Bite Bistro

          My wife and I decided to go out Saturday and give Bite Bistro a try.  I have heard really good things about Bite Bistro and have wanted to visit them for awhile but I am never down that way.  I have to tell you if I drove by this place and didn't know that they served good food I would keep driving.  There is a tiny chalkboard on the sidewalk and sign in the window that says Bite Bistro and that is it.  The interior didn't look much better, some random pictures and paintings on the wall with no real purpose, it just has that dive feel to it.

          We had reservations for 6 but got there early at 5:30  and they sat us right away which was nice rather than having to wait.  They have a chalkboard menu at Bite and everything on it sounded great.  I must say that they have a lot of vegan and vegetarian options which is different than most places that have the one vegetarian dish and that's it.  We took a risk and got the four course tasting menu.  Everything I got was different than what my wife got and our waiter told us that was to make sure we shared to get all the flavors, so really it was like an eight course tasting.

          Our salad course came out first and I got the beet salad and my wife got some type of deconstructed salad also.  The beet salad was okay, everything was pretty much one flavor.  The pickled beets were great they had a sweet  flavor and were nice and crunchy.  The rest of the beets on the plate really had no flavor, the sliced beets, beet pure and the beet powder were all just one flavor and really mild flavor at that.  My wife's dish I really didn't taste it, it had pickled bets also with cauliflower and olive dust on it.  The dish looked good and my wife liked it but I can't comment on the taste of it.

          Second course was the soup course, I received a miso soup with parsley oil and my wife got a carrot soup with diced apples.  My wife loved the carrot soup after wanting to switch me before she even tasted it because she thought she wouldn't like it. It was a thick carrot soup with a nice natural sweetness and the apples paired well with the carrots.  The thickness of this soup I would almost compare to a porridge.  My miso soup was so salty it was hard to get past a few spoonfuls.  The soup had wonderful flavors especially when you got a drop of the parsley oil in your spoon.  The salt killed the soup though it was overbearing and it took almost a full glass of water to get the taste out of my mouth.  I know miso is supposed to be salty but this was like someone dropped the box of salt in the soup.

          Our main course was next and I got the seared duck breast and my wife got something that wasn't even on the menu, braised pig cheeks.  My duck was some of the best duck I have ever had.  The skin was crispy, it still had a thin layer of fat underneath, and it was cooked perfectly.  The duck was juicy and tender and like I said it was the best I have had.  Under the duck was granola, brussels and a carrot pure.  The granola was strange but was awesome, it was almost like rice under the breast because it soaked up the juices and the carrots but it was crunchy where it wasn't touching anything.  The brussels were firm and still had a nice crunch, they were not over cooked at all.  The carrot pure gave the dish the sweetness it needed to pull it all the elements together.  My wife's dish was different but really good.  On her dish was three pig cheeks over a potato and white bean hash topped with wilted kale.  The cheeks were fork tender and tasted just like a pork roast would.  The has was something that you would love to have at breakfast and worked great with the cheeks.  It was a new twist on a classic meat and potato dish.  The kale was coked in the miso soup which added a very nice salty aspect to the dish along with the bitterness of the kale.  What really pulled the dish together was the pan gravy that was under everything, again it was just like a deconstructed pork pot roast classic dinner with a twist.

          Lastly was the dessert dish, I got the grapefruit sorbet while my wife got the cheese plate.  When I think of dessert I think of sweet and sticky.  Needless to say we were a bit disappointed with the chefs choices but oh well that is what happens when you get the tasting menu.  The cheese plate was a blue cheese topped with thinly sliced apples, honey and candied walnuts.  The cheese was creamy but it wasn't a really strong blue cheese.  The sweetness of the honey and walnuts complemented the pungent taste of the cheese.  Overall it was a pretty good dish for a savory dessert.  My grapefruit sorbet was very tart.  I have never been a fan of grapefruit so this dish wasn't my favorite but I will do my best to review it.  It was tart fresh red grapefruit topped with the grapefruit sorbet with a grapefruit foam on top.  It was all the same flavor the whole way through just different textures.  The sorbet was nice it wasn't overly frozen so it wasn't like a slushy.  The foam was different, it was hard but as soon as it touched your tongue it melted.

          Would I go back?  For sure, all of the dishes didn't impress me but the duck shows what they can do.  When we go back I think we will just order off the menu, that way I know we are getting something we will like for sure.  The tasting menu was an experience for sure and if you are adventurous this is the way to go.  The decor leaves a lot to be desired but the food makes up for that.  It is a bit out of the way but it was worth the trip.

