Everyday Noodles (Squirrel Hill)

Everyday Noodles in Squirrel Hill

Everyday Noodles opened in Squirrel Hill in late February to much fanfare and excitement. The owner, Mike Chen, is none other than the father of Tamari's owner, Allen Chen, and has himself opened several Asian restaurants around town previously.

What's distinctive about Everyday Noodles, however, is its explicit attempt to follow authentic Taiwanese cooking. Authenticity is something I greatly appreciate, especially in Asian cuisine, as there are few things that annoy me more than being offered fortune cookies at the end of a Chinese meal. (In case you didn't know, fortune cookies originated in...drum roll...the United States!)

I was definitely intrigued, and paid two visits there in its early days. The first thing a diner should know about Everyday Noodles is that there will most likely be a wait.  The moderately-sized casual eatery does not take reservations and is nearly always jam packed, to the degree unlike any other restaurant in the neighborhood. But while you wait, feel free to grab some bubble tea and enjoy the fresh noodle-making "show" in the glass-encased area of the open kitchen near the entrance. (That is, if you're not at the end of the line that sometimes stretches out the door!)

Fresh noodles in the making

See the chef in action here:



Between my two visits, I have had the opportunity to sample a few different dishes. I highly recommend the Pork and Crab Meat Soup Dumplings, which Everyday Noodles has become quite known for. Chinese people are very picky about their soup dumplings - the wrapper, in particular, must be thin, but not too thin that it breaks easily on contact. It takes a highly skilled chef to make soup dumplings just right. The ones at Everyday Noodles are excellent, with filling that is juicy and flavorful.

Pork and Crab Meat Soup Dumplings ($11/8 pcs)

Pork and Crab Meat Soup Dumplings

I also enjoyed the Taiwanese Style Pork Belly Slider, topped with chopped peanuts and cilantro, and served in a fluffy white and slightly sweet Chinese bun. It wasn't Momofuku-good, but it was solid nonetheless.

Taiwanese Style Pork Belly Slider ($6)

I've also had two different noodle dishes at Everyday Noodles, for which diners have a choice between thin or thick noodles. I tried the Braised Beef Noodle Soup with thin noodles, which was not bad, but I was really wowed by the Dan Dan Noodles Szechuan Style (with thick noodles) which was served in a delicious peanutty sauce and was not nearly as spicy as I would have imagined.

Braised Beef Noodle Soup ($11)

Dan Dan Noodles ($7)

Overall, I enjoyed the food at Everyday Noodles, and hope to try some desserts next time. I also have no complaints about the service; in fact, on both visits the owner himself was seen working alongside the waitstaff, greeting, serving, and chatting with the customers.

By the way, the Chinese name for Everyday Noodles, 天天見麵, is a clever play on words: The first two characters (天天) in the name mean "everyday," while the third character (見) means "see." The last character (麵), though, is what's most interesting, as it means "noodles" but is homonymous with the word that means "face." In fact, if you look carefully at the design of the Chinese logo (see it on their website here) and focus on just the red part of the name, it actually reads 天天見面, with the last character being "face" (面) in red and the black part added to create the character for "noodles" (麵). The last two characters in red then, together, means "to see (a person)." Thus, when reading just the red part of the restaurant's name, it means "see you every day." Adding the black part gives it a dual meaning - literally to "see noodles every day."

Indeed, Everyday Noodles, I'd love to see you - and your noodles - every day.

Restaurant info:
Everyday Noodles
5875 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412) 421-6668
(412) 421-6669
On the web: http://www.everydaynoodlespgh.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EverydayNoodles


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Szmidt's Old World Deli (Greenfield)

The first time I heard of Szmidt's Old World Deli, I was at a work party and someone had brought along some of Szmidt's pierogies - two sweet varieties and a savory kind.  It made such a positive impression on me that when R. was looking for a place to take an out-of-town friend, I suggested Szmidt's, even though I hadn't been there myself.  They came back raving about it, which made me proud.  I am always glad when I can help show off to outsiders the best that Pittsburgh has to offer.

I finally made my way to the little shop myself earlier this month.  I ordered a McCarthy Sandwich, loaded with slow roasted beef, onions, lettuce, tomato, mushrooms, peppers, provolone cheese, and horseradish mayo.  The meat was juicy and perfectly done and the veggies were fresh, and the soft homemade bun was icing on the cake.  I came here with pretty high expectations and I was not disappointed.

McCarthy Sandwich ($7.99)

Of course, I had to have some pierogies, especially the sweet pierogies, because I like how they gave this classic a twist and, well, I have a sweet tooth. (*blush*) I ordered three Apple Mango and three Strawberry with Chocolate Sauce (a seasonal special).  The homemade pierogie dough was fried just right and the fillings were simple yet worked nicely.

