The Porch at Schenley: Take Two (Oakland)

I had lunch at The Porch at Schenley in Oakland some time ago and had been meaning to return for dinner.  I finally did earlier in the fall, meeting up with my hubby for a quick weeknight date.  Even though it was a weeknight, I was surprised by how lively the restaurant was!

R. had arrived earlier and was munching on some cornbread while he waited.  For his entree, he ordered a veggie burger which he said was great.  I decided to get the Pan Seared Diver Scallops, which I was told by the server were the largest scallops I would have ever seen - and he was correct.  The scallops were served with red pumpkin curry, coriander creme, fennel, and pumpkin seeds.  It was not only interesting but tasty.  Truth be told, it actually exceeded my expectations.  Can't wait to come back again!

Pan Seared Diver Scallops ($12)

Pan Seared Diver Scallops ($12)

Restaurant info:
The Porch at Schenley
(412)687-6724
221 Schenley Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
On the web: http://www.theporchatschenley.com
On Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ThePorchAtSchenley
On Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PorchSchenley


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Hello Bistro (Oakland)

I love salads, but I never like the salads I make at home because they are generally too bland and too boring.  Anything that would taste good in my books would require too much ingredient prep on my part.  (Go ahead, call me lazy.)

As such, I am very happy to have discovered the new Hello Bistro, a salad and burger restaurant that recently opened in Oakland.  Boasting over 50 salad toppings, I knew going in that this would be nothing like any Eat 'n Park salad bar.  (Hello Bistro is owned by Eat 'n Park.)

Here's how this place works:  You are handed a menu as you line up.  I can't speak for the burgers and sandwiches, but for salads, you can either opt for one of the few Hello Bistro creations or make your own for $7.  There are little notepads you can use to check off your unlimited topping choices - yes, I said unlimited.  Here's an example (not mine):

Create your own salad

Instead of coming up with my own salad concoction, I went with one of Hello Bistro's creations - the Caribbean Shrimp Salad, which consists of mixed greens, marinated shrimp, avocado, black beans, corn, tortilla strips, and citrus lime vinaigrette.

Once you place your order, a staff walks down the display of salad toppings filling a bowl with the appropriate ingredients.

Over 50 toppings!

Then your bowl is handed off to another staff member.  In my case, it was a friendly young man named Peter who posed in a photo for me.  He chopped my salad whichever way I wanted (medium chunks, please) and added the amount of dressing I wanted (moderate, please).

Chopping the salad and tossing in the dressing

And voila!  My salad!  Fresh, tasty, and great combination of ingredients and flavors.  Way better than what I can make at home, and the portion is huge, too.  I filled up on just this salad alone.

Caribbean Shrimp Salad ($9)

The setting at Hello Bistro is contemporary, casual, and a bit quirky.  I sat at the bar in front of this gigantic blackboard...as though all the students coming in would really want to see another blackboard.  But I must admit, it does add a certain playfulness the space.

Hello Bistro exudes an image that's fun-loving and playful

And speaking of students, expect to run into drones of them as Hello Bistro is located on Forbes Avenue in the heart of "college central" (and just a couple doors down from my favorite Razzy Fresh - BONUS!).  It was pretty busy even in the summer, so it'll be interesting to see what the lines are like when school is back in session.

As a salad lover, I will be back for sure.  Will I ever try a sandwich or a burger at Hello Bistro?  Maybe.  But the big draw for me is definitely the delicious and fully customizable salads that I am unable to replicate at home.  I might even create my own salad next time at Hello Bistro.

Restaurant info:
Hello Bistro
3605 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)687-8787
On the web: http://www.hellobistro.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloBistro
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloBistro



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The Porch at Schenley (Oakland)

Last week a friend who works at CMU invited me out for lunch.  She suggested either the campus cafeteria or The Porch at Schenley at Schenley Plaza in Oakland.  Um, tough choice there. ;)  Of course it was going to be The Porch at Schenley!  I had been meaning to try this place out anyway.

