Sharp Edge Creek House.

Sharp Edge is probably my favorite restaurant in Pittsburgh. There are five of them in the area: Downtown, Friendship, Sewickley, Crafton, and McMurray. The only one I haven't been to is the McMurray location, and the rest of them are all very nice and have I always had great experiences at them. My favorite is probably the Creekhouse in Crafton, just because it's a huge old house, and the wait staff is so knowledgeable about all of their beer. Their beer selection changes frequently (as well as at the rest of the locations), especially their craft draft selection. The only annoying thing is that their website does not show an updated draft list or food specials menu. I like knowing what's up before I get there!

Yesterday I met a friend there for a late lunch/early dinner and a couple of beers.

The restaurant sits next to a creek. I love sitting on the back balcony during the summer. With an ice cold beer in hand, it's so relaxing.

Every month they have beer tastings upstairs hosted by Pittsburgh BrewMasters. Andy and I went once, but since they're on Wednesday evenings, I can no longer go. They also have tastings at the McMurray locations two weeks after they have them here.

I kind of can't stand their use of the comic sans font.

Every Monday through Friday from 4:30 to 6:30 is their happy hour, where they have half priced Belgian drafts...pretty cool, right? It's great when you want to try that $11 Chimay, but don't feel like spending a buck for every sip you drink.

Andy lives about 10 minutes away, and my two friends that just moved to the area live less than a mile away. Totally jealous. When I lived in Friendship, I was about a 10 minute walk from the restaurant there. Now that I live in BFE, I can no longer enjoy its deliciousness on a whim.

 

Since we were there on a Wednesday, it was half priced craft drafts in addition to the Belgian specials. They have other nice specials too. For instance, when the Steelers play and Hines Ward scores, they have 86 cent buffalo bites (I totally had to look up to see what his name and number is). They also have mystery drafts every day for $3.50 ($4.00 downtown).

My favorite food there is definitely the pizza. The crust is super thin and crispy, and the sauce is amazing. You get a choice of pesto, garlic, or red sauce. My only complaint is that the smoked salmon pizza has cooked salmon on it. I love me some smoked salmon, so when I order it, I want it to actually be smoked!

Their craft draft selection isn't terribly impressive, but that's really not what they're known for. They have about 25 Belgian drafts at a time, and what they lack in craft drafts, they make up in their bottle selection.

Six pages of beer from all of your favorite beer-making countries! Their selection of craft bottles from the US revolves too, which is nice.

I went for the Michigan Screaming Pumpkin (LOVE) and the Sierra Nevade Tumbler (also LOVE). Their Belgian drafts are served in the actual glasses from the brewery which is pretty neat.

I also ordered the soup and salad with Caesar and The Hop Devil Potato soup (for a $4 upcharge). It was delish.

If you live in the Pittsburgh area, there is bound to be a Sharp Edge within a short driving distance from you (I would say bus trip, but don't get me started on public transportation in Pitt), and it's always an excellent choice!

Happy Friday, everyone! What are your weekend plans?

Andy is trying to talk me into going to a haunted house, but it's not going to happen.

Overboard.

Even though I feasted on sushi this past weekend with my mom, my craving was still not filled. So I headed to Giant Eagle. First, three words about grocery store sushi: I love it. Gross? I don't care. There's usually a guy there making it fresh daily, and I've never had a bad experience with it. Sure, it tastes a little...refrigerated...but whatevs. Back home in Harrisburg, we have Wegmans, and their sushi is incredible. I would almost rather go there sometimes than regular sushi restaurants.

So, I went to the Giant Eagle Express in Harmar in search of some raw delights...aaaand I went a little crazy.

First, the dragon roll (salmon, cukes, avocado, white sauce, spicy sauce, and tempura batter). Delicious. I've had it before and it's always tasty. Plus I like the excessive amounts of avocado.

Usually I'm fine with just the dragon, but I was feeling...hungry? Adventurous?

