Thursday, March 24, 2011

Pamela's P&G Diner (Various Locations)

FamJam in Pittsburgh 2011
Stop #3 (Saturday Brunch): Pamela's P&G Diner in the Strip District

This is the third in a series of posts on my family's first visit to Pittsburgh.  To start from the beginning with Friday's lunch, click here.

On Saturday morning, I thought I'd take everyone down to the Strip District for a quick visit.  There are many excellent food establishments in the Strip that I knew we wouldn't have time for, and seeing that we would be down in that neighborhood in the morning, I thought it would be appropriate to start the day at another iconic Pittsburgh restaurant, Pamela's P&G Diner.

My first ever visit to Pamela's was during my first month in Pittsburgh when I was staying in temporary housing in Shadyside.  I was hungry one day and stumbled across Pamela's Shadyside location having never heard of them before (ha!).  I ordered their strawberry hotcakes and was instantly hooked.  Instantly.  Now, I don't typically go out for breakfast a lot (especially at diner-type places) due to my body's unfriendliness towards egg yolks and milk, leaving me with few options and none of which I'm particularly crazy about.  And that includes pancakes.  Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like pancakes, but they don't top my favorites either.  At Pamela's, however, they make it differently, something like a cross between a pancake and a crepe (which I love).   And the result is out of this world.  Of course, by now I am well aware that Pamela's is actually quite famous for these crispy thin hotcakes, so much so that President Obama actually invited Pamela Cohen and Gail Klingonsmith, owners of Pamela's P&G Diner, to serve his first memorial day breakfast at the White House.

On this Saturday morning, we didn't quite make it to Pamela's until about 10 am.  Which meant that by the time we were seated, it was already close to 11 am, so this meal ended up being brunch instead of breakfast.  Most of us ordered the strawberry hotcakes, myself included.


Strawberry Hotcakes
Just looking at this makes me hungry!

Lyonnaise Potatoes
I also tried some of my sister's lyonnaise potatoes, another famous Pamela's item.  They were very well-seasoned and everybody gave it high praise.

Next up: Sustenance Bakery at the Pittsburgh Public Market



Restaurant info:
Pamela's P&G Diner
Website: http://www.pamelasdiner.com


Pamela's P & G Diner (Strip District) on Urbanspoon