Overall 8.5 of 10

Price 9.5 of 10

Food 8 of 10 

Service 8 of 10

Bite Bistro

565 Lincoln Ave

Bellevue, PA 15202

Dozen Bake Shop

          I was driving down to the strip the other day to get some sushi and when I got there it was packed and I wasn't wiling to spend $10 to park for a $15 lunch.  I turned around and decided to get something sweet.  I was on my way to Oakmont Bakery, but then I thought about it and realized Dozen was right down the street from where I was at.  I have been wanting to try them for awhile so I figured I would give Dozen Bake Shop a try.              

          When I think of a bakery I envision a large space with tons of cookies, cakes, pies, etc.  When you enter into Dozen you get none of that, I must say I was initially disappointed.  They have a small counter with six varieties of cupcakes, three different cookies and about seven other random small items, very different from Oakmont.  From the poster on the wall it looks like the cupcakes change daily, I was a day late on the red velvet, good thing I would have bought them all.

          I choose three different cupcakes the Elvis, the Margarita and the Salted Caramel.  I also bought a peanut butter cookie but thee isn't a picture because it didn't make it home.  The cookie was huge, it was about five inches wide and about an inch thick.  It was moist but crumbly and had a rich and creamy peanut butter flavor.

         The Elvis cupcake was amazing, it was a banana bread cupcake with a chocolate center and a peanut butter frosting.  The cake was so moist and had a strong banana flavor.  The frosting was as if someone took some peanut butter and whipped it untill it became light and fluffy.  It was perfect, the denseness of the cake and light frosting and what goes better with peanut butter than chocolate.  The chocolate frosting center put this one over the top, this is the perfect breakfast cupcake.

          The Salted Caramel cupcake was my wives favorite, it was a chocolate cupcake with a vanilla frosting and topped off with salted caramel.  The caramel was very salty but it was a great contrast with the very sweet frosting.  The cake was a bit on the dry side but the toppings saved it.

          The Margarita cupcake was different, it was a vanilla cupcake with a tequila frosting, at least that is what the lady at the store told me.  It was very nice looking with the green icing and yellow coarse yellow salt sprinkled on it but all I tasted was vanilla and salt.  The icing didn't do much for me, I was expecting a lime taste or a tequila taste.  The cake was nice and moist but all together this one didn't work for me.

          Will I be back?  If I am down that way and want a cupcake, yes.  The price of a cupcake is 2.50 each and that is the same price as Oakmont and they have more of a choice.  I will say that these taste more homemade not mass made like they are at Oakmont.  This place had wonderful food don't get me wrong but I do like more of a choice when I go out for dessert.  So in the end I didn't get my sushi but I did get a very good dessert.  Dozen has a very good product, and if they get more of a selection I bet they could compete against some of the better know bakeries in the area.

Dozen Bake Shop

3511 Butler St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15201

E2

          Last week I knew I wanted to go out to eat but couldn't figure out where, I wrote down a list of restaurants and told my wife to choose.  I said go online and look at the menus and pick which one looks and sounds the best.  She chose E2 in Highland Park.  When you enter E2 the first thing I noticed was how small it was, good thing we got there right when it opened or we would have been waiting.  The dining room was small, a bit dark and once it was full you had to yell to talk to the person next to you.  I am not complaining just making an observation.  It seemed almost being at home for the holidays with a big family.
          Our waiter came over and told us about their OMG menu, which isn't listed on the website, it includes a bunch of vegetables, cheese and meats that are served with toasted bread.  We got the Gorgonzola mess and some type of meat the waiter told us was like salami but fattier and spicier.  Our waiter was a bit distracted the whole time we were there even though like I said it was small and it wasn't like he had a ton of tables, he didn't ask us if we wanted drinks other than water and when my wife got an iced tea she only got one refill in the hour and twenty minutes we were there.  Our appetizer came out and it was simple, just toasted bread and two plates of the toppings.  The Gorgonzola mess was awesome, it was a soft Gorgonzola cheese mixed with sriracha and basil.  The cheese was salty with a bit of a blue cheese taste, the sriracha was present but not enough to make it overly hot and the basil gave it a nice freshness.  That alone with the bread was enough for the four of us that went out, all for $3.  The meat was just as the waiter said a fatty and a bit spicy salami that was cut paper thin.  It was good but nothing out of this world, the cheese didn't need the meat.
          For our entrees my wife got the linguine pescature and I went very simple with the spaghetti and meatballs.  My wife's dish was amazing, it was linguine mixed with tender bay scallops, some shrimp and crab meat covered in a spicy red sauce.  The sweetness of all the seafood mixed with the spiciness of the sauce paired up very well.  My wife hates spicy and as soon as she said it was spicy I thought she was gonna want to switch dishes, but she loved it.  I chose the spaghetti and meatballs because I heard their red sauce was really good.  It didn't disappoint but it didn't wow me either, the sauce was chunky but smooth enough that it covered everything.  It tasted very fresh and a had a a good use of herbs not to overpower the tomato in the sauce.  The meatballs were tender and juicy.  They were seasoned great, they didn't need the sauce to cover them they could stand on their own and be fine.
          We were all full but my wife wanted dessert, so we got the chocolate pudding.  I am not a chocolate fan but my wife is and she picked the place so we got the dessert she wanted.  I wanted the apple dessert and we saw that right before we left and I can't tell you how it tasted but it looked great.  Our dessert was a bittersweet chocolate pudding with a whipped cream and a cookie on top.  It was good, very strong chocolate taste but the whipped cream was lacking flavor it was almost like whipped air.  The cookie was good it was a crispy chocolate cookie and I know it is a chocolate dessert but I think it may be better with a vanilla cookie just to change up the taste a bit.
          Overall, this place was very good.  With some updates in the dining room and a tweak here and there to the food it could be one of the better small simple restaurants in the city.  Plus with a price tag of $50 for everything it can't be beat.  Maybe I will let the wife choose where we eat more often....but this is the only decision making power I have left.

