Location: 2339 E. Carson St., South Side. 412-390-1111
Hours: Mon.-Wed. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Thu.-Sat. 11 a.m.-midnight.; Sun. 10 a.m..-10 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers and salads $7-9; entrées $14-27
Fare: Sophisticated Southern
Atmosphere: Service-station chic
Liquor: Full bar
Smoking: None permitted
We live in a city where an old mattress factory has been transformed into a world-class museum and churches are reborn as brewpubs and nightclubs. Old gas stations, though, languish on valuable urban real estate. Underground gas tanks and oil-soaked paving are the environmental equivalent of a fly in one’s soup, and the buildings themselves are often utilitarian, not to say charmless. Reusing such sites usually involves spending big bucks to create a blank slate. But every once in a while, someone with vision reinvents a former gas station as something truly special.
The owners of The Beehive, Tiki Lounge and Lava Lounge have brought that kind of creativity to the former T&T Auto, located along the seam between the eclectic old East Carson Street and shiny new SouthSideWorks. The structure is intact, down to the exposed — albeit painted — cinderblock walls. Four huge garage doors offer a view to the bustling street beyond and promise outdoor dining in season.
As if eating in a former auto-body shop weren’t novel enough, we found true ingenuity in the fantasia of junkyard finds and auto-related ephemera that fill the place, evoking the car culture of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s, and the surprising and artful ways they are integrated into the decor. The lobby ceiling is covered with hubcaps of long-ago road yachts, while springs and work lights have been combined into clever sconces. Pendant lamps over tables are shaded with old oil cans; the bathroom mirrors are framed in tires. An entire pickup truck rides a steel frame above the bar.
This dose of roadside nostalgia was pleasant enough to swallow, but the menu treaded more sensitive ground. As the name suggests, the Double Wide Grill offers a heapin’ helpin’ of white-trash clichés, from “Our Story,” written by the fictional “Tessie Mae Hullficker,” to dishes called House Trailer Salad and the Section 8 TV Dinner. While a little down-home fun is good for a laugh, this veered dangerously close to mockery. Yet the food was hardly consistent with the stereotypes on parade. These jokes were frequently paired with city-slicker treats like tofu skewers and brie-stuffed portabella, and the menu notes dishes that are wheat-free, vegetarian and/or vegan.
Setting cultural studies aside, the offerings looked uniformly enticing. We put in our order for crab, black-bean and corn fritters practically before we had our coats off. The fritters were spectacular orbs of savory-sweet, creamy filling within a dark, crisp crust. Twin dipping sauces gave us a choice between spicy grilled-poblano tequila and cooling chipotle ranch. Next time, we might have to make a whole meal of these.
We wished the jalapeño-lime shrimp had been so impressive. The flavor of the grill permeated the big, meaty skewered shrimp, but they were slightly tough, and the delectably tangy but mild marinade was really noticeable only on about half the plate.
Angelique’s tofu steak also had prominent grill marks and a good, firm texture, but it was underseasoned. Chimichurri sauce on top lent a lovely green, garlicky flavor, but there was not nearly enough. There were some unexpected substitutions: Slender sticks of asparagus for corn-on-the-cob — fortunately Angelique is a fan — and saffron-pineapple rice replaced sweet-potato risotto. Eager to try the sweet-potato and rice dish, Angelique subsequently had to request the risotto. It had good sweet-potato flavor, but the texture was sticky rather than creamy.
It’s one thing to meld the citified with the country-fried, but the question remained: How does the Double Wide handle roadside classics? The painfully named “Git Er Dun” BBQ platter offered three ways to find out. The half-rack of baby backs was so tender that, as the meat fell off the bones, the bones themselves fell apart. Still, the pork retained its chew and flavor, and the traditional, vinegary sauce was just what the barbecue-lover ordered. Pulled pork was more robust, with hints of char at the tips. The relatively modest portion of beef brisket stood out for being the least remarkable meat on the plate. The beefiness got a bit lost in the sauce, and the tender slices disintegrated so utterly as to disappear as well.