I found this magical combo platter that had one or two pieces of seemingly everything.

  

 ...everything.

I even went for some edamame. 

I started with the combo plate. It was totally delicious, full of variety, and extremely fresh, but afterward I couldn't even make it through the dragon roll :(

I felt defeated and unworthy of the refrigerated fish. Leftover sushi totally creeps me out, so I had to throw some away. Does anyone else throw out leftover sushi? I don't want to waste it, but the thought of it sitting there for any longer makes me feel ill.

When I was finally hungry again this morning, I made everything better by having nutella toast and veggie bacon. Lisa thinks they taste like dog treats...it's kind of true. Human beggin strips.

Doesn't it look like the Frownie from King's?

Luckily, I only have one more night of the midnight shift this week. Friday I work regular hours due to our yearly inventory, so I'm gettin my happy hour on with some friends! Okay...friend. Okay....maybe by myself then meeting up with a friend later :)

Either way it will be awesome.

Weekend!

This past weekend was nuts. I took the Megabus home to Harrisburg, which proved to be a good decision. For $19, I got to sleep for 3 hours as opposed to drive (I abhor driving on the turnpike), I avoided paying for the outrageous turnpike tolls and gas, and I didn't have to encounter the grossness of the Greyhound. While I do enjoy Amtrak, it costs more than three times more than the Megabus and takes two hours longer. It is definitely the most relaxing and romantic choice of the three though.
Andy dropped me off downtown, where I had three hours to kill.
I headed to the Penn City Grille in the Westin Hotel for breakfast. The Westin hotel is a part of the convention center, which is where the Megabus stop is. Convenient!
The mood was calm and relaxing, and I had some tea (bar was closed...lame) while I waited for my...

...eight dollar bowl of oatmeal. A little excessive, no? I mean it was good, but not that good. Come on PCG, we're in Pittsburgh, not NYC.
Anyway, it had cooked apples, walnuts, and honey. I added milk too.

I hung out in the lobby for an hour or so and watched an episode of Hoarders. So gross.
Then I headed to the bus stop, which was clearly marked by the little Megabus sign and 30 or so Pitt freshmen with Vera Bradley duffels and North Faces.

The ride ended up being slightly crowded, slightly uncomfortable, but overall fine...and I slept the whole way anyway.
When I got to Harrisburg, my mom and I went to Al's of Hampden where we had awesome stuffed veggie pizza, a Troegs Hopback on cask, a Widmer Bros. Deadlift, and a Jolly Pumpkin Nightmare Before Vicious Sour Wheat IPA on cask...and I was so into the whole thing that I didn't take any pictures.
Al's is awesome. Their food is delicious and they have an excellent draft selection that they constantly change.
Then I filled the rest of the day cuddling with Maggie and Wyatt! They're so adorable!

Then my mom drove me back to Pittsburgh on Saturday, where we indulged in a sushi feast at Ichiban at the Waterworks.
We started off with a Chard-tini for my mom (chardonnay, Absolut, peach schnapps, and a splash of 7-up), and a Sake-tini for me (Sake and Gin with cucumber strips).

They brought us miso soup and a salad with that awesome ginger dressing, and then...
Sushi for two!!
16 pieces of sushi (salmon, tuna, and then I have no idea what the rest was), an Alaskan roll, and a CA roll. It was so delicious and filling.

I have been to the location in Robinson, but never this one...which happens to be 5 minutes from my apartment. I can't wait to go back!

I'm filling the rest of this evening with pretzels and sriracha sauce...the perfect evening snack. Happy almost hump day! :)

New Beer Tuesday

Welcome to the latest (okay, first) installment of New Beer Tuesday. Here you will find a description/review of the latest beer that I've tried!

Note: I am not a beer expert. I use words like "tasty" and will never use words like "finish" or "body" 'cause I don't know what they mean! :)

Our newest contestant...Southern Tier 2X IPA!

Beer Advocate rating: A-

8.3% Alc.

