Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on August 22, 2023.
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The Foodture was previously known as Back to the Foodture and changed its name in August 2023. The South Side location appears closed at this time but the Uptown location is open with the new name. This review was from before the restaurant rebranded and we are unsure if the menu has changed significantly at this time.
The Foodture has been making waves in the Pittsburgh food scene in recent years thanks to their impressive wing and, shall we say, rather extreme burger menu (amongst countless other reasons).
Sadly, due to many issues on our end, we could never make the logistics work of visiting their South Side eatery.
But when this one announced they were adding on a new location at the former Buford's space in downtown Pittsburgh just next to PPG Paints Arena, we knew we had to visit as soon as possible. As it turns out, we happened to be at PPG Paints for a show on The Foodture's opening week (under its previous name, Back to the Foodture), and made sure to be one of the first ones in the door.
Looking back on it, we regret dragging our feet on visiting this one for as long as we did!
Extreme Burgers and Wings at The Foodture
When it comes to the food menu, you'll do well to have a plan of attack for this one well before you arrive because it is, in a word, huge.
The menu at The Foodture includes extreme burgers and hot dogs, more conventional burgers and hot dogs, build-your-own options, sandwiches, loaded fries, and a wing menu with over 150 sauces to choose from. Despite having an idea of what we wanted before we arrived, our waitress had to come back a few times as we simply could not decide between the countless options.
Ultimately, we decided on an order of two burgers and wings and ended up with an absolute feast.
The first burger we ordered was trending to the more traditional side of things, the McFly- a single burger topped with pepper jack, tomato, lettuce, potato chips, and buffalo sauce. This one took us back to our school days when kids would add potato chips to their sandwiches, and offered a nice textural pop onto what you may call a slightly more conventional burger by this restaurant's standards.
The second burger we ordered was more extreme, the Lil Bug- a single burger that swaps out buns for two grilled cheese sandwiches was topped with an egg, bacon, tomato, lettuce, cheese, and more. You'll note that this one was called little because they also have a large version of this burger which is double meat and toppings with an extra slice of Texas toast in the middle for good measure. This one was oozing with flavor, and despite the metric load of carbs from the grilled cheese, oddly worked.
In fact, our server wished me luck in finishing it (which, I should remind you again, this was still the small one), and was visibly surprised that I had actually done so. What can I say? It was delicious, I was hungry, and I suppose we could not take leftovers home with us as we went to a show at PPG Paints right after, too. Will I ever be hungry enough for the full-sized one? No. Would I split a full-sized one with another person (or two)? Absolutely. Either way, I am pleased with myself for tackling the small one all the same as it satisfied a craving I didn't know I had.
If there was one critique we have about the burgers here, it is simply that we were not asked how we would like them prepared and both our patties came out well done and slightly dry. This was more noticeable in the McFly, as it was more limited in toppings, and we could see how loading up a burger would help offset that ever-so-slightly- the Lil Bug was practically dripping with everything going on it it. But we also recognize this is a personal preference on us all the same.
As we are gluttons for punishment, we rounded out our order with an order of six wings with hot honey garlic sauce and have to admit the crispiness of the wings and balance of the sweet/hot/garlic notes in the sauce were perfect. Did we need more food next to those huge burgers? Not in the slightest. But we must admit we are glad we got wings instead of fries all the same- we'd order these (and more) in a heartbeat. In fact, I would likely return to The Foodture just to order a monster spread of wings on its own.
Despite the size of our meal, one particular element was quite small- the bill. For the amount of food, we got we were pleasantly surprised with our overall bill. While this one was a bit more than conventional takeout, for a sit-down restaurant in a monster space right next to the stadium, we simply don't know how they can do it. More food for less? We can't say no there!
Ultimately, our only real regret from The Foodture was that the menu is so large that we would need at least five visits to do it justice. One single visit is simply just a taste. But perhaps, more importantly, is that after eating here we want to visit this one at least five times to do it justice, and that is a very important distinction to us. From a burger that swaps buns for donuts to another with honey buns and ~150 more wing flavors, we really have our work cut out for us here in future visits.
While we cannot do the loaded food here as often as we would like, because let's be honest it was a calorie bomb all around, when the mood strikes us we know where we will be- The Foodture!
The Foodture is located at 1014 Fifth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh just across from PPG Paints Arena.
I was just there last night for Penguins game. Worst experience ever. Our group of 4 was one of first tables seated, yet every person seated after us was served before us. We tried to get the waitress’ attention for 20 minutes before giving up and going to the bar area to get food.
The menu was confusing. What is the donut on the menu? And if I just want a basic cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion, it becomes a $15 custom order?
When we got the food 1 and 1/2 hours later, The food was awful . The burger I ordered was overcooked and the bun was burnt. My $10 burger tasted worse that a McNasty burger w/cheese.
Our group all agreed that we should have just left and grabbbed some food at the Arena.
Im trying to understand what makes the southside location so hard to get to but the downtown location not so hard. downtown and the southside are separated by literally a tunnel.
There is nothing hard about getting to South Side compared to downtown, nor was that what we meant in our comment. It was all about our own logistics of making it happen- namely wanting to eat dine-in at a restaurant during COVID, being in South Side when the restaurant was actually open, and coordinating where we go out to eat (often when we happen to be in a neighborhood). These all fall under “issues on our end” and have little to do with the proximity of downtown to South Side. That said, we are often in downtown far more than we are South Side, so, yes, the downtown location made it easier.