Pittsburgh Restaurants

 I recommend a place called "Paradise on Craig".
 On Craig street of course...

 A lot of vegetarian stuff, but chicken and fish too.

 If you go there, tell them to tell one of the owners,
 Bari, that Eric sent you.

 Thanks to all of you who sent recommendations for
 Pittsburgh Restaurants.  Here's the list:

 Ali Baba (Oakland) -- Middle Eastern
 Bravo France -- French
 Cafe Allegro (South Side) -- Eclectic
    (very fresh food, elegant, great seafood & sauteed vegetables, awesome desserts)
 Cafe Giovanni (Shadyside) -- Italian
    Walnut St
    (beautiful atmosphere, try the Chicken Saltimbocca)
 Cafe Sam
 Carlton
 China Palace (Shadyside) -- Chinese
    (very good, esp Kung Pao Chicken)
 Chinese on Carson (South Side) -- Chinese
    (excellent)
 Common Plea (Downtown) -- Continental
 Darbar -- Indian
    Centre nr Craig
    (good lamb dishes)
 Fajita Grill (Pleasant Hills) -- Mexican
    (very good authentic Mexican)
 General Tso's (Squirrel Hill) -- Chinese
 Island Cove -- Carribean
    Forbes Ave
    (good reviews)
 Italian Oven -- Pizza
    (wood oven, semi-trendy, white pizzas better than red)
 Jimmy Tsang's
 La Foret (East End) -- French/California
    (expensive, elegant, quiet, truly outstanding)
 Le Pommier (South Side) -- Continental
    Carson St
 Mallorca (South Side) -- Spanish
    Carson St
    (Great garlic chicken & paella, cozy interesting decor, friendly service)
 Max's (North Side) -- German
    (good German food, esp the schnitzels)
 Nico's Recovery Room (Friendship) -- Greek
    Friendship nr West Penn Hospital
    (decent greek food, cheap beer, good greek salad, potato salad & pizza)
 Pasta Piatto -- Italian
 Per Favore -- Italian
 Poli's -- Seafood
    (pricey)
 Primadonna (McKees Rocks) -- Italian
    (super food, great staff, great prices)
 Samreny's -- Middle Eastern
 Santa Fe (south of city) -- Mexican
    (supposed to be very good)
 Star of India (Oakland) -- Indian
    Craig St nr Carnegie Museum
    (mixed reviews)
 Szechuan House (Fox Chapel/Squirrel Hill) -- Chinese
    (excellent)
 Taste of India -- Indian
    Penn St nr St Francis Hospital
    (good tandoori dishes)
 Wholey's -- Seafood
    (good & inexpensive)
 Yound Bin Kwan (Bloomfield Bridge) -- Chinese
    (has many unusual dishes)
 (Shadyside) -- Thai

 Pittsburgh Restaurants

 Ethnic -
   Korean:
      ***Oakside Inn, N. Craig St., Oakland - This is my favorite.
      Try the Bebim Bap, a wonderful peasant-style meal in a bowl.
      This place is small and simple and the prices are low.  They
      also have an excellent sushi bar.

      Young Bin Kwan, Bloomfield - okay but over-priced by my
      standards (but then I'm poor and cheap!)

    Indian:
      ***Star of India, S. Craig St., Oakland - This is my favorite
      Indian restaurant, moderately priced, food always well-
 prepared.

      India Garden, Atwood St., Oakland - opened recently by former
      chef from Star of India, excellent quality.

      Taste of India, Penn Ave. (across from St. Francis Hosp.),
      Lawrenceville - very good!

      Darbar - doesn't measure up to the others, forget it!

    Thai:
      My favorite just closed recently (Bangkok House in Dormont).
      I haven't had a totally satisfactory meal in any of the
      others, though there are many.

    Mexican:
      ***Fajita Grill, Old Clairton Rd., Pleasant Hills - the only
      decent Mexican food in the Pgh. area.  (My qualifications?  I
      lived in So. California for over 13 years.)  Very small,
      family run (they're from Mexico City).

    Tibetan:
      Himalayan Tibetan Restaurant, Forbes Ave., Oakland - the wife
      is from Tibet she runs the restaurant, the husband is American
      but lived in Tibet and Nepal for years before returning to
      states to open restaurant.  Authentic but geared to what
      Americans are used to.  Good quality.  Good value.

    Vietnamese:
      Me Lyng, Homestead - Good quality and value but all the dishes
      are so similar to Chinese that it's kind of boring. (I had
      some really interesting Vietnamese dishes when I lived in CA,
      quite different from other Southeast Asian cuisines, so maybe
      I'm spoiled.)

      There are other Vietnamese restaurants but the same applies.

