Union Pig & Chicken

          I have been waiting for Kevin Sousa to open this restaurant for months now and it finally opened this past weekend.  They do not take reservations here so we got to the restaurant exactly when the doors opened at 5 PM.  The first thing I noticed was the fresh cut wood smell when you walked in, I am guessing this was from the reclaimed barn wood all over the walls.  The wood is everywhere and it makes you feel like you are eating in an old country setting.  The restaurant isn't all that big, it has four communal tables seating 12 people at each table.  The seating is unique being that the benches seat two people each with a space between them so you are not sitting directly next to a stranger.  I am not a fan of communal table but this wasn't that bad.
          We placed our orders and sat looking around at the uniqueness of this place.  Our food came out about 20 minutes later on silver trays and the sides were in little paper food trays, very simple.  My wife got the full fried chicken, cornbread and mac and cheese.  I got the full St. Louis rack of ribs, cornbread and coleslaw.  A full serving of anything here can feed two people, just a heads up for when you go.  The fried chicken had a nice crispy skin and the meat was so tender and juicy it just fell off the bone.  There is house made BBQ sauce on the table if you want it but this chicken didn't need it.  The cornbread was sweet, buttery and very dense, everything you look for in a good corn bread.  The mac and cheese came out in its own little ramekin and was creamy and rich with a crispy crust on top.  Homemade all the way, nothing out of a box here.  Also the full chicken was just that two of each, breasts, thighs, wings and drumsticks.  We took over half of this home.
          My ribs were super smokey and had a lovely smoke ring all around the ribs.  The full slab of ribs were at least 16 inches long and 6 or 7 inches wide, it was a lot of ribs.  There was a rub on the ribs but the smoke is what really came through.  Like I said if you want more BBQ taste there is BBQ sauce on the table.  I told my wife after we ate that if they made hand cream that smelled like my hands smelt after we ate I would buy it and use it every day.  The coleslaw was great and very simple.  All it was, was red cabbage and red onion with apple cider vinegar.  I have never had coleslaw without the mayo but it was really good and crunchy.
          Overall we spent $60 here but when we go back we will only get one full entree or two half portions and probably only spend $40-$50.  Very limited choices here but that is what makes them so good, the chef can perfect the few things on his menu rather than have 30 okay items.  I will be back for sure, I love BBQ and this is some of the best I have had around here.  Its messy, it isn't fancy but isn't that what BBQ is?  I was wondering what direction Kevin Sousa would go with here and he did it right, he didn't try to make BBQ fancy he just showed it for what it is.  It was definitely worth the wait for this restaurant to open.

Overall 9 of 10

Price 9 of 10

Food 9 of 10

Service 9 of 10

Union Pig & Chicken

220 N. Highland Ave.

Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Station Street

          So after a rousing game of bowling that I scored a manly 66 (hey its one of Pittsburgh's best athletes number) we decided to go get some hot dogs.  I have been wanting to go to Station Street since they have opened.  I knew Kevin Sousa would be doing something great with hot dogs after trying Salt I expected nothing less.  We got there around 7:30 and as soon as we ordered and sat down Kevin Sousa was leaving Station Street to put the finishing touches on his new restaurant Union Pig and Chicken.

         Anyways back to Station Street I got the chili dog and duck fat fries and my wife got the house dog and regular fries.  Everything about this place screams 60's hot dog shop.  It is wide open and has all the old tile on the walls and you just feel like you are in the past until you get your hot dog.  My chili dog was really good, the casing on the dog had a nice snap and the brisket chili was very thick so it wasn't running down your arm and getting all over your clothes. The onion on top gave it a nice crunchy texture.  The dogs are big too, they overhang the but on both side.  The duck fat fries to tell you the truth I couldn't taste much difference from the regular fries.  All the fries are fresh cut and the only complaint I have was for every nice crispy fry I got I also had a limp under done fry.  They were good either way but I don't know maybe I over hyped this place in my head.  My wives dog was good also, she like it a lot other than she didn't notice that it had siriacha on it and couldn't figure out why it was hot.  She ended up taking a napkin and trying to wipe as much off as she could.

          Would I go back?  Yep.  In the end its hot dogs and fries.  However very good hot dogs and fries.  What goes together better than a bad game of bowling and a nice fresh hot dog to brighten up your spirits.  Its simple from the man that brought you Salt of the Earth, he went 180* the other way and succeeded on both.  I hope he goes 3 for 3 with Union.

