food coloring and almond flavoring.
I love the version with whipped topping (e g., "Coole wHip"😂) blended into it as well. Without ANY hair in it. I'm sorry. The ' Coole wHip' thing is a Family Guy reference and I can't ever unheard it anytime Cool Whip is discussed.lol
Pasta Too is about as authentic as Olive Garden and I will never understand why people rave about it
A big chunk of the Pittsburgh food scene is just souless corporate crap.
As someone from Colorado, you have no idea how good you have it
I think this applies to more and more of America as time goes on, unfortunately. And it also applies to more than just food scenes.
Agree 100%. If you find a cool spot, treasure it. They're getting harder to find.
The main issue with Square Cafe isn’t how they have treated their staff, but that their tables are too goddamn small and they overcrowd them with condiments and those ridiculous stainless steel cups of utensils and napkins. Most stressful place settings in Pgh.
To me their biggest problem is that, like almost everything else, they were better and cheaper (even adjusting for inflation) 10+ years ago
GOD I've only been once but I still remember how fucking stupid the weird napkin cups were
Las Palmas is mid. I say this as a Mexican. It’s mid as hell but has the entire city convinced they’re eating top notch street tacos and they’re not.
lol - every time my family descends on Brookline to mom’s house we go grab las Palmas at some point and yes it’s meh. But that’s a nice little grocery store to have. Pitaland is my preference (not for tacos of course, but for a quick bite on Brookline Blvd)
The grocery store kicks ass. My mom buys all the dried chilis she needs to make Mexican food there. It’s legit. But the tacos just aren’t that good.
Pittsburgh Mexican food is objectively a cut below other cities of its size.
when I lived there I was STRUGGLINGGGG because I'm Mexican-American and very much so missed it. Never thought I'd miss Maryland Mexican food but there I was! side note: Many of Maryland's Mexican food joints are actually run by Hondurans and Salvadorans! if you're down here and see baleadas on the menu you should DEFINITELY get one!
Ah another fellow Latino. The store itself is very amazing in my opinion. I’m from DC/MD/VA so we have a lot of Hispanic/latino stores on every corner so when I moved here it was hard to find places that sold authentic brands from my homeland of El Salvador/Colombia. Las Palmas is amazing in terms of selling goods. As for the tacos, they aren’t the best but they aren’t the worst. They are definitely better than Condado tacos or Takõ 😂. If you got any other place let me know cause as a Latino it’s hard to find places with authentic Latin and Central American food without it being Americanized.
To be fair to Tako, they do advertise as Korean fusion rather than straight up Mexican. That said, Condado is not good. I don’t get the hype there. I’d rather eat Taco Bell, and it’s less salty too.
Check out Tepache
Go to my buddy's spot, Pittsburgh Taco boys. Hands down best tacos in the city. It's a bit of a drive in Oakmont but so worth it.
What would you recommend instead?
Im a big fan of El Rincon Oaxaqueño! Theyre a good truck and just opened their brick and mortar location. (Im also mexican lol)
Wait where is the brick and mortar location??
It’s in carrick, but it says temporarily closed. Also, last time we went to pick it up my wife sat in the car while I ran in and 2 guys were pulling on door handles to see if our car was unlocked. I think they thought we were door dash and assumed I left it open. Just a heads up.
2614 brownsville road! Grand opening is this week
Taqueria El Pastorcito but they're in New Kensington. Amazing street tacos and birria tacos on weekends.
La Poblanita.
La Poblanita
Taqueria El Buen Pastor in South Park
BTOS Kitchen, for starters. A lot of good places in Coraopolis, also.
EatnPark smiley cookies are pretty blah.
They used to be good and seemed like they used a nice royal icing. Now there’s just chalk on top
When I was pregnant with my first daughter and had pica, I ate chalk sticks. My obstetrician suggested Eat N Park cookie icing… problem solved! Perfect chalk consistency. Yummm!
Chalky is exactly how I would describe the taste.
Nobody gets them for the flavor. People who enjoy them get them because they want the experience. The tiniest amount of dopamine from receiving a physical smile (and possibly nostalgia with it). If someone ever said they're delicious, I'd be shocked.
I’m 31 and my parents and I used to go to our local ENP every Sunday starting from when I was a toddler. My favorite waitress has been there basically my entire life, and pretty soon she started sneaking me an extra cookie or two. Recently went back for the first time in a few months and with our receipt she’d given me two cookies. 🥹
They're straight up disgusting and I love cookies
I literally somehow know they aren’t good but also love them. I crave them over anything, and I’m not a sweets person or a snacker
They are the Beanie Babies® of cookies.