For dessert, chocolate crème brulée had a dense, custardy texture and a rich yet light chocolate flavor. Along with the delicious fritter appetizer, this sweet bracketed a meal that was satisfying overall, but uneven.
Perhaps some of Double Wide’s shortcomings will get worked out as the kitchen gains experience. But the laughing-at, not laughing-with, tone of its menu left a bad taste in our mouths. Even if Pittsburgh is nestled within Appalachia, we shouldn’t serve up hackneyed stereotypes of our neighbors.
JR: 
AB:
This article appears in Mar 8-14, 2007.
“Double Wide Grill”??
I happen to have personally been in the Beehive while the owner and some employees laughed it up about calling the place “White Trash Grill”. Apparently they actually realized how offensive and disgusting that was and decided that somehow “Doublewide” was….better??
As someone who grew up in a trailer, in a trailer park, I am totally sickened by this blatant assualt on the misfortunes and lifestyles of people who don’t own three very profitable establishments.
If another group, say a bunch of rich white guys, opened the “Drive-By BBQ” or the “Auschwitz Cafe” the whole city would be up in arms. There is nothing amusing, cool, clever or acceptable about taking advantage of and capitalizing on the struggle of ANY group.
Growing up poor, in a trailer, was a constant source of trouble and shame for me and all my friends and family. I worked hard to be able to have a life outside that world. It is wrong that I’m reminded of the sadness, poverty, and hopelessness of that world everytime I drive down Carson Street.
The name alone warrants a boycott by any and all who ever lived in or loved anyone who lived in a “Doublewide”.
Further comment on your critique of DOUBLE WIDE GRILL: The cole slaw was only average, but the prime made-to-order, medium rare burger, on multigrain bun was very good.
The ambiance created by offensive caricature is not my cup of tea and, unfortunately, I found from my miserable lunch experience that neither was the food or service.
As we arrived our hostess appeared disinterested and overwhelmed and although was able to muster up the energy to seat us, forgot to notify any waitstaff that we needed assistance. In all fairness, the menu looked promising, but upon receiving our food (at great length) I was horrified by the tasteless french fries and transparently-thin sandwhich bread. My friend had the hubap fritters which were not even cooked all the way through.
All in all, it takes a bit of panache to make it in the South Side restaurant community. Rather, the Double Wide smacks of insensitive marketing, ill-trained staff, uninspired food preparation, and a flash-in-the-pan offering to Pittsburgh.
Me and my wife were on the south side for the first time after visiting the RV show. As we were driving up from station square we noticed the DoubleWide Grill. What better way to finish our days experience. We walked in and asked to be seated. The young lady seating us said they were full in the resteraunt section but the barr section was OK. We were seated at a table beside the bar. Very BAD choice on our part. As it got crowded people were standing right next to us as we eat. If you come here definitely wait for a table in the resteraunt section. We had the BBQ Baby Back Ribs and the Death Row Delmonico. The food was cooked exactly as ordered and both dishes contained nice cuts of meat. My wife had coleslaw with her ribs and it had a very slight vinegar flavor. Just tasted like eating raw cabbage and carrots. My Steak came with the mashed yams and although these were good I would much rather of had the garlic mashed potatoes. It would have been a good thing to have a choice of your side dish. My wifes ribs also came with a 2″ cubed piece of cornbread and I asked if I could have a piece of bread or a bum with my staek and the waiter said he would bring me a piece of cornbread but it would be $2.
Atmosphere: The garage atmosphere was excellent.
Food: Good – More flexible choices needed.
Service: Poor
Overall I am glad we tried something new but I cannot recommend this place based on my experience.
I posted a previous review but I had to add that the food was very low rate with a very high price…small portions and it took a very long long time to get three simple meals, and I agree that the servers were disinterested.
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.