Overall 8.5 of 10

Service 9 of 10

Food 8 of 10

Price 9 of 10

Station Street

6290 Broad St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Ruth Chris

          For Christmas my brother-in-law got me a gift card for Ruth Chris so I figured that would be a nice place for a Valentines dinner.  We made reservations for the weekend before Valentines Day at 6 PM.  When we arrived we were asked if we wanted to check our coats but it was freezing outside and pretty cold inside so we decided to keep them just in case.  The atmosphere was nice but it was very dimly lit and there were lights burnt out all over the place.
          We were seated and placed our drink order while we looked at the menu.  For our appetizers my wife got the Crabtini and I got the scallop dish.  The Crabtini was a chilled metal martini glass filled with lump crab meat tossed in a vinaigrette and a remoulade sauce.  The sweetness of the crab with the acidity of the vinaigrette topped with the hint of spice from the remoulade was just perfect.  The dish wasn't over sauced and they really let the flavor of the crab come through.  The scallops were simple but delicious.  There were three huge sea scallops seared on each side in a pan with a pesto sauce topped with shaved carrots.  The scallops were a perfect medium rare and melt in your mouth tender.  The sweetness of the scallop with the perfect amount of basil, garlic and pine nuts in the pesto were a huge success.
          Everything that is ordered at Ruth Chris is a la carte so for our vegetable we ordered the Ruth Jumbo Chop Salad, it looked a lot smaller in the picture.  We could have easily shared this but we each got one not knowing how big it was.  This was one of the best side salads I have ever had.  This salad had everything you expect in a salad lettuce, cucumber, onion, etc. but some surprises like radicchio and hearts of palm.  The dressing for this salad was a blue cheese lemon basil dressing, I don't like blue cheese but it all paired together well with the ingredients in the salad.  Everything mixed so well I don't even know how to explain it. All I have to say is this is a can't miss if you go to Ruth Chris.
          Now on to the entrees, we each got the surf and turf which was a 7oz fillet and an 8oz lobster tail.  For our starch with dinner we got the garlic mashed potatoes.  Our meals came out and the steaks were cooked perfect, mine was medium rare and my wife got it cooked medium.  I couldn't have been happier with the steaks, they too were melt in your mouth tender, you almost didn't need a knife.  The lobster tail however was a different story.  The lobster was way overcooked and rubbery.  It was very bland, all the butter and lemon in the world wasn't bringing it back to life at all.  The mashed potatoes were good but nothing you couldn't make at home.
          Would I go back?  Probably not.  Don't get me wrong most of the food was really good but after the tip the total come to $185.  I could make that meal at home for eight people and probably not spend that much money.  The atmosphere had a business like look to it and not the kind of place you take a date.  You could eat at Spoon, Salt and Ave B and have money left over compared to what we spent.  If I didn't have a gift card I probably wouldn't have went here because I knew what the prices were like.  You want a great steak?  Make it at home and save some money.  You want to impress someone by picking up a huge check this is the place for you.

Overall  8 of 10

Food 8.5 of 10

Service 9 of 10

Price 4 of 10

Ruth Chris

6 PPG Pl

Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Hofbrauhaus House

          My friends birthday was a few weeks ago and he wanted to go to Hofbrauhaus, so we all went out on a Saturday night.  We arrived around 6 PM and we were told it would be an hour and a half wait for the table, I thought it was a bit much but what could we do about it.  We were sitting in the entry way trying to figure out what we were going to do while waiting when my friends phone went off.  This was about 15 minutes after we put our name in.  I was glad we didn't have to wait around but how does it go from 90 minutes to 25?  Doesn't make sense to me.
          Anyways, we got seated in the main hall and got their February beer, the Adulterator.  This beer tasted like someone took a dark beer and poured vodka in it.  I didn't like it at all but the alcohol content was 8% so I have to admit on an empty stomach it didn't take long to start feeling it.  Our waitress came back and took our food orders and brought us more beers.  My wife got the Hot Brown and I got the Worstlplatte.  I also changed my beers to whatever they had that tasted like a Boston Lager (it didn't but it was better than the February beer).
          About 15 minutes later our food came out, it looked good and simple.  My wives Hot Brown was a potato pancake topped with turkey, ham and melted swiss cheese.  It was good, it was pretty much an open face sandwich but the potato pancake made the texture a little different.  My Wrstlplatte was a variety of the wursts they offer at the restaurant.  The plate had a bierwurst, bratwurst and a frankfurter with a side of mashed potatoes and brown gravy, it also comes with sauerkraut but I substituted it for a soft pretzel instead. I was not impressed with this dish at all, once the wursts hit that gravy they were placed on it all tasted the same.  Thy were nice and juicy but they all just tasted of gravy.  The pretzel I got on the side was cold and tasted stale.  I would have to say this was one of the most tasteless meals I have had.  All I could taste the whole time was the gravy.
         After we finished our meals we stayed and had more beer and had fun with all the singing and entertaining they did there.  The played Sweet Caroline and I knew I would be back down, I am a Red Sox fan and when the whole bar started singing it I knew that must be kinda like what it must be like at Fenway.  After everything was over in our drunken state Cheesecake Factory sounded great, so I got the red velvet cheesecake and I know this has nothing to do with Hofbrauhaus but that was some of the best cheesecake I have had lately.
          Would I go back?  Sure, just not to eat.  I had lots of fun there but the food was average at best and the beer was overpriced.  You are paying for the atmosphere there not for the quality of the food.  There are plenty of other places in the south side that you can get a better meal.

Overall 5 of 10

Service 6 of 10

Food 4 of 10 

Price 5 of 10

Hofbrauhaus House

2705 South Water St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15203