A refreshing, very hoppy IPA that you could easily drink all night (or day) long. While it is definitely a strong double IPA, it doesn't have the feel of a heavy imperial that leaves you feeling unrefreshed. The perfect amount of hops - enough to give it that extreme bite, but not too much so that the other flavors can't shine through.

I bought a six pack of this when I was home last weekend, and initially opened it for my dad. He, however, didn't like it and "doesn't like IPAs anymore." Whatever dad...your loss.

This is a new favorite of mine...I will definitely be drinking this again very soon.

From the brewery: Not quite an imperial, but certainly not a standard India pale ale. Our double IPA is a hop lovers dream. Citrusy and clean with an incredible finish.

I would love to be able to visit the brewery. It's not too far from here, so maybe someday!

Let me know of any new beers that you have tried lately, so that I can check them out! :)

Another note: I googled "new beer Tuesday" to see if I'm stealing anyone's idea. Turns out a blog, monkeybrewster.com has something called "new brew Tuesday." I give them props, as the word brew fits in much better than the word beer.

Burgers!

My mom sent me this recipe for eggplant burgers. She has made them a couple of times and said they were awesome! It ended up being sooo tasty and very simple. I'm definitely making these more often. However, I think that next time I'll bake it loaf-style.

 I obviously need a bigger sauce pan.

I boiled the eggplant for about 20 minutes, and the cubes got all green and mushy. Sounds yummy, right? Then I had to drain it...holy crap those little mushy cubes hold a sh!t ton of water! I kept on squeezing and squeezing, and I probably got at least 5 cups of water out of them. Weird.

Do you like my new cutting board? I got two from Ikea, and they're way bigger than my old one. They bend too, so it makes dumping into a bowl quite easy!

I chopped up 4 cloves of garlic, one banana pepper (or just a yellow hot pepper...maybe it wasn't banana), and four mushrooms. I also grated some Jarlsberg swiss.

Instead of crackers, I used panko bread crumbs. Then I added olive oil, dried parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Two eggs and some mixing by hand later, Patties! I made four, but I probably should have made 5...they were pretty thick.

The finished product. Soooo tasty. Seriously. They look burnt in the picture, but they were just toasty :)

Happy Monday, everyone! Only four more days til the weekend :)

Any exciting things happening this week?

Nocturnal

Now that I've been working the midnight shift for almost 10 months, not only is my body completely adjusted to the schedule, but I have lots of problems adjusting back on the weekends. For instance, right now. I am back home for the weekend, and wide awake on my dad and Lee's couch. After the beer sleepies wore off, I woke up at 2AM ready to start the day. Luckily they have a big shiny TV and real cable. So far I've watched One Hour Photo (ahhh creepy!), caught up on the blogs I read, and now I am watching programming on wine making in California. I plan on continuing the TV watching, contemplating life, and then drafting a business plan for the winery I'm starting.

This is going to be a problem at 7 when my mom and sister are ready to go to breakfast and I will be ready for bed...crap!

Good night everyone...and in case you're wondering, the magic bullet commercial is on. Awesome!

So I'm sitting in a hotel...

...waiting to board the megabus.

This is all pretty funny to me. The good thing is, downtown Pittsburgh has an excellent Verizon connection! Awesome. Maybe I'll even watch some netflix while I'm here.

So...where was I? The other day, my "little" and I tried out a couple new beers. I had the Flying Dog's Double Dog Double IPA and DFH's Palo Santo Marron. They were both totally amazing. The DFH was very strong which made it a little less "drinkable," but still was quite tasty. The Double Dog was the perfect blend of a very hoppy IPA with a rich amber thickness to it.

My little had Magic Hat's Circus Boy Hefeweizen, and DFH Raison D'Etre. Yum.

A couple days ago I roasted the rest of my pizza toppings for dinner. I just drizzled olive oil on top and sprinkled on salt and pepper.