My first thought as I arrived at Schenley Plaza was that this modern piece of architecture is absolutely gorgeous!  The glass exterior allows for an abundance of natural lighting and a beautiful view of the plaza as you enjoy your meal.

The beautiful Porch at Schenley

The interior is spacious with plenty of seating available.

Inside The Porch at Schenley

Inside The Porch at Schenley

I chose a booth by the corner with a view of the Cathedral of Learning.  The lunch menu consists of mainly salads, sandwiches, and pizza, and I decided to go with the Salmon Pastrami Salad, with mixed greens, leeks, preserved lemons, scallions, and radishes, and caper creme fraiche.  I was pretty happy with it.

Salmon Pastrami Salad ($12)

My friend and her husband had been to The Porch a few times and love it.  The Porch is a classy addition to Oakland and I'd definitely be interested in coming back some time to try their dinner menu.

Restaurant info:
The Porch at Schenley
(412)687-6724
221 Schenley Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
On the web: http://www.theporchatschenley.com
On Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ThePorchAtSchenley
On Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PorchSchenley


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AJ's Peruvian Restaurant (Oakland)

Update (5/20/2013): AJ's Peruvian Restaurant is closed.

As someone who is interested in cultural diversity and world cuisine, I have found myself paying more attention to Latin American restaurants in the city ever since I learned of Señorita Cibulka's project.  To my surprise, there are actually quite a few of these restaurants in town, several of which are recent additions, with more to come soon.  So when my friend and I were looking for a place to do lunch the other day, I suggested AJ's Peruvian Restaurant.  It was a sunny and warm fall day, and we were also glad we could take advantage of it by hitting up a place with a decent amount of natural lighting.

The hostess, who I believe is the owner, sat us at the booth closest to the entrance.  The decor of the restaurant is casual yet inviting.  While American restaurants serve bread before a meal, at AJ's we got some yummy sweet potato chips:

Sweet Potato Chips

I decided to try their Ensalada Rusa with Rotisserie Chicken.  The salad is made of corn, beets (yum!), peas, and mayonnaise, served with Peruvian rice which is flavored with something (garlic?), and the customer's choice of 1/4 rotisserie chicken, grill chicken breast, or grilled pork chop.  I went with the 1/4 rotisserie chicken, with all its crispy skin and juicy meat glory, and rubbed with a flavorful seasoning.  It was delicious!

Ensalada Rusa with Rotisserie Chicken ($8.99)

My friend enjoyed her 1/4 rotisserie chicken with sides of sweet potato fries and sweet plantains, but not before we did a little switcheroo: I had been served with white meat and her dark meat, but I far preferred dark meat while she slightly preferred white meat, so we switched our chicken.

This being my first visit, I couldn't resist ordering some Fried Plantains for myself as a side, which turned out to be a  good choice.

Fried Plantains

I actually came back less than a week later when another friend and I decided to do dinner before a show at the Petersen Events Center.  I ordered the Ensalada Rusa with Rotisserie Chicken again (though I made sure to specify I wanted dark meat) and it was just as good the second time around.  My friend had gotten rotisserie chicken and loved it.  During this second visit, I ran into a colleague who is from Peru who verified that AJ's is as authentic as it gets.  He was so excited to see that we were enjoying his cuisine and generously let us try his ceviche and beef heart - both of which were awesome.  I think I might just have to go for some beef heart myself next time. In the meantime, it makes proud to have introduced two very happy friends to AJ's.

P.S. To be honest, I have no idea what this restaurant is officially called.  Urbanspoon calls it "AJ's Burgers Fries and Peruvian Rotisserie" and Yelp as well as the restaurant's Facebook page calls it "AJ's Burger & Peruvian Chicken," while the restaurant's website refers to itself as "AJ's Peruvian Restaurant."  So I guess I'm probably simultaneously right and wrong here, but I decided to just go with "AJ's Peruvian Restaurant" for simplicity's sake.

UPDATE 1/20/2012: Thanks to a tip from a reader, it appears that AJ's has a new website URL which I have updated.

