Pittsburgh Restaurant Tips by riorich55

Deluca's: You Might Have to Wait in Line to Get In

When we were planning on going to Pittsburgh for the 4th of July Family Reunion weekend in 2011, I sent out a couple of emails to some fellow VTers who lived in the Pittsburgh area asking them for places to visit and eat. VT member Lacristina was very detailed in her responses and one of the places she recommended was Deluca's. In fact her response in the email was: "this reminds me of another great breakfast place I should have mentioned. Deluca's Restaurant in the heart of the Strip. It's a Pittsburgh classic." With a recommendation like that how could we pass it up.

We headed for the Strip District on a warm Saturday July morning, but since we had already eaten a small breakfast back at the hotel we weren't really hungry for another breakfast, but considered maybe we should do lunch here. As you can see from the first picture this is what greeted us as we approached the restaurant about 1:00 p.m. Not being too keen on lines, we headed down the block to Wholely's for lunch (another tip). However I made plans to come back 2 days later while we were still in town on July 4th and get there early enough to avoid the lines.

We arrived about 9:15 a.m. on Monday morning and were fortunate to secure one of the last open tables way at the back of the place. After going through their extensive menu and peaking around at what everybody else was having, Sue and I made our decisions.

Favorite Dish: Sue had one of their omelettes which came with just about everything but the kitchen sink. It also was served with your choice of bread and some jam. I opted for the Almond Joy Pancake (only 2 please) which was made with chocolate and coconut. Now, if I was really adventurous I would have gone for the pancake Almond Joy sundae which would have included tons of whip cream, ice cream and nuts, but because I had eaten plenty the entire weekend and had an 8 hour ride home following I decided to stick with the conservative side. Although all the other food I saw did look delicious.

I also had an iced coffee served in a Coke plastic (not glass). I didn't add any sugar which I usually do to kick the acid taste of American coffee. Fortunately this was a good iced coffee and all I added was just a little bit of creamer to sweeten the taste to my liking.

By the time we left about 45 minutes later the lines again had begun to grow outside the front door. Moral of the story - Get here early to avoid the lines.

CASH ONLY!!

Address: 2015 Penn Avenue

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: On the Main Street in the Strip District

Phone: 1 412 566 2195

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Local

Bossa Nova: An Entertaining Spot

The Friday night spot for the Reunion we attended was dinner at the Bossa Nova Restaurant. The entire restaurant was closed to the public until 10:00 p.m. that evening as the 150 or so Rashid Reunion members took the place over. We arrived about 7:00 p.m. when the food offerings were just starting to come out. I'm not sure what the regular offerings are at the restaurant, but the different flat bread pizzas and a multitude of other Lebanese specialities and desserts seemed to satisfy the crowd for the evening. The only complaint I had was that they never seem to cook enough food for the crowds at the reunions and if you are not fast enough one or two of the items will be gone before you have had a chance to get in line.

Address: 123 7th Street

Comparison: about average

Phone: 412 232 3030

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.bossanovapgh.com

Wholey's: Don't Miss The Fresh Seafood!

Having been in the Strip District from about 9:30 a.m. in the morning and browsing the various shops we were getting a little hungry for lunch and since it was 1:00 p.m. we had to decide which of the places along the strip we wanted to stop in for a bite to eat. They all looked and smelled wonderful, but we finally figured since we would have a full sit down meal at the Family Reunion about 7:00 p.m. that evening and since we had snacked while walking through the Strip District we did not want to have too full of a meal.

So, while we were walking through Wholey's we decided to try out a couple of there offerings and go upstairs and sit down for a while. Sue opted for their award-winning famous fish sandwich, which was a piece of cod fish and then some (they weighed it and added a bit more if below the weight). The cod was blended with some seasonings and then batter fried to a crisp light golden brown. Very tasty. I opted for the lobster roll sandwich which was a good compliment for the fried food that Sue had, because we always have a little taste of each other's meal so that we don't miss anything.

I'll also put another tip on Wholey's in a shopping tip because if I lived in the Pittsburgh area you would find me down here probably at least once a week shopping for all their wonderful offerings.

Address: 1711 Penn Avenue

Comparison: less expensive than average

Directions: In The Strip District's Main Street

Phone: 412 391 3737

Price: less than US$10

Rating: 4

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.wholey.com