Apple Mango Pierogies (left, $3.99) and Strawberry Pierogies with Chocolate
Sauce (right, $3.99)

What a great deli!  Can't wait to try some of the other sandwiches and pierogies at Szmidt's.

Restaurant info:
Szmidt's Old World Deli
509 Greenfield Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15207
(412)904-3558
On the web: http://www.szmidts.com
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Szmidts-Old-World-Deli/168361829868671


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Waffallonia (Squirrel Hill)

While I was busy keeping up with my Pittsburgh Restaurant Week posts, I got behind on some of my older posts, so I'm going to try and catch up as much as possible!

This was from a visit a couple of weekends ago to Waffallonia in Squirrel Hill.  R. likes waffles, and I had never been to Waffallonia, so I thought we'd make a trip down there to see what it's about.  Waffallonia has an extremely small space that seats only a handful of people at a time, but even though the place is busy, the turnaround is pretty quick.  And because they are busy, the waffles are always freshly made.

Fresh waffle dough

Waffallonia, a play on the name of the Belgian region of Wallonia, specializes in Liège waffles.  They make them using pearl sugar from Belgium that caramelizes over the shell of the waffle, making them crunchy on the outside while soft on the inside.  I had never had this style of waffle before, and I liked it a lot.  I selected the special Holiday Waffle with Belgian chocolate ganache that's made with real Belgian dark chocolate topped with peppermint whipped cream.  It was a yummy combo!

Holiday Waffle ($5)

R. ordered the Charleroi, which bananas, strawberries, and nutella.  I don't think you can ever go wrong with fresh fruits and nutella!  What a great treat and R. enjoyed it.

Charleroi ($5.25)

What a great little shop in Squirrel Hill.  I'm so glad I finally got to try it!

Restaurant info:
Waffallonia
1707 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412)521-4902
On the web: http://www.waffallonia.com


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Aji Picante (Squirrel Hill)

Update: Aji Picante is closed.

Do you know Señorita Cibulka?  She's a high school Spanish teacher in West Mifflin who came up with the fascinating idea of having her students explore authentic Mexican/Latino restaurants in the Pittsburgh area for extra credit in her class.  (She is even planning a trip to Spain for interested students!)  She recently started her blog Señorita Cibulka Savors to document her own experiences at various authentic Mexican/Latino restaurants for her students and for anyone who is interested.  I have a soft spot for educators, particularly innovative ones who think outside the box and who find new ways to engage students, so I have been following Señorita Cibulka's blog with interest and to learn more about authentic Mexican/Latino food myself, which I'll admit to knowing little about.

Señorita Cibulka and I had also exchanged a few conversations over Twitter, and it was through one of these conversations that we decided to meet up for dinner at the new Aji Picante that had just opened up in Squirrel Hill in the old Panera space across from Silk Elephant and next to what is now Razzy Fresh.  Like La Feria in Shadyside, Aji Picante serves Peruvian cuisine and is owned by Pittsburgh staple Pamela's Diner.  Although I have yet to try La Feria, I had heard great things about it, so I had pretty high expectations for Aji Picante.  Besides, if their Peruvian food is half as good as Pamela's hot cakes, then this would promise to be a great meal!

But first things first:  What does "Aji Picante" mean?  According to our Spanish teacher here, it means something to the effect of "spicy chili."  Good to know.

On to the menu.  Most of the items looked intriguing, but we tried to look for the most authentic dish possible, and this is where I looked to Señorita Cibulka for guidance.  To start, her and I shared the Torrejas de Choclo, or "crispy corn fritters seasoned with aji amarillo and cilantro."  As Señorita Cibulka pointed out in her blog, aji amarillo is a Peruvian yellow chili pepper.  Three different sauces came with the corn fritters: mint, guacamole, and hot red pepper.  We were both pretty happy with the corn fritters which were full of flavor, and the sauces were good.  We both agreed that the mint was a little less flavorful than we preferred, but the other two were tasty.  My personal favorite was the hot pepper sauce.

Torrejas de Choclo ($7)

The entree was a tough choice.  I was really curious about the purple potato ravioli, but that didn't sound very Peruvian to me, so I went with the more authentic Chupe (minus the poached egg).  Señorita Cibulka did the same (though with the poached egg).  The chupe is basically a stew with rice, veggies, and an assortment of shrimp, mussels, clams, and calamari, "in a flavourful tarragon infused broth."  Bonus points for including the "u" in "flavourful." ;)  I'm pretty sure this was the first chupe I've ever had, and I gotta say, it has set the bar really high for future chupes.  Although the picture makes the soup look somewhat creamy, it is actually a pretty light broth.  Every bite of this was full of rich deliciousness.  They weren't kidding about it being flavourful with a "u"!  I had asked Señorita Cibulka if she thought the poached egg added much to the chupe, and she didn't think so, so I guess I didn't miss out.  Finally, the serving was massive, and both of us had to take about half of our chupe home.

