Best of Grub

By Pitt News Staff
November 13, 2002

Vending truck | Thai/SE Asian food | Vending truck | Thai/SE Asian food | Pizza | Half-price menu | Food to cook in your dorm | Restaurant for a date | Chinese food | Japanese food/sushi | Mexican food | Italian food | Indian food | Middle Eastern food | Juice vendor | On-campus eatery | Ice cream | Breakfast | Wings | Sandwich | Sub place | Fries | Bagel shop | Deli | Vegetarian restaurant

Vending truck

When you walk down the sidewalk alongside of Hillman you can’t help but smell the aroma of summer as hot dogs are being cooked in December. You rush by in a hurry to get to class and resist the urge of stopping by to satisfy your taste buds.

The man providing the smell of summer goes by the name of Scottie. And it’s not just your normal ballpark dog; you can have a piece of chicken breast added on top smothered by barbecue sauce, which is one reason this is a popular stop.

The other reason Scottie is so popular is because he is a friendly guy. Outside selling hot dogs to people nearly year-round, weather permitting, he greets everyone with a smile and calls everyone “Dad.”

Next time you are walking by, give in to the urge and try one of Scottie’s dogs.

– Brian Palmer

Thai/SE Asian food

Spice Island Tea House

Thai Place Restaurant

311 S. Craig St.

How apropos: The winners of the best Thai/South East Asian restaurant category ended in well, a tie. Thai Place on North Craig Street and Spice Island Tea House on Atwood Street apparently have Pitt students all aflurry for curry.

Thai Place, which also has locations in Shadyside and Fox Chapel, has been voted one of the top 10 Thai restaurants in the United States for 1997 to 3000 by the International Restaurant ‘ Hospitality Rating Bureau. The quaint little restaurant on North Craig accommodates both those looking to sit and sip their chai ice tea as well as those who just want to grab some sushi to go.

Spice Island Tea House on Atwood Street is a warm and welcoming little hole in the wall where an extensive tea list substitutes for a wine list and patrons can chose from a wide variety of delicately spicy South East Asian delicacies – the vegetarian samosas are fantastic.

With two great choices for authentic Thai food, those in Oakland looking for a yummy order of pad thai or some spicy fried rice find themselves in a tasty predicament.

– Leslie Hoffman

Antoon’s Pizza

The food pyramid is a tricky thing – somewhere along the line, the nutritional bigwigs that determine our health standards decided that we must fill our bodies with a given number of servings from five different categories every single day. All that eating could be time-consuming and expensive, but it’s not, because you’ve got Antoon’s.

Pizza, in many ways, is revolutionary. It does not allow itself to be forced into the narrow space allotted to each pyramid brick. It bravely stretches over all of them, meeting all your nutritional needs. It’s got bread, cheese, meat, vegetables, fruit – if that’s your thing – and plenty of fats and oils, an often forgotten category that sits at the pyramid’s noble pinnacle.

At Antoon’s, you can get a delicious pie for only $4.80, tax included, and they also have a variety of sandwiches, calzones and wings to satisfy your tastes. Located conveniently on Oakland’s most popular party street, Antoon’s has everything you need to stay happy and healthy – just ask your physician.

– Eric Miller

Half-price menu

Fuel ‘ Fuddle

214 Oakland Ave.

After 11 p.m. during the week, college students get up from their books and computers and flock to the half-priced food at Fuel ‘ Fuddle. While other restaurants offer half-priced menus with special late-night choices, Fuel takes only a few entrees off its regular menu and leaves more than 40 selections for low-priced satisfaction.

You can enjoy your usual favorites for only half the price – spicy Kingston Jerk wings are $2.75, pesto chicken pizza is $3.25, and a half-pound buffalo burger is $4. Customers with diverse tastes will not be disappointed – the menu includes everything from veggies to salads to egg rolls to Thai chicken to shrimp to nachos.

