Category Archives: Beer

Oven ribs with chocolate rosemary sauce.

Posted on February 19, 2012 by

Unexpected inspiration is often a good thing. A chocolate party is a perfect example. My friends Gwen and Derrick have a chocolate party every year at their place on the South Side. Chocolate beer, chocolate chili, chocolate cookies, chocolate ice … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Ingredients, Neighborhoods, Nontraditional, Presentation, Recipes, South Side, Strip District, Techniques and tools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Round Corner Cantina.

Posted on September 19, 2011 by

Hipster prices on street food. Runny tacos. Consistently inattentive, even combative, service. Guacamole and tamales ain’t half bad. And some of the drinks – when you can actually order and successfully receive one. Clearly I’m not a huge fan of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Ingredients, Lawrenceville, Neighborhoods, Presentation, Service | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Caruso Beer Distributor.

Posted on September 18, 2011 by

Sam Caruso started out as a teacher. Grew up on the North Side in Mexican War Streets, where his Sicilian father opened a beer store in 1933, right after the end of Prohibition. Maybe the first one in Pittsburgh after … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Family, Neighborhoods, North Side, Service, Traditional | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The risks of a family gathering.

Posted on September 18, 2011 by

Sometimes it’s safer to just bring your own beer.

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Piper’s Pub.

Posted on September 18, 2011 by

If a place can be described as pan-UK, this is it. As many people describe the feel and aesthetic as English as do Scottish or Irish — and not just because there’s often a soccer match on one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Cheap eats, Neighborhoods, Service, South Side, Whiskey | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Homebrew.

Posted on August 11, 2011 by

If you see one of these bad boys, pick it up. Read it. Check out the advertisers. Sure, I have a piece in it on the TRASH homebrew competition and what goes into entering these things and the long slog … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Ingredients, Presentation, Recipes, Service, Techniques and tools | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tim.

Posted on January 21, 2011 by

It seems a lot of things that strike me as interesting come from people trying something new, often on their own. That’s true with Salt of the Earth, Crested Duck Charcuterie, Azul, 21st Street Coffee, etc. It’s also true with … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Ingredients, Nontraditional, Techniques and tools | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Frankie’s.

Posted on January 3, 2011 by

Places like this make me nervous. Old-school like there are no newer schools, Frankie’s is where you can get a more-than-solid hot sausage sandwich and two bottled Yuenglings for less than seven bucks. But it’s just down the street from … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Cheap eats, Lawrenceville, Neighborhoods, Service, Traditional | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Salt of the Earth.

Posted on January 2, 2011 by

This is probably a little backward. The first time I went to the one Pittsburgh restaurant everyone — everyone — is talking about and it’s on a night it’s not serving any of its regular menu. It’s on a night … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Garfield, Ingredients, Neighborhoods, Presentation, Service, Traditional | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Crested Duck Charcuterie.

Posted on December 6, 2010 by

Usually I wouldn’t advise you to seek out specialty meats from a software engineer. With Adam Costa, it’s a little different. He’s one of the two brothers behind Crested Duck Charcuterie at the Pittsburgh Public Market. The other brother, Kevin, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Ingredients, Neighborhoods, Recipes, Seasonal, Strip District | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Yuengling.

Posted on November 30, 2010 by

My first job out of college was in Philadelphia. The only time before that I’d been east of Arizona was the summer before, when I had an internship in New York. So everything East was still very new. I lived … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, Traditional | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

3 Sons Dogs & Suds.

Posted on November 24, 2010 by

Fred MacMurray would be a little confused. The three sons of the place’s name are actually Michael Indovina, his wife, Kathy, and his daughter, Becky. The name is a remainder from when they bought the six-year-old bottle shop a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambience, Beer, Cheap eats, Ingredients, Neighborhoods, Wexford | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

House of 1,000 Beers.

Posted on October 29, 2010 by

Right off, there’s something dishonest about Dave Sagrati’s place in New Kensington. In the best possible way. He doesn’t sell a thousand beers. It’s at least a hundred more than that. With 36 years in the beer-selling business, Dave is … Continue reading →

Posted in Beer, New Kensington, Nontraditional | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment