Comment Archives: stories: Food+Drink: Dining Reviews
Re: “Chen's”
I have no idea what this reviewer is talking about. I absolutely love Chen's and have never been disappointed. Why on earth would a reviewer go to a restaurant to review it on a busy Friday night? Like he (or she?) said, the bar was "obviously popular with the locals," so perhaps a better night to go would be on a Monday or Tuesday? Or, better yet, SHOW UP BEFORE THE BAR CROWD. These are things you would think would be common sense, but alas, common sense is not as common as one would think.
Besides the busy factor, as a long-time restaurant employee myself, I know first hand that when things get busy sometimes food quality can suffer. This is common to almost any restaurant. 1 and 1/2 stars? What a joke. Maybe if that's out of 2 possible stars. For what it's worth, I think Chen's has the best Chinese in Cranberry. Try the crab rangoon. And get a sake bomb! Tell them Tom sent you.
Re: “Las Velas”
I ate here Friday night and all I can say is fantastic! Great family owned Mexican restaurant. The food is very yummy! The atmosphere is nice and the staff is friendly and very much accommodating. A great place for happy hour too! The margaritas come in a cool looking glass and they are awesome!
Re: “Double Wide Grill”
When trying to order take-out from the Double-Wide Grill, the staff was extremely rude. They said they were too busy to take orders for that night and immediately hung up the phone without apologizing or even saying good-bye. We then called again to see if they would be so rude again and they immediately hung up on us again. When we called back to speak to a manager, the hostess very rudely said they were too busy. We had to ask 7 times for her to actually get the manager. We were then on hold for almost 10 minutes. When we actually spoke to a manager we realized why the service was so bad. The manager was equally rude and dismissed our complaints about the hostess. Their service is ludicrously poor. We will NEVER order from or go to Double Wide Grill again.
Re: “Salvatore's Pizza House”
I have been a regular customer of salvatore's since it was initially openned on penn avenue in wilkinsburg, pa. My father, a CEO of 25 yr old company who also supported this business, passed away. Because of the adversity my family was thrown in, we put together a fundraiser to help pay some of the bills my father left. Salvatore's as well as Hair fair supply store would not allow me to post a flyer. It was not an inappropriate flyer and I offered to clean up any debri I left. I would suggest that one would seek other providers in the area until both businesses realize that if it were not for the community they would not be in business today.
Re: “Round Corner Cantina”
I'd pound a bad-ass load of those tacos, myself.
Re: “Pho Kim 88”
I live in Bethel Park, and went to try Pho Kim 88 on my way back from being in town. We got take out (Pad Thai), and it was off the charts awesome. Went back a second time and got a different chicken dish (can't remember which), but again, it was off the charts incredible. The other Asian restaurants in town wish they could come close to what these guys can do.
But the real mind blowing experience came last night when we went there for dinner. I got Pittsburgh Rolls. I'm not new to sushi, but I've never in my life experienced anything like this. First of all, it's a gigantic size portion. I'm used to a typical roll...enough for an appetizer, but not really enough to make it a meal. The Pittsburgh roll contained 8 pieces, each the size of a silver dollar, about 1/4" thick, and topped with a mound of crab/shrimp mix and garnished with caviar. OMG, I felt like I was wealthy eating like this. Hahahahaha. The texture, taste, and portions were five star all the way. Actually, to be honest, I was so full, when my dinner arrived, I could barely make a dent.
Go to Pho Kim 88 and try the Pittsburgh roll. It's absolutely amazing.
Re: “Avenue B”
I normally don't go to restaurants that are either too cheap to obtain or cannot qualify for a liquor license. I enjoy a great meal, but like alot of people, I enjoy a good glass of wine with my meal.
But I do make exceptions...I will occasionally go to a BYOB place after I take the time to stop and find a nice bottle of wine for myself and my dining companions.