Restaurant info:
AJ's Peruvian Restaurant
3608 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)586-4382
On the web: http://www.ajsincaperuvianrestaurant.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AJs-Burger-and-Peruvian-Chicken/328754675500


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Lulu's Noodles (Oakland)

Last week I met up with a couple of friends at Lulu's Noodles in the heart of Pittsburgh's College Central for an early dinner.  I had heard good things about Lulu's Noodles and was excited to finally give it a try.

I had read in the reviews that Lulu's isn't very authentic, which admittedly made me cringe a bit.  I don't mean to be a snob, but as a Chinese person, I believe I have the right to react with horror in response to unauthentic Chinese food and I don't apologize for it.  As I browsed through the menu, the fear of Lulu's being unauthentic was mostly confirmed.  (Er...General Tso's Chicken??)  Also, I have to say I wasn't quite sure what Lulu's was trying to be.  In addition to Chinese, Lulu's has a handful of menu items from the Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisines. Mixing Asian cuisines is usually another red flag for me, and I have never seen a restaurant do so to the extent that Lulu's does.

All that said, however, I was delighted to see that they have a bubble drinks menu.  I don't particularly like the bubbles (tapioca) themselves, but I like bubble drinks.  Go figure.  Not being able to resist, I ordered a Taro Frozen Fruit drink.  I loved it!  OK, so at least that was pretty authentic and well done.

Taro Frozen Fruit Drink

For my entree, I figured it would probably be appropriate to have noodles, seeing that the place is called Lulu's Noodles and all.  I also tried to pick something that seemed relatively authentic.  The Wonton Noodle Soup caught my eye.  The promise of fresh noodles flown in from San Francisco was intriguing.  If there is one place in the US that can do Chinese food right, I would think it would be San Francisco.  Besides, I hadn't had shrimp and pork wontons for a while, so I figured I was due.

Wonton Noodle Soup ($5.95)

I was pretty happy with this as well.  It was simple and reminded me of casual Chinese diners with hard, round fold-out stools and stainless steel teapots.  Only Lulu's doesn't make you sit on those terrible stools. The wontons were pretty good, but the noodles definitely stole the show as they tasted fresh and were perfectly al dente...or whatever the Chinese term for it would be.  On top of that, it was cheap - just like Wonton Noodle Soup should be.  I've heard that Lulu's food can sometimes but a hit or miss, but the Wonton Noodle Soup is one I can recommend.

So despite my initial misgivings, I enjoyed my visit to Lulu's.

Restaurant info:
Lulu's Noodles
400 S. Craig St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)687-7777

Spice Island Tea House (Oakland)

A couple of weeks ago I finally made it to lunch at Spice Island Tea House in Oakland, a little low-key restaurant serving Southeast Asian fare on Atwood Street that has been on my wish list for a little while.  They have a pretty extensive menu that includes a number of lunch specials.  There were so many choices it took me a while to figure out what to get, but in the end I just couldn't resist the Mango Pork served with coconut rice, which ended up being a great choice!  The meat was tender and the sauce was well-spiced if a bit greasy, but that just comes with the territory.

Mango Pork ($7.50)

My two companions both ordered the Java Fried Rice which seems to be a pretty popular item at Spice Island Tea House.  It looked delicious and is definitely something on my list to try next time.  All in all, an enjoyable meal with great company!


Restaurant Info:
Spice Island Tea House
253 Atwood St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
(412)687-8821
On the web: http://www.spiceislandteahouse.com

Razzy Fresh Frozen Yogurt (Squirrel Hill & Oakland)

FamJam in Pittsburgh 2011

Stop #6 (Saturday Post-Dinner Dessert): Razzy Fresh Frozen Yogurt in Squirrel Hill 

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

Despite a very filling dinner at Silk Elephant, a few of us managed to find room for dessert.  The promise of delicious frozen yogurt just across the street was too much to resist, I guess!  I had first discovered Razzy Fresh last July before I even moved to Pittsburgh.  R. and I were in town to take care of some housing issues and were meeting friends for dinner in Squirrel Hill.  We had arrived early so we took a stroll around the block and happened upon Razzy Fresh.  Now, to put this discovery in context a bit, I was living in Washington, DC at the time and a significant number of new self-serve froyo places (a trend that started in California, I understand) had recently started popping up everywhere in town, and I had become quite a fan.  So I was very excited when I spotted Razzy Fresh, and despite the fact that we were about to have dinner soon, I just had to try some Pittsburgh froyo.

