Pittsburgh Foodies Thread (Oakland, Penn: personal, interest, love)

[Rocket88]

Originally Posted by lettert

Interesting to see how Chipotle came in and knocked them out of business. I would argue Qdoba was in the better location, but looks like people chose to make the U-Turn.

That Boston Market right before Qdoba heading north on Mcknight has been closed for a while also. That surprised me because I thought that did Ok. Something will move into there before long for sure.

[BarqCider]

i personally find qdoba better than chipotle, but thats just me.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

i personally find qdoba better than chipotle, but thats just me.

And I thought Baja Fresh was better than both of them. But they didn't serve 3 pound burritos so they failed here.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

i personally find qdoba better than chipotle, but thats just me.

So does my partner.

In my second job I now deliver pretty much anything from pretty much anywhere. I've never had a Qdoba order, yet ~50% of my orders are from Chipotle. They do something right with their branding. I've never had to wait to place an order at the Qdoba location near Centre & Millvale (by Pep Boys). The adjacent Chipotle? The line is almost always ~20 deep and snakes around the interior.

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

So does my partner.

In my second job I now deliver pretty much anything from pretty much anywhere. I've never had a Qdoba order, yet ~50% of my orders are from Chipotle. They do something right with their branding. I've never had to wait to place an order at the Qdoba location near Centre & Millvale (by Pep Boys). The adjacent Chipotle? The line is almost always ~20 deep and snakes around the interior.

I always go to that Qdoba for that exact reason. The chipolte in eastside plaza is equally or worse for lines/crowds.

[Rocket88]

Originally Posted by jea6321

I always go to that Qdoba for that exact reason. The chipolte in eastside plaza is equally or worse for lines/crowds.

For what? To pay more than ten bucs for a drink and burrito full of beans and rice and a little bit of mediocre meat. I'll go to Taco Bell; I may not be seen as hip, but I'll get three Doritos Tacos Locos and a big Fountain drink for less than six bucs and tastes equally as good. Chipotle is not horrible. It is just just mostly hype that makes it so popular and they way the stores have that sleek look about them with their signage and all. When push comes to shove, they're just plopping inexpensive fillers between tortillas and charging top dollar.

[charisb]

I had a work event all day Saturday and was wiped out and hungry by the time I got home. We decided to order Nicky's Thai Kitchen from PostMates. I have never ordered food delivery before (except for pizza delivery) so I was hesitant but thanks to the coupon jay posted in this thread I figured, why not? The delivery fee was more or less waived through the coupon but would have been ~$13.00. The driver was friendly and he called to say he might be late (but he wasn't, although I know traffic was terrible). The only downside was the food! I have not been to Nicky's in a while, and was very disappointed overall. We had Pad See Ew with chicken and the noodles were like the egg noodles you buy at the supermarket. The chicken was a little rubbery and the dish overall tasted of fish sauce. The curry dish was had was okay but the rice was clearly old. I don't think I will be doing the delivery thing again. If we were at the restaurant I would have definitely complained/sent things back.

[ProFiction]

Originally Posted by Rocket88

For what? To pay more than ten bucs for a drink and burrito full of beans and rice and a little bit of mediocre meat. I'll go to Taco Bell; I may not be seen as hip, but I'll get three Doritos Tacos Locos and a big Fountain drink for less than six bucs and tastes equally as good. Chipotle is not horrible. It is just just mostly hype that makes it so popular and they way the stores have that sleek look about them with their signage and all. When push comes to shove, they're just plopping inexpensive fillers between tortillas and charging top dollar.

I mostly agree with everything you've said here, but there is no fast food equal to Chipotle's guac. It's incredible. You also can't get barbacoa anywhere else. So that's the only time I ever go to Chipotle: bowl (you get more than the burrito!) with rice, black beans, barbacoa, guac, hot sauce, corn salsa, sour cream, and lettuce. Very good. That's a 4-5 times a year meal for me.

[Rocket88]

Looks like Sushi Kim is getting ready to close after a 25 year run. They were one of the first in Pittsburgh for Sushi. The owner wants to retire. The location should garner big time interest.http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburg...the-strip.html

[UKyank]

The former 'Yo Rita' place has a new owner finally & will be called 'Streets on Carson'.
Per description:
Street food from around the world and the cheapest local craft beer and locally sourced cocktails on Carson. Also promoting local artists and street culture.