I will not, however, pay 1 cent to any establisment that charges a corkage fee. You are charging me for incoveniencing me because you won't get a license?? If you want to make money off of booze, get a liquor license. It is the ultimate sign of cheapness, and if they are cheap in that regard, who knows what kind of shortcuts they take in the kitchen. Gross.
Re: “Stagioni”
Maggie- you better check yoself before you wreck yoself (i.e. don't simultaneously call out a writer and his editor on misuse of a word until you double-check your own vocabulary by actually looking it up for yourself).
Re: “The Sewickley Café”
Sewickley - Home Sweet Home! Wonderful restaurant, great food and excellent service...I moved away from Sewickley 23 years ago and was back recently visiting and brought my daughter and friends to Sewickley Cafe for lunch...so glad we did!
Re: “Soho”
This place is horrible, I've tried multiple times while traveling for business due to the convenience, but its really worth it to drive, walk or fly for that matter to anywhere else. The food is horrible, the manager is an asshole, by far the worst experience I've had in the great city of Pittsburgh.
Re: “Stagioni”
"Jason found our other appetizer, the spiced fig tart, unctuous. But Angelique loved its dense, sticky sweetness[...]"
do you even know what the word unctuous means? where was your editor when you wrote this?
Re: “Pizzutti's Restaurant”
I personally think Pizzutti's is one of the best restaurants in Pittsburgh. I dine there frequently, and each time, the ambiance is beautiful, the service is wonderful and the food is fantastic. Its location is extremely convenient for me, because I spend a lot of my time in the Shadyside and Oakland area. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who asked, because of its wonderful food at reasonable prices.
Re: “Las Velas”
I went to Las Velas in the beginning of January 2009 after reading the article above. It was Freezing inside, I had to wear my coat and even then I was still a little chilly. When I got my food it was very Cold inside and I had to send it back. My girlfriends food was So Hot that her nose started running badly and she could not even finish her meal. I'm a Huge Fan of Mexican food BUT, I will never go back to Las Velas ever again.
Re: “BabyFace's Carnegie Grill”
We have eaten at Babyface's many times, and agree with your
article a 100%. The food is excellent, the atomsphere is
wonderful, and also the staff are very welcoming.
The hamburgers are truly the best around.
Re: “StonePepper's Grill”
Just went there yesterday.. it was terrible. What do you mean, all of the ingredients are there? In our appetizer (fully loaded nachos) they used that microwave cheese! The waitress forgot my husband's order, and was then very snobbish about his out of state ID (he is 23) and refused to serve him. Definitely do not recommend!
Re: “Greek Stop”
Several comments posted to this story concerned allegations against family members of this restaurant's ownership, allegations completely unrelated to the operation of the restaurant itself. I have deleted all comments on this story, and no further comments will be permitted. I have also edited the story to remove incorrect information about the family members involved in owning the Greek Stop.
Re: “Plum Pan-Asian Kitchen”
We stopped by Friday evening. Service was great. The sushi was lovely and quite delicious. I immediately noticed the lack of sodium taste. I wasn't thrilled by the desserts. Just not my cup of tea. I like sticky rice/custards over sorbet. Fruity sorbet is good, but I tried the chai and it was a little too much.
We'll go back for the sushi and try something else on the entree menu. Good call, CP.
Re: “Plum Pan-Asian Kitchen”
I saw no lack of vegetables, and the food was utterly fantastic. I have tried two of the curries as well as some of the sushi, and the quality, flavor and overall presentation were absolutely perfect. The service is outstanding. The one sadness to this review is that they didn't cover the desserts, which are a definite high point.
Re: “Chen's”
Why would the reviewers want to go review it on a busy Friday night? Perhaps because that's when their readers are most likely to want to go eat there!
If the servers and kitchen staff can't keep up with the crowd on a full night, that's perhaps an indication more of bad management than bad staff---a better-managed house would probably have more staff to handle an expected crowd---but is still a mark against the business.