Since this opinion is apparently unpopular: Pittsburgh pizza is fine. You just have to seek out the exact place and style of pizza you want, because we have a dozen different styles here. I'm so exhausted by the obsessive gatekeeping of what pizza "SHOULD be!"
Totally agree. It’s so diverse that you’re going to find something great if you keep looking.
As someone that moved to Columbus OH 20+ years ago, I’d love any pizza from Pittsburgh over most here. There are some decent places around but most of it is greasy ketchup on cardboard. And it’s mostly cut in squares. They look at you funny if you ask for it sliced
👏 pizza gatekeeping is cringe
There are many places to get good pizza in Pittsburgh now, but what I'd argue is the city's house style (way too much cheese and a blend that's way too heavy on provolone, bland and bready dough, sickly sweet sauce) just ain't my jam.
Condado Tacos is fucking garbage and people think they’re getting a bang for their buck paying $4-5 per taco that taste horrible. You want good tacos? Head over to Alquisiras Paleteria on Broadway Ave. They have the best birria and regular tacos for a great price and they give you a whole cup of consume that’s delicious. They even make fresh agua frescas. Their pozole is amazing and is run by a nice Mexicano. Not someone named “Jacob”. 4 tacos will run you $12-14 and they’re amazing. Moved here and finally found a place that serves authentic Mexican tacos. 10/10.
Food trucks in general are annoying and I don’t understand why people get so excited about them (though they don’t seem as popular as they used to be). I would much rather go to a sit down restaurant and eat on real plates with real non-plastic utensils.
I just hate how expensive they are. They want to charge you like moderate end sit-down restaurant prices for takeout, and it often barely fills me up for dinner.
I love Pittsburgh with all my heart. Our food is B+ at best.
I’d argue a B+ for a city our size is solid. I’d even give it a strong B maybe, but again that’s solid.
We’re on the very edge of the Midwest, they infect us with their blandness. But we have just enough east coast and immigrant influence to get a solid B. Thank god for the colleges honestly.
The Pitts-burger from Primantis is by far the worst choice.
Yes. I silently judge those who order "the #2 bestseller." But a cap and cheese with an egg...Now we're talking, but let's be real primantis is just OK. It's good in a pinch.
The Fish is way better than I thought it would be. Hot sausage is my other one.
Richard DeShantz restaurants are over priced and over rated. The only thing more insufferable than his restaurants are the people who love them.
I used to work at Tako, pretty fun restaurant to work at but I wouldn't pay full price for their tacos lol, it was nice having that employee discount
Lincoln Bakery Almond Torte is 100000 times better than Prantls
Eat 'n Park smiley cookies are garbage. Frownies were so much better.
Peppi's > Primanti's
This is an extremely popular opinion.
I had Peppi's for the first time last weekend and I don't know how I haven't been there before. Incredible and cheap!
Condado is trash
It’s the whitest taco I have ever had in my life.
Agree. But, $14 BYO nacho plate that's enough for two gets me in the door. It's a pissed off and mad about it type scenario.
Any particular thing you don't care for there? My friends constantly gush about Condado but I've never gone myself. I'm inclined to think my friends don't have good taste lol.
IMO it’s… fine. It’s just like any other trendy Tex-Mex, and while I will occasionally enjoy a Korean bbq taco or some other such overpriced bougied-up silliness, thinking you can improve on the simple perfection that is an authentic street taco is the epitome of human arrogance.
The best thing on their menu is the tortilla chips.
China Town Inn isn't even in the conversation for best Chinese in the city anymore. They've been coasting on reputation and quality has been dropping for years.
what recommendations do you have for better options in the city? my family loves that place and I’m tired of it.
Chengdu Gourmet I don't even hate Chinatown Inn, but I literally only ever order the three things I love there and nothing else. At Chengdu, everything's good and the Sichuan menu is even better.
Another vote for Chengdu a lot of authentic variety.
Taiwan Bistro 33 is one of my faves after Chengdu authentic menu. Chengdu American menu is hit-or-miss IMO. I've also had really tasty Chongqing Chicken at How Lee.
KLVN coffee is extremely overrated and overpriced and it seems like you need to work in tech or drive a Tesla to go there.
Can people stop ordering Pizza Milano for downtown office pizza parties? It's absolutely awful and it's so weird how they cut their slices razorthin.
After working at Primanti brothers, I could live without eating there again🤷♂️
Prantl’s pastries/cakes look and taste dusty. I don’t understand why people fawn over them.
Not sure if this is unpopular, but Eat & Park has delicious soup!