Chupe ($22)

We were, not surprisingly, very full by the time we gave up on our entree.  But when the waitress came by to see if we wanted desserts, we decided to ask if we could see the menu.  As soon as we said it though, I knew we were in trouble.  And we were.  The menu was too tempting.  After several moments of indecision, we decided to share a Mazzamorra Morada, which Señorita Cibulka aptly described as being like "jello Sangria."  No, there is no wine in this dessert, but it is a mesh of tarty fruity goodness in a jello form made with purple corn, apples, pineapples, dried cranberries, and apricots, and topped with cinnamon and cloves.  It was very refreshing and didn't feel heavy at all.  And after all, it's made with fruit, so it's good for you, right? ;)

Mazzamorra Morada ($5)

The food was fabulous.  The atmosphere and service were also very pleasant.  In fact, our waitress was very attentive and gave us solid recommendations.  Needless to say, both Señorita Cibulka and I enjoyed our Aji Picante experience a lot.  (See her blog post for more of her thoughts on our meal.)  Great food, great company...what more can you ask for?

Restaurant info:
Aji Picante
1711 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412) 422-0220
On the web:  http://www.ajipgh.com
On Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/AjiPicante
Bonus: BYOB


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Sababa Middle Eastern Gill (Squirrel Hill): Take Two

Update 2/1/2012: Sababa Grill has now closed.

Original post:

As mentioned in my last post on Sababa, a friend and I had agreed to each get a LivingSocial deal for Sababa Grill and to go twice.  We weren't able to work out a time to go a second time together before the deal was to expire, so I took another friend for my second visit.  I decided to try something different this time: the Bourekas, with is a phyllo pastry with your choice of potato, eggplant, or mushroom filling.  I was going to be adventurous and get the eggplant, given my recent good experience with eggplant in Italy and that I've always been pleased with the Spanish Eggplant Salad at Sababa, but alas, they were out.  So I went with the mushroom filling instead.  I also had a choice of an appetizer to go along with my bourekas, and naturally I opted for my favorite Spanish Eggplant Salad.  Yum!

The Mushroom Bourekas looked delicious, but when I cut it open I noticed mostly pastry and not a whole lot of mushroom on the inside.  I was a little concerned that it would be bland, but it turns out the phyllo dough had absorbed much of the mushroom flavor and it was overall quite tasty.  The Spanish Eggplant Salad, as usual, was amazing.

Bourekas with Mushrooms ($7.90)

Bourekas with Mushrooms ($7.90)

My dining companion ordered the Shwarma with spiced broiled chicken and lamb.  She let me have a large bite and a picture.  My little taste was great and I might just have to try this one next time.

Shwarma ($15.00)

During our meal, the owner also came by to check on us and asked if we had any complaints.  I jokingly "complained" that they were out of the eggplant bourekas, but he was a good sport about it.  It was overall a nice meal and there's a good reason why Sababa is one of my favorite restaurants in town.


Restaurant info:
Sababa Middle Eastern Grill
2121 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412)422-8000
On the web: http://www.sababapgh.com


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Sababa Middle Eastern Grill (Squirrel Hill)

Update 2/1/2012: Sababa Grill has now closed.


Original post:

Several months ago I had recommended Sababa Grill in Squirrel Hill to a good friend of mine.  I had visited this casual neighborhood joint twice before and had great meals both times.  Not too long after making the recommendation, LivingSocial ran a promotion for the restaurant, so my friend and I decided to each get one so we could go twice.  We finally made our Trip #1 of 2 this past Saturday.

As in my two previous trips, I got The Rainbow which is an appetizer platter.  Normally The Rainbow consists of Hummus, Babaganush, Turkish Babaganush, Tabouli Salad, Spanish Eggplant Salad, Israeli Salad, Grape Leaves, and something else that seems to rotate in and out of the menu.  (This time was a cucumber salad; last time it was carrots, and the time before that was eggplants).  I love The Rainbow because I can taste a variety of appetizers, and everything is always delightful...well, with one strange exception.  The Babaganush.

On my first visit, I took a sniff of the Babaganush and noted to my six dining companions that it smelled oddly like cigarettes.  Then I had a bite of it, and it tasted like cigarettes.  For the record, everyone else thought so too! On my second visit I took R. and we again ordered The Rainbow.  When I told him about the cigarette-tasting dish, he thought I was just being prissy at first, but once he had a bite himself, he, too, agreed with my assessment.

