Pittsburgh Foodies Thread (Greensburg, Wyoming, Penn: to buy, cities, seafood)

[DurangoJoe]

Food from national restaurant chains is one of the most unhealthy things you can eat. The levels of sodium and fat are off the charts and a single meal at one will easily provide you with several days worth of sodium & in some cases saturated fat.

Been to Burgatory several times and have never had the issues you mention. No issues finding the restaurant or finding it's hours. Don't know where you looked but it was certainly easy enough to find for anybody. The food was great and I was able to ask for less salt & seasonings on my food. The national chains don't like to do that because those seasonings represent their signature flavors. Ever been to an Outback and had a caesar salad so salty that it literally burned your mouth? Haven't been back to one since. As a traveling salesman for 25 years, I practically lived in these chains, eating virtually every meal in one. I paid a very high price and was lucky to escape with my life. National restaurant chains are bad news across the board in my opinion. They may be consistent, but as someone who has high blood pressure and has had 4 stents put in with 2 occurrences of blocked arteries, I can tell you that they offer food to die for..... literally. Their food is consistently unhealthy compared to a local restaurant using fresh ingredients. They're all marketing and the masses buy into it... hook, line, and sinker.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by SoButCounty

Food from national restaurant chains is one of the most unhealthy things you can eat. The levels of sodium and fat are off the charts and a single meal at one will easily provide you with several days worth of sodium & in some cases saturated fat.

A little bit of fat and salt never hurt anyone, and a well-run chain restaurant has a program to ensure consistency in service and product and hopefully reduce the chances of salmonella or other really unhealthful "ingredients" in the chow.

Chain restaurants certainly serve a good purpose for travelers or others who just want to eat and know what they are getting when they make their order.

But I think a real "foodie" is someone who is a bit more adventerous- at least part of the time.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by sskink

Obviously you want to live in suburban Omaha. It's flat, lots of parking, plenty of chains. Why not just go?

Omaha doesn't have suburbs like Pittsburgh does. It can annex the smaller ones without much trouble, so the city proper is larger than Pittsburgh. Omaha does have chain restaurants, but it has a thriving independent restaurant population.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

Omaha doesn't have suburbs like Pittsburgh does. It can annex the smaller ones without much trouble, so the city proper is larger than Pittsburgh. Omaha does have chain restaurants, but it has a thriving independent restaurant population.

Had to get all technical on me, eh? The guy wants flat terrain, chain restaurants, highways, gas guzzlers and thinks downtowns are a waste. So maybe it's not Omaha.

But suburban Ft. Worth would do.

[pman]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

A little bit of fat and salt never hurt anyone, and a well-run chain restaurant has a program to ensure consistency in service and product and hopefully reduce the chances of salmonella or other really unhealthful "ingredients" in the chow.

Chain restaurants certainly serve a good purpose for travelers or others who just want to eat and know what they are getting when they make their order.

But I think a real "foodie" is someone who is a bit more adventerous- at least part of the time.

sobutcountry is right, most chains use more than a little sodium and fat and processed foods are proven to be harmful. you're right on one thing, chains restaurants are focused on preventing food from causing salmonella than producing good food. the reality is that management cannot come up with measures to ensure a well run kitchen without having a good kitchen staff. they do serve a purpose for the food illiterate

[DurangoJoe]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

A little bit of fat and salt never hurt anyone, and a well-run chain restaurant has a program to ensure consistency in service and product and hopefully reduce the chances of salmonella or other really unhealthful "ingredients" in the chow.

Chain restaurants certainly serve a good purpose for travelers or others who just want to eat and know what they are getting when they make their order.

But I think a real "foodie" is someone who is a bit more adventerous- at least part of the time.

True, only a little bit. But chain restaurants don't only give you a little bit, they give you multiple days worth in a single meal. Why do you think their food always tastes so good? Any well run restaurant offers consistency in their food & service. It's critical to their business and is not exclusive to chains.

You must not ever read the nutritional info on the chain restaurant's food. No different than fast food when it comes to salt & fat. Ever see the documentary "Supersize Me"? Same thing.....what Morgan Spurlock experienced would be the same if he ate at TGI Friday's or similar restaurants every day for a month. It's not healthy. Any experienced restaurant chef will tell you that you can add flavor & silky mouthfeel to the sauces in many dishes by adding butter at the end. Artery clogging saturated fat.... but damn it sure does taste good. Any experienced restaurant chef can also tell you that proper seasoning is essential to avoid bland tasting food. That's how the chains create their signature flavors, by developing their own seasoning blends which are primarily salt based. That's also why their food is so high in sodium. Most people can't taste it because they've become so accustomed to it. If they cut back on salt for a few months though and then go back to that restaurant, they're always amazed at how the food has "gone downhill". What happened? The food hasn't changed, their palates have. They're now sensitive to salt and the chain restaurant's food tastes over the top salty to them. It's one of the reasons my wife & I avoid chains like the plague. After cutting back on salt, their "chain seasoned" food tastes horrible now.... way too salty.

Occasional eating at a chain (as when traveling) is fine. It is however, poison for me. I have the arteries, BP, and stents to prove it. And truthfully, if you know how to cook, it's easy to cook food that is better tasting and more nutritious than any chain in minutes.

[FreightTrainRunning]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

Seems the Burgh has more and more new eclectic places to dine everyday, and with such growth Burghers are more more becoming restaurant conosur (foodies).

I think its high time, we start a foodies thread about our various restaurants experiences to suggest for other in an around the Burgh. Plus I love it because I will know what to add to the list of Must Sees for when I make trips home.

- Suggest new places

- Recommend or Condemn a place

- Look for suggestions and reviews

- Give details of ones experience

- Find a new place tell us about iit, Post it Here

This should be an interesting thread, and we want to keep it to atleast "Fast Casual" and Up... It'll be our little foodie social network

It's worth re-posting the initial introduction to the thread from a couple of years ago. This thread is supposed to be about the new and growing local restaurant scene in Pittsburgh. What's new, what's good, what's bad, what's over-rated, etc.

Can we get back to that?

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by ML North

I've had good shellfish at Cioppino.

Is the restaurant part of Cioppino utterly, completely, totally, 100% isolated from the -- ugh! -- cigar bar the owners saw fit to install on the premises? I mean, not one whiff, entering, leaving, during...absolutely zero smoke?

[ML North]

Originally Posted by jay5835

Is the restaurant part of Cioppino utterly, completely, totally, 100% isolated from the -- ugh! -- cigar bar the owners saw fit to install on the premises? I mean, not one whiff, entering, leaving, during...absolutely zero smoke?

Yeah, it is! So there's a dining room, a lounge area, and the cigar bar. The cigar bar is separated from the lounge by a heavy wooden, windowless door, so you won't even have to look at smoke. I've only ever sat in the lounge area.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by ML North

Yeah, it is! So there's a dining room, a lounge area, and the cigar bar. The cigar bar is separated from the lounge by a heavy wooden, windowless door, so you won't even have to look at smoke. I've only ever sat in the lounge area.

Good to know. I've only almost gone there before, on account of the cigar bar. Which is a shame, because cioppino is soul food for me.