Meat and Potatoes

Meat and Potatoes is quite an upscale restaurant located in the cultural district of Pittsburgh. It reminded me of a restaurant that should be in New York City with its tall, opened ceiling, long black eclectic chandeliers. The tables were a mixture of hammered metal tops and others with wooden tops. The tables had black legs, as did the tall black bar stools. The dining chairs were a chic style in a brown.

Reservations are a must and since we didn’t have one, my friend and I sat at the bar. I was seated next to a young couple. The young man struck up a conversation asking me if I had ever been there before. No was my reply and since he had, I asked him for his food recommendations. Then we started to talk and since he and the girl that was with him were ‘foodies’ we started to swap restaurants to try out. The earlier crowd is a younger one and as the evening wore on, an older crowd began to fill up the bar stools and tables.

My friend ordered the salmon special, with Brussels sprout Kim Chi, pineapple chile and Korean barbeque sauce while I ordered the smoked pork chop with baked beans and spicy apple slaw. Neither one of us was disappointed. I watch my young friend share a soft crab taco and a marrow with grilled bread, gremolata, onion relish and sea salt. The meat and dish looked delicious and the couple ate everything and proved that it was good. The next time I go there, I think those will be the dishes that I will try.

Sitting at the bar had its perks. The diners are really friendly and willing to share a food idea or even give you a sample from their plate. My friend sampled for the first time a fried pickle from the gentleman next to her.

Meat and Potatoes is a little pricey but worth every dollar and cent that it cost. The wait staff and bar tenders were friendly and knowledgeable. This was a perfect first course to the rest of my evening with the next course being a Noel Coward play at the Public Theater.