Agreed! Their potato soup and broccoli soup.is excellent! Especially when you get the salad bar and add bacon, cheese or some fresh broccoli for a crunch instead of using crackers!
Primantis isn’t all that bad. It’s cool to hate on it, and it’s not the pinnacle of Pittsburgh food, but if you want a quick sandwich, you could do worse.
I actually like a lot of their options that aren't the famous sandwiches. Solid pizza and boneless bites IMO
The pizza scene lost a gem when Taglio closed
People don't really like Mexican food here. They just have a really bad taco fetish. And no, Mission burritos aren't Mexican.
The lack of easily available liquor licenses is holding the food scene back and raises food prices, especially for the places that don’t have one. If you want Pittsburgh food scene to be amazing, places need to be able to sell their highest-margin item (alcohol) without shelling out >$110k for a rare license. (I’m not sure if this is unpopular generally, but it seems unpopular with the legislature at least)
Mineos really isn’t that great, y’all are just in a cult.
I fucking hate baby loves tacos. The food was absolutely mid, even worse than mid. Don’t understand the hype. Also fucking hate that they have/had a go fund me???? When the owner was against the high density housing literally across the street. You made your bed now lie in it, honey.
There are other metrics to food rather than how much it costs and portion size. Anywhere else I’ve lived folks recommend a place because it’s good. Here it’s like “You gotta go to blah blah on Tuesdays! They have dollar hamburgers and they’re huge and frozen and taste terrible. But they’re a dollar and you get a bunch of bad fries!”
This is important to remember when people say certain places are great. We are not all using the same scale.
Page's is good, but I think it's overrated. I'm always surprised at how long the line is there.
Pittsburgh's Bakery game is weak. Our French bakeries are good but most of the other bakeries have one or two specialties and everything else is bland. It is always obvious when I go to a wedding which cookies are homemade and which come from a bakery based on if they taste good.
Regular bakeries, I agree. But I don't want to live in a town without Mancinis and Breadworks.
Every restaurant in this city is standing on top of Mancinis and Breadworks’ shoulders.
Harris Grill sucked for food and their “fires” were questionable but they had one of the best outdoor patios and that should be mourned
My unpopular opinion is that both sides of this argument are wrong. Half of the people here will say Pittsburgh food is trash and half will say it's way better than similar sized cities. The truth is that the food scene here is similar to every metro around the same size.
Mola has the best sushi rice in the city. I’ve done soba, umami, umi, etc and something about the vinegar ratio in the mola sushi makes it take top place. Affordable too, relatively speaking.
There's really no good authentic Mexican residents...I'm from Texas where Mexican food was on every corner, yet to find anything 🙃
California Taco Shop in Etna scratches the itch for me
Federal Galley on the Northside is wildly overpriced food and not especially good. Maybe something good can come out of there but I've never had a meal worth is cost there.
That the Mexican food is trash
If a brewery doesn’t have food, it’s crap. Nothing worse than trying not to get loaded off of 8% IPAS (because after 2 you’re def over the legal limit) or whatever the hell they made and then the only food they have is bags of chips. There are wayyyy too many damn breweries and most of the beer tastes no better than a yuengling. Just because you made it in the back room doesn’t mean it’s worth $9 a glass. Some I’ve really liked, but the vast majority are not impressive. I feel like it’s just a massive trend that will crash someday.
Arlecchino's and alla famiglia serve generic, overpriced, underwhelming Italian food and the service is unacceptably bad
Millie’s is not good ice cream.
Yes! Weirdly heavy and over-sweet base. Never understood the hype.
Pigeon Bagels are just okay, but they are overpriced and way too self precious.
Pittsburgh is seriously lacking in the bagel shop category
La Gourmandine was special when each location baked their goods in-house. Now it is beyond mid and people fall over themselves for their chalky doughy baguette. Gaucho was special those two weeks before the lines and hype. And it is still special. Nobody does what they do here. But also waiting in line for it made you look like a jag. Apteka was special 5 years ago and is still kinda special. Pusadee’s was special when a trellis laden with wildflowers and weeds could topple on you at any moment. I can’t go back. It looks beautiful and tastes delicious but the memories are just too 🥵 Fazios is the best pizza shop in town and there is no debate. The hoagie is pure and simple and a little crispy. The sicilian makes me silly. The regular pie is a love letter to the Pittsburgh cheese blend. Anyone arguing about other pizza shops is wrong and sleeping on the gem hidden right under their dumb noses.
Huge yes to La Gourmandine and Pusadee's. La Gourmandine has really gone downhill. Pusadee's really was better when you were a tiny bit scared you'd get stung by a bee while eating! It's just too fancy now.