Roasted at 375 (I think?) for 20 minutes (maybe?) or until it looked tasty.

Pretty! ...and all for me! :)

So now I'm sitting in this hotel restaurant looking like a complete dork with my jeans, sneakers, and giant Jansport. At least the laptop makes me look professional. The waiter asked me which company I was with, so I told him the company I worked for, and he said, "ohhh the smart people." Uhhh...okay if you say so! Then he gave me an extra tea bag so I can "take upstairs for an extra nibble later." This is all too weird.

Happy weekend everyone! What are your plans?

So much to share.

So many exciting food happenings have occured lately.

First of all, my cuticles are burning. I made this recipe, which requries mixing the patty mixture with your hands. I altered the recipe a bit and added hot peppers and red pepper flakes...which is why my cuticles are burning. Pictures will come later. Pictures of the burgers, not my cuticles.

So first, my pizza. The pictures are going to be sparse, as my extra slow internet hates me and my picture uploading.

I used Flatout bread which is soooo freakin tasty! I added spicy red pepper hummus, mozarella cheese, 1 inch pieces of asparagus coated in olive oil, sliced cremini, halved cherry tomatoes, and parmesan cheese.

Well...my internet is being ridiculously slow and is not letting me upload any more pictures...GRRR!!!

Just imagine the pizza toasty and delicious-looking with more melted mozarella on top. It was so good...and yes, I ate the whole thing. :)

I'll be back with more pictures when I'm on the megabus tomorrow. Free wifi! :) Hopefully it's fast.

Have any exciting food happenings occurred in your life lately? Do tell!

The Past Two Weeks: A Summary.

The past two weeks have been filled with excitement, fun, and a new computer...which means I had some technological difficulties. But everything is finally sorted out!

So there was homecoming...

 Which included a walk around Wellsburg and the Apple Fest, breakfast with Andy,

  

 Kodak moments with my big, the (very sad) parade,

awkward boyfriend/big pictures, and general Bethany adorableness.

It was a blast, and it made me miss Bethany so much. I should have done the six year plan.

Then, back in the Burgh, Andy and I checked out the new Sharp Edge downtown, and it was amazing. Their menu (although we didn't try anything) is a lot nicer than the other locations, and the atmosphere is awesome. The only problem is that it's downtown and a PIA to get to and find a place to park. We went right after a Steeler's game, which they lost, so everyone was kinda sad. I was fine, personally, and enjoyed my Sly Fox IPA to the fullest!

Then we went to Fat Heads in the South Side. Going on Sunday was the best idea ever too. We could actually park across the street, and there was actually enough room in the bar to walk around a little bit. It was pretty much a miracle. We each tried a new beer, and they were soooo very tasty. Andy's was better - Juju Hops, brewed by Fat Heads.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but at this point I was more concerned with these delicious seitan wings than the picture quality. These were from the Double Wide a couple of blocks down, and they totally win second place (next to Fat Heads) for food on the South Side. They're always cooked perfectly...so crispy and spicy! Yummy!!!

In recent food news, I found the most wonderful thing at the Giant Eagle/Market District last week! It had wayyyy too much packaging, but I got over it pretty quickly. So, in one box you get eight mini toasts, creme fraiche (is that how it's spelled?), a LOT of smoked salmon, a few capers, a knife, and a napkin. AWESOME!!! I sat there in silence and pure bliss with my awesome snack and a soy chai latte. It was amazing.

Is this gross? Sorry...but I wanted to get a close up and I couldn't resist a bite first.

For breakfast the other day, I made an awesome feast. I whisked two eggs with hot sauce, soy sauce, S&P, garlic powder, and chipotle seasoning. Yum! Then I sauteed a quarter of a green pepper and some veggie bacon. Breakfast of champions.

Then there was a stir fry. I used the rest of the fried rice ingredients, just without the rice. It was heavenly...and very filling :)

That's all for now, friends. I'll be back soon with my latest roasted veggies experience!