The physical space that Razzy Fresh occupies is pretty small, and at the time they only had three machines serving six different flavors of froyo (since expanded to six machines with 12 flavors).  Two things that I found super exciting about Razzy Fresh: taro flavored froyo and mochi topping.  Taro is a root that is a bit like a potato but has a purple tint on the inside and a touch of sweetness that, to me, tastes similar to coconuts.  I grew up on taro and taro flavored ice cream has always occupied a special place in my heart.  In fact, after a failed search mission for taro ice cream in DC, I learned to make it myself (which will be the subject of a blog post to come, I'm sure).  I bring this up so you can understand how excited and pleasantly surprised I was to find taro-flavored froyo, in Pittsburgh of all places!  I guess I made the right decision to move here!  I was also pleasantly surprised by the mochi topping.  Mochi is a sweet Japanese rice cake, and ice cream wrapped inside mochi dough is a very popular dessert in the Japanese cuisine.

Anyway, back to Razzy Fresh.  Not only did Razzy Fresh impress me with their exotic offerings, but also the taste of their frozen yogurt, which strikes a good balance between sweetness and tartness.  Their toppings are always fresh, as well.  I typically like my froyo with strawberries, mangoes, and mochi.  The fruits are always perfectly ripe, and I suspect they use champagne mangoes (which tends to be sweeter and tastier IMHO) as opposed to whatever variety you'd typically find at Giant Eagle.  The mochi is also fresh as one can tell by how "chewy" it is - mochi that has been sitting out for a while tends to harden, and at Razzy Fresh, they clearly make the effort to ensure that the mochi never gets too stale.

Here are some of the toppings at Razzy Fresh:

Close-up of the mochi toppings.  In the past they've only had white mochi but now it appears they have a rainbow-colored variety and a green tea flavored mochi.

On this particular occasion, I had a mix of the taro- and honeydew-flavored froyo with strawberries, mango, and mochi. Because I was so full from dinner, however, I only got a half-cup of froyo, and so the photos turned out kind of lame.  So here, I present you with a much better representation of Razzy Fresh, taken on another visit:

Taro and green tea frozen yogurt
Topped with strawberries, mangoes, and mochi.

My brother and his girlfriend got the same thing I did, and my sister got strawberry banana to which she gave a thumbs up.  I think that with the variety that Razzy Fresh offers, anyone can find something they like.  The picture above was actually taken at one of Razzy Fresh's newer locations on Craig Street between 5th and Forbes, which is far more spacious than the Squirrel Hill location, so it is a better option for hanging out with friends, unless you have a problem with the college crowd as it is nested right in Pitt/CMU central.  A third location on Forbes at Meyran in the former Kiva Han space had been in the works for several months and is rumored to have opened within the past few days.  Expect a college crowd there too.

I have been to a few other froyo shops in town and they just haven't impressed me quite as much as Razzy Fresh did.  Some I find to taste bad, even, but we won't name any names...  Anyone who knows me knows I'm a self-proclaimed ice cream snob, thanks to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, OH. I am beginning to fear that I am slowly becoming a froyo snob as well, thanks to Razzy Fresh!


Next up: Homemade Spinach and Mushroom Frittata for Sunday's Brunch



Restaurant info:

Razzy Fresh Frozen Yogurt
Squirrel Hill location: 1717 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Oakland location #1: 300 S Craig St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 
Oakland location #2: 3533 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Website: http://www.razzyfresh.com