    Indonesian:
      Bacchri's, Mt. Lebanon - I would die for a good Indonesian
      restaurant.  Bacchri's isn't it.  Of course that's just my
      opinion.  Of course, I'm spoiled by several really good
      Indonesian places in CA.  I have friends who go to Bacchri's
      regularly and say that sometimes it's good and sometimes it
      isn't.  I prefer not to take any chances.

    German:
      Allegheny Brewery, Northside - they have a German beerhall
      kind of thing with food, music, and great beers which are
      brewed right there.  It's quite noisy but the food is great
      and the beers are wonderful.

    Middle Eastern/Greek:
      Someone else mentioned Samreny's and Ali Baba.  I don't like
      Samreny's and Ali Baba is inconsistent in the quality of their
      food.  I used to think of Pgh. as a good place for this kind
      of food but I've been disappointed in all the Middle Eastern
      restaurants lately, especially the ones everyone raves about
      like Amels.  Susie's in Squirrel Hill is pretty good for
      Greek.

      As you can see my tastes are weighted heavily toward the
 Southeast Asian cuisines.  I was really surprised when I moved back
 to Pittsburgh in 1986 - expecting a vast gustatorial wasteland - to
 find so many restaurants offering the kinds of foods I had come to
 love while in So. California.  Now, if we only had a good Peruvian
 restaurant!

      As far as the "old" ethnic groups in Pittsburgh, Polish,
 Slovak, Hungarian, etc.  There just don't seem to be any
 restaurants specializing in these cuisines.  People eat this stuff
 at home.  I would like to see more ethnic restaurants of this sort,
 too, in addition to all the more exotic ones.

      Happy eating in Pittsburgh!

 Kate

 I don't remember seeing the original post so I'm not sure what kind of
 restaurants you are looking for.  Here's what I like - mainly inexpensive
 ethnic restaurants.

 Indian - India Garden on Atwood St. in the Oakland section (near the
 University of Pittsburgh).  This is the best Indian food in town.

 Thai - Siamese Kitchen on Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill area.  I especially
 like the Mussamun Curry.

 Mexican - Fajita Grill in Old Clairton Rd. in Pleasant Hills (this is
 one of the suburbs of Pittsburgh and may be too far to go but it is the
 only decent Mexican food in the area.

 Korean/Sushi - Reffy's on N. Craig St. in Oakland.  Great Be Bim Bap.

 American/Polish - Bloomfield Bridge Tavern on Liberty Ave. in the
 Bloomfield section of town.  Pierogis and Czarnina.  Great fish sandwiches.

 As another poster mentioned the Original Hotdog Shop (the "O") on Forbes
 Ave. at Bouquet St. in Oakland has the best French Fries in the WORLD!!!
 They are made fresh from Idaho potatoes and cooked twice to make them
 properly crispy.  The portions are huge.

 Another unique place is Primanti Bros. on Forbes Ave. in Oakland (or the
 original one in the Strip District on Smallman St., I think.)  They make
 all their sandwiches with french fries and coleslaw *on the sandwich*.
 The fish sandwich is great.

 If you are looking for someplace fancy and expensive I can't help there.
 I never go to that type of place.  Have fun.

 Kate Connally

 There is no better place to eat in Pittsburgh than Mallorca (located
 within the "southside" area).

 It's a Spanish restaurant that is absolutely tremendous!!!
 Great food.  Great Service.  Be sure to order the portuguese sausage app.
 (sometime not listed on menu).

 For dinner with a view, try Christophers or The Lemont (both on Mount
 Washington).  Great food, atmosphere and view!!!

 Good eating!

 Jane A. wrote:

 > I'll be in Pittsburgh for one dinner--any really great places for that
 > dinner?  all hints appreciated, thanks, Jane
 >
 > [email removed] of our
 > > entree in a multiple course meal in spite of our many complaints).  The
 > > staff is not knowledgable.
 >
 > I have to like totally disagree with your report; we've

 Come see us for authentic Indonesian cuisine at Bachri's Restaurant, 3821
 Willow Avenue, Pgh, Pa  15234.  Phone is 412-343-2213.  We have great
 food in a casual atmosphere.
 -
   BEVERLY BACHRI  [email removed]

 I haven't been, just saw it on my way through...across the Birmingham
 Bridge, make a left, it's about half a blockon the right...

 Lady N. wrote:

 > Wayne wrote:
 > >
 > >Also, Viaggio on the Southside, owned by the son of the LeMont owner
 > >Blandi, has a very nice menu and the few items I had were excellent.  I
 > >liked the atmosphere, too.
 >
 > Southside?  Where?
 >
 > - Marci
 >
 > "So this is hell...and there's a crucifix here..."
 > ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^
 > http://members.aol.com/ladynina