Overall 7.5 of 10

Food 9 of 10

Service 6 of 10

Price 9 of 10

E2

5904 Bryant St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15206

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

Avenue B

          Last weekend my wife and I went down to East Liberty and went to Avenue B for some modern American food.  The parking situation down there was horrible but the Market District is right across the street so we parked there.  Our reservations were for 5:30 and we got there right on time and were seated immediately.  The first thing you notice about the restaurant is how small it is, there were only 15 tables in the place so it gave it a nice personal feel.  The next thing you notice is the changing chalkboard menu.
          Our waitress came over and told us the daily specials and we already knew what appetizers we wanted so we placed our app order.  The blackboard menu changes daily and the also have a seasonal menu that has all of their specialties on it.  I started with the chocolate chipotle BBQ pork tostada and my wife got the Gorgonzola raviolis.
          My wives ravioli were great, they were sauteed and topped with candied walnuts.  The sweetness of the walnuts with the strong flavor of the cheese just worked a lot better than I thought it would.  The tostada was very good, it was a spicy sweet BBQ sauced pulled pork topped with re fried beans and a banana guacamole and sour cream.  It worked, it was weird but it worked so good.  The fried tortilla strips gave it a nice crunch and the banana guacamole I can't even describe you just have to try it. 
          We got our entrees about 20 minutes later and we were not disappointed.  I got the grilled butterfish and my wife got the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin.  We both wanted the pork but I was being nice and let her get it.  The pork was cooked medium well wrapped in bacon and covered in a honey BBQ sauce, all of this was on top of grits and collard greens.  The pork was cooked perfect and the BBQ sauce was some of the best I have tasted.  I wasn't a big fan of the grits or greens although I have to say the grits were creamy and rich but the greens were far too biter for my taste.  My butterfish was sushi grade fish and was seared on the outside and almost raw on the inside.  It was so tender and sweet and came with a side of squid ink linguine.  The pasta was thick and a dark black color, cooked al dente and had big chunks of tender lobster meat mixed in and topped with a saffron aioli.  The only problem I had with this dish was that the fish was topped with way too many shaved raw red onion and it over powered you palate, I pushed most of them off and and it was so much better, the onion almost killed the dish.

          My wife decided that she wanted dessert so we got the chocolate dessert they offered.  It was good it came with two chocolate fudge rectangles on top of chocolate cookies along witha mascarpone ice cream and a pomegranate juice reduction.  The fudge was velvety smooth, the cookies were crispy and the ice cream stole the show.  The tart pomegranate with the sweetness of the ice cream just married so well, I could have had a big bowl of just that ice cream.
          Overall I would say that Avenue B isn't on the same level as some of the top restaurants in the city but it is very close to it.  They have to make a few tweaks to the garnishes that accompany the main dishes and it would be right up there.  I loved almost everything about this place from the small size of the restaurant to the quality of the food.  I would go back here for sure it was well worth the money.



