Review | Squirrel Hill’s Cafe 33 Taiwanese Bistro

For me, rice is comfort. It’s a staple food in my house, made quick and easy. It only takes a pot, water, rice and oil — yes, I add olive oil to my rice, try it! — to create a cup of pure goodness. But sometimes, after 18 credits, a research seminar, work, volunteering and just existing as an adult, even making rice feels painstaking. That is when I take the bus down Forbes Avenue to Squirrel Hill, a neighboring area to our campus in Oakland.

I could talk for hours about my favorite places in Squirrel Hill. There’s something for every culinary desire, from Everyday Noodles’ steaming-hot pork and veggie soup dumplings to Kiin Lao’s deliciously sweet Thai Tea and sticky rice to Pigeon Bagel’s coffee cake — seriously, the best sweet treat if you can wake up early to brave the line — and lavender latte. I go to Squirrel Hill when I need to nestle into a booth rather than eat over my computer, hide away from busy and loud Forbes Avenue and have a hot bowl of rice to ease my overworked brain. 

At the corner of Shady Avenue and Forbes Avenue, just beyond the Starbucks, lies Cafe 33 Taiwanese Bistro. The restaurant doesn’t look like a “standard business” with extensive menu posters on windows or signage. Rather, its cool brown exterior features plastic tables and chairs on a small deck. The deck is surrounded by shrubs of peppers, basil and green beans, an an entreé for the eyes. Most of the food grown in the garden is actually utilized in the restaurant, which makes it look and feel less like a restaurant and more like a home. 

I nestle into a booth and have my order ready from the get-go. Cafe 33’s owner Jenny Tao has said I “know how to order,” so trust me. I’ve tried quite a few scallion pancakes throughout Squirrel Hill, but the best ones are truly found at Cafe 33. They’re flaky and doughy, and the fresh scallion flavor can be tasted through the dough. Their beef variants are juicy, with cucumber and a sweet sauce to finish the deal. I always start with them and some green tea to warm up my tastebuds. 

For the main dish, I always order the stone pot basil and garlic chicken. The dish is fulfilling and juicy, a perfect topping for the rice to suck up all the sauce. The meal, as an added benefit, is big enough for you to take the rest home for dinner or a 2 a.m.-mid-study-session meal. If you’re a fish person, I adore their steamed fish with salt and pepper. If you’re worried about striving for healthier choices, it’s a tried-and-true meal. 

Some restaurant reviewers will tell you when to go so you can avoid a rush or a line. But truly, I don’t think that’s the point of Pittsburgh’s restaurants. While I ate, I could see the Tao family from the corner of my eye, chatting away at a round table as they peeled basil leaves from the stems. The family next to me was laughing with the employee about a joke they had heard. I din’t feel the constant struggle of just being a temporary student in Pittsburgh, a four-year tourist in my own college town. Cafe 33 is a delicious reminder that home is more than just a cup of well done rice — it really is the people you share your rice with.