Eat & Drink

Love, Katie Distilling Brings Spirits to Sharpsburg

Sharpsburg-based Love, Katie Distilling may not occupy the largest space by distillery standards, but it packs a punch with its beautiful decor, large spirits portfolio, and even larger cocktail menu.

This one is a love letter through and through, and not just in the name. As a woman and LGBT-owned business, Katie dedicates the space to her partner and opens it up to all those looking for a good space full of love!

So, with great anticipation, we visited the distillery to check out a spread of their cocktails.

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Otaru Review – Fine Japanese Dining With a View

It is not often that a new restaurant opens on Grandview Avenue on Mount Washington, but when one does, it comes with a bang.

Otaru opened on Mount Washington in 2024 and hit the ground running with a premium Japanese menu, a respectable cocktail and sake program, and, of course, a view worthy of the name of the street the restaurant resides on.

So snag a reservation, save your pennies, and get ready for a splurge with many delicious options to choose from here!

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Novo Asian Food Hall Review – Many Options in the Strip

Novo Asian Food Hall in the Strip District Terminal building is a restaurant concept with seven different Asian food stalls, each showcasing a different country and style of food. We absolutely love food halls when they're done well, and are happy that Novo is focusing specifically on Asian food, from local chefs, including some cuisines that are underrepresented in Pittsburgh- like Filipino.

Overall we are quite happy with the food here; however, we have had a few problems with the general dining experience during our visits during initial opening.

So in this one, we thought we'd share our thoughts on the food and the space so you can make the most of your visit to Novo and have the best experience possible!

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Pizza Bari Halal Review – A Hidden Uzbek Menu Downtown

If you've ever spent some time walking around the Cultural District, you may have seen Pizza Bari and thought of it as just another pizza shop downtown.

But go inside and you will discover that this unassuming shop also has a not-so-secret Uzbek menu full of delicious cuisine to try. So on your next trip, look past the pizza and try some wonderful central Asian cuisine!

But be warned- the portions here are quite large, so go with a group and eat family style if you can.

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E.T.A. Review – Japanese Whisky and Cocktails Downtown

We love a themed cocktail bar, and when it is run by the team behind The Warren, even better.

E.T.A is a Japanese whisky and cocktail bar that opened in The Warren's back room in early 2024. The space was where the former wine shop was located and has been a bar we've been waiting to check out for quite some time. In fact, it wasn't until our friend Alex Eats Too Much stumbled upon this one on opening week that we even found it was close to opening at all. 

Naturally, we visited right away.

Whether you are visiting for whisky, a highball, one of their inventive house cocktails, or even a modest food menu, there really is a lot to enjoy about E.T.A.!

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The Brinery Review – Massive Sandwiches and More

In mid-2024, The Brinery published that they are now no longer affiliated with the Bridge City Brinery and Smashery trucks. We have not updated this review to account for this change as of now.

If you are a fan of Pittsburgh food trucks the way we are, odds are good you are familiar with Bridge City Brinery and their spinoff burger concept, The Smashery. 

These trucks have been taking the city by storm with some of the finest, massive sandwiches we have had the pleasure to eat, and we have been known to go out of our way to find them specifically when the craving for a good sandwich hits.

As it seems to be a trend of food trucks opening up brick-and-mortar restaurants, it should be no surprise that in early 2024, the team of this particular truck opened up a dedicated restaurant, The Brinery, in Sharpsburg!

Naturally, we had to make our way over as soon as possible after opening to give them a try.

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Fet Fisk Review – Stellar Nordic Dining in Bloomfield

Fet Fisk is a new restaurant in Bloomfield featuring delightful Nordic cuisine with an old school yet trendy vibe.

As Fet Fisk has been around for several years now, its offerings have morphed from pandemic era takeout to pates and spreads at farmers' markets to pop-up dinners where reservations consistently booked up within minutes of being announced.

The culmination has been a James Beard nomination for Chef Nik Forsberg and one of the most highly anticipated restaurant openings in Pittsburgh in quite some time. We were fortunate to dine here on a soft open weekend and were thrilled at the way the menu feels familiar yet special.

Ingredients not typically found on Pittsburgh menus weave their way into a mesmerizing array of downright delicious plates. To top it off, the service is a pure delight!

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Dee Jay’s BBQ Review – West Virginia Staple Moves East

We are quite spoiled to have so many wonderful barbecue restaurants in Pittsburgh, and more keep coming out onto the scene with each passing year.

One famous barbecue spot we have been told about again and again since founding this site was Weirton, West Virginia, based Dee Jay's BBQ for their wildly popular ribs.

Admittedly, as our blog here focuses on southwest Pennsylvania, we have to admit we never featured them despite having visited in the past. But now that Dee Jay's has expanded with restaurants in Pennsylvania, now is the time. So on a trip down to Washington, PA, we made a stop at a location there for a brunch full of barbecue!

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Barcelona Wine Bar Review – Spanish Tapas and Wine Downtown

Barcelona Wine Bar is a new addition to the downtown Pittsburgh drinking and dining scene offering small plates and a huge selection of wine by the glass. Although it's a national chain, we absolutely love the concept of Barcelona Wine Bar- snacking our way through a meal and sampling Spanish and South American wines is our idea of a great night out.

Occupying the former Sharp Edge space on Penn Ave., Barcelona Wine Bar has completed a stunning reservation of the space; the decor suggests the kind of high end wine bar you might find in a much larger city. A long bar with sleek pendant lights runs the length of the space, with large, comfy booths beside the bar, and an adjacent room offers a larger dining space with tables.

Both the food and wine menus here are pretty extensive- it took us a while to take it all in and make decisions, as we truly wanted to order some of everything!

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Ramen Bar Review – Many Styles to Choose From and More

Ramen Bar is a casual spot in Squirrel Hill serving up solid takes on traditional Japanese ramen in addition to rice bowls and noodle dishes. In a neighborhood with a high turnover of Asian restaurants, Ramen Bar has stood the test of time for more than a decade with comforting noodle soups that hit the spot in chilly Pittsburgh winters.

Although we lived in Squirrel Hill when Ramen Bar opened more than ten years ago, we somehow have never made it in. But on a blustery winter day, we found ourselves shopping at Cuvee (a great bottle shop by the folks behind Independent Brewing Company and Hidden Harbor) and in the mood for a hardy meal. Ramen sounded like it would hit the spot, so we walked the few doors over to Ramen Bar, ready to cozy up to some steaming hot bowls of soup.

The space is informal and on the smaller end, and it's nearly always bustling. Although we didn't have a reservation, we were lucky to snag a table and started perusing the menu.

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