Overall 8 of 10

Food 8 of 10

Price 7.5 of 10

Service 8 of 10

Avenue B

5501 Center Ave

Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Evolution Grille

          About two weeks ago my wife and I went to Evolution with a group of friends on my dads recommendation.  I first have to tell you this place is in Sarver PA about 30 minutes north of Pittsburgh but I thought I would review it anyways.  I am not saying that my dad doesn't know good food but I was skeptical that being that this place is in a strip mall it wouldn't have food that I liked.
          We got there around 6 and the place was pretty quiet which got me scared.  We were seated and the server told us the daily specials and we ordered our appetizers.  For our appetizers we got the crabmeat bruschetta and the potato peiroghi for the table.
          The appetizers came out and the bruschetta was big enough to eat for an entree.  The lump crabmeat is sauteed in a garlic butter and put on top of a sliced ciabatta bread along with ripe chopped tomatoes.  So simple but so good, after I tasted this I knew my original opinion of the restaurant was wrong.  The app was light and refreshing with the sweetness of the crab along with the bite of the garlic and tomatoes, its just classic Italian flavors.  The peiroghi were good but nothing out of this world, they were cooked in butter and topped with caramelized onions and sour cream.  I am Polish so I think I know my peirogies, but I could be wrong.  They were fresh made and the filling was cheesy and tender.  The bread basket also came out at that time and my wife told me I had to try it, the butter was a carmel amaretto butter and it was out of this world.  The waiter told us that they change the flavors of the butter all the time and my dad said he has never had the same flavor twice and they are always good.

          After a few minutes our entrees came out, my wife and I both got the same thing the seafood pasta.  The pasta in this dish was a hand cut Pappardelle pasta, you could tell they were fresh and not out of a box and they had a nice al dente texture.  The seafood in the dish were shrimp and scallops, they were cooked perfect.  The scallops were fork tender and the shrimp were a nice pink color and cooked just through and not rubbery like they can become.  This all was topped with a sherry cream sauce which tasted like an alfredo sauce.  I loved this dish, the only suggestion I have is more seafood in the dish, there were only four shrimp and three scallops in the dish.  At the end of the meal I couldn't finish it all and I never leave food on the plate.
          So in the end I would say that this place would be able to hold its own down in the city.  I was skeptical going in but when we left the place was packed and people were waiting out in the cold for food here.  In my opinion I would say that it is well worth the drive out of the city and you will be very surprised.  I guess I have to tell my dad his restaurant choices aren't all that bad (or I can keep that to myself).

Overall 7.5 of 10

Food 8 of 10

Price 8 of 10

Service 7 of 10

Evolution Grille

123 Mulone Drive

Sarver, PA 16055

BRGR

          Last Friday my wife and I were in Cranberry visiting her grandmother and we planned to visit BRGR afterwards.  We arrived around 5ish after trying to figure out where the restaurant was located.  There are two levels to the Cranberry Mall and they are on the lower level near the movie theater.  There is plenty of parking available.
          After the huge success that was Spoon a few weeks ago I figured I have to try their sister restaurant BRGR.  When you get there you notice just how big BRGR is, it probably sits 100+.  The front of looks to open up during the warmer months.  It is very well designed with a huge center bar and lots of table and booths. 
          We were really hungry so we started out with the salty caramel shakes on the recommendation of our waitress.  She gave us a few minutes to figure out what we wanted and took our order, I got the double yoi burger and my wife made her own burger and we also got a side of fries that are portioned for two to share.
          The waitress brought out our shakes and I must say I was disappointed.  What she brought us was two empty glasses with the salty caramel sauce drizzled on the inside of it and the metal containers that the shakes were made in.  Look I am not looking to be amazed but I can get that at any crappy bar around, if I am paying $8 for a drink I want them to put some effort into the look of the drink as well as it tasting good.  All the shake was, was a vanilla bean base with Bourbon mixed in and the salted caramel on the glass itself.  All I could taste was the Bourbon, and the caramel just stuck to the glass and really added nothing to the shake.  It was a waste of $8, I would rather go to Steak N'Shake and get one there. 
          Our burgers and fries came out and they looked great.  Mine was on a butter toasted bun topped with a fried egg, pastrami, cole slaw and a thousand island dressing.  My wife's was basically just a normal burger, onion, lettuce, cheese, etc.  We asked for our burgers to be cooked to medium, they were medium well but still very moist so I can't really complain.  The biggest problem I had was about half way through the burger my bun got saturated with the dressing from the cole slaw and just started to fall apart in my hands.  It just turned into a mess.  My wife like her burger it also was a bit overcooked but good just the same.  The fries were very good, they were topped with herbs and Parmesan cheese.  They were hot and crispy and the herbs and cheese just made it that they didn't even need ketchup.
          Overall I would say that after a great meal I had at Spoon, BRGR was way below expectations.  If you are in the area go for it, the burgers are worth the money, can't say the same for the shakes.  Burgatory is all around better though and I will remain a Burgatory customer and pass on BRGR.  I don't know if this was just a bad experience at the Cranberry shop and maybe the original on in East Liberty would be better.  In the end I would say if you want good food go to Spoon, if you want good burgers go to Burgatory.  I really wanted to like it I really really did.  Spoon is a success maybe they should focus more on BRGR and it will get to that same level it has everything that is needed it just needs some fine tuning.

Overall 7 of 10

Price 8 of 10

Food 6.5 of 10

Service 7 of 10

BRGR

20111 Rt. 19 & Freedom Rd.

Cranberry, PA 16066