So clearly I'm not crazy...  Maybe that's how authentic babaganush tastes like and I'm just ignorant, but all I know is that I didn't like it.  But, I want to emphasize again that everything else in The Rainbow was wonderful which is why I keep ordering it again and again.

On this visit I smartened up and decided to substitute the Babaganush - as well as the Turkish Babaganush (just in case) - with two other dishes.  I had hoped for a double order of the Tabouli Salad, which is a tangy mix of bulgur wheat with veggies, parsley, lemon, and olive oil, and the Spanish Eggplant Salad, which is spiced eggplant with tomato and garlic.  Unfortunately, they were running low on the Spanish Eggplant Salad, so they gave me two Hummus instead.  The Rainbow was also served with fresh warm pita bread for dipping.  As usual, everything was fantabulous.  My favorite was definitely the Spanish Eggplant Salad - and I even grew up despising eggplants! - but this was so good I couldn't stop.  I also really enjoyed the hummus.  I even managed to get my friend, who hates hummus, to try some, and she actually took more than one bite which according to her, is like a miracle.  She also loved the Chicken Shishlik Lava Wrap she ordered.  I would have liked to have a main course too, but I knew I wouldn't be able to finish all the food so I'm going to save that for next time.

The Rainbow, with a few substitutions ($11.50)

The Rainbow, from another angle

Overall we had a great meal and a wonderful time!  I will update again after our Trip #2 of 2.

Restaurant info:
Sababa Middle Eastern Grill
2121 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412)422-8000
On the web: http://www.sababapgh.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

Silk Elephant Thai Tapas and Wine Bar (Squirrel Hill)

FamJam in Pittsburgh 2011

Stop #5 (Saturday Dinner): Silk Elephant in Squirrel Hill

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

My whole family loves Thai food, so I thought they might like that for Saturday's dinner.  My parents can get a bit snobby when it comes to Thai food and my brother spent four whole months in Thailand last year, so there was a lot of pressure in selecting a Thai restaurant that would be of high quality to satisfy my family's lofty standards.  Luckily, I had been to Silk Elephant in Squirrel Hill before and knew the food to be excellent.  And even though tapas is not traditionally Thai, I thought it would add a unique element to one of our favorite cuisines.

(Update 3/27/2011: Silk Elephant has just received an award from the Thai government as serving authentic Thai cuisine. Just the second in Pittsburgh to receive the honor! Click here to read more.)

We each made some selections and dined family-style like real Asians do.  My camera was snapping away as the dishes were brought out, so I will let the photos do the talking.

The six of us shared...

...one soup:

Tom Yum Soup
A very spicy hot and sour soup with shrimp, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers.

...one salad:

Mango Salad
They don't skimp on the shredded mango in this one!

...five tapas:

Taro Crunch
Taro dipped in a black sesame batter and deep fried - take a wild guess on who picked this one! ;)

Thai Crab Crowns
Crab with cream cheese inside a crispy wonton wrap.

Salmon Dumplings
Topped with wasabi sauce.

Siam Paragon
According to my brother, Siam Paragon is the name of a famous shopping mall in Bangkok. Not sure why this dish is called that, but it is delicious and is a signature item at Silk Elephant, with shrimp and crab wrapped in crunchy egg noodles and served with a curry sauce.

Seaweed Duck Roll
This was on the specials menu, with duck wrapped in a seaweed and deep fried, topped with bean sprouts.

...and four entrees:

Pad See Ew
Thick noodles with broccoli and a brown sauce, and we ordered it with chicken.  My brother was very impressed with this one, noting that it tastes just like how they make it in Thailand.

Duck Curry
A very good duck curry dish with grapes, pineapples, and tomatoes, reminiscent of the duck curry I had in Thailand last year.  Oh Thailand, how I miss you!

Sea Bass with Papaya Salad
This one is off the specials menu, and pretty self-explanatory.  Unfortunately, the sea bass is hidden underneath the salad so you can't really see it, but really, it's there and it's good.

Pumpkin Curry
Another great curry dish also off the specials menu. We ordered it with chicken.

This was entirely too much food for us, but we nonetheless enjoyed every last bite.  I also wanted to commend the service at Silk Elephant as everything was impeccably timed.  On a more general note, I also like that Silk Elephant has a nice atmosphere and is very spacious.  There are other excellent Thai restaurants in Pittsburgh that I would love to try, but I stuck with Silk Elephant this time around because I knew their space would be comfortable for a group, not to mention that it is conveniently located right across the street from the best frozen yogurt in town! ;)


Next up:  Saturday night's post-dinner dessert at Razzy Fresh.

Restaurant info:

Silk Elephant Thai Tapas and Wine Bar

1712 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15217 

Phone: (412)421-8801

Web: http://www.silkelephant.net