Waiting outside in the long line may be inconvenient, but don’t let it stop you. Everyone is happy when they leave Fuel ‘ Fuddle in the wee morning hours – they ate the same great food as the people who came at 5 p.m., but left with more money.

– Erin Brachlow

Food to cook in your dorm

When you’ve used up your blocks for the week and the wallet just can’t stand another bout of half-price, it’s time to turn to that place most feared by hungry college students: your own room.

When that sad time comes, though, there is redemption waiting in the form of the truly American instant delicacy: macaroni and cheese.

Whether it’s the real deal or the little brother, Easy Mac, macaroni and cheese can satisfy the University housing gourmet taste buds and even give you two of the most important food groups: carbohydrates and powdered stuff.

It’s no General Tso’s Chicken, but mac and cheese will get you through until payday or until you can sell off the textbooks for the classes you don’t go to anymore.

And you can buy it at 7-Eleven.

– Greg Heller-LaBelle

Restaurant for a date

3716 Forbes Ave.

“What’s your sign?”

“You come here often?”

“You waiting for somebody?”

So, you’ve finally approached the person, flashing your best smile and your cheesiest pick-up line. And strangely enough, they accepted.

But here’s the difficult part – where to go on that first date. If you decide to go for the classic dinner and a movie, Joe Mama’s springs to mind. Think of how many famous couples started over a low-lit Italian dinner. Who doesn’t want to find love over that last spaghetti strand ala “Lady and the Tramp”? Can’t you hear the sounds of “That’s Amore” already?

With cozy little booths against the flattering dim lighting, there’s plenty of opportunity to get to know each other. No need to reveal that you’re automotively-challenged to your new sweetheart, Joe Mama’s is well within walking distance.

So, besides the sweaty palms and awkward pauses, it should all be smooth sailing. Just try to avoid the garlic sauce.

– Lauren Unger

Chinese food

Lulu Noodle/Yum Wok

400 S. Craig St.

Chinese food is one of staples in most students’ diets, ranking just above air and slightly below alcohol in the hierarchy of essential items of consumption. And in the Oakland area, there’s no source of vital Chinese food that students prefer more than Lulu’s, or as it’s also known, Yum Wok.

Though often busy, the service is uniformly top-notch. But Lulu’s success rests, above all else, with the mighty noodle. The walls are lined with pictures of beautiful people with beautiful noodle dishes. Their noodles come in all shapes and sizes, accompanied by a cornucopia of sauces and seasonings. There’s a noodle-based meal for any occasion or appetite.

But on the off-chance that you’re not interested in delectable noodles, Lulu’s offers the traditional Chinese food standbys like General Tso’s Chicken and Crab Rangoon, as well as a wide variety of soups and side dishes.

– Sam Anderson

Japanese food/sushi

128 Oakland Ave.

If a late night marathon of the Food Network’s Iron Chef has given you a craving for some Japanese food, Sushi Boat might be the best place to go.

Although Iron Chef Morimoto opened his own restaurant in Philadelphia last year, his cheapest meal will cost you at least $80.

Sushi Boat, however, is located right in Oakland, and the average meal costs about $5.

Sushi Boat may lack the sequins and melodrama of the Iron Chef, but the owners are friendly and the upstairs dining room is tastefully decorated with carved wooden panels and chairs.

And it doesn’t matter if the idea of sushi makes you queasy, because Sushi Boat’s motto is “more than just raw fish.”

The menu offers everything from teriyaki chicken to the Rock ‘n’ Roll, a sushi roll with white fish and salmon.

As junior Jen Stevenson remarked, “Sushi Boat floats my boat.”

– Flannery Amdahl

Mexican food

To misappropriate a phrase from Sara Lee, nobody doesn’t like margaritas.

To even further misappropriate, nobody doesn’t like the monstrous rocks-or-frozen concoctions from Mad Mex, the Cal-Mex fusion restaurant – nay, institution – at the corner of Atwood and Bates streets.

It’s not unusual to see hordes of hungry college students clutching IDs (both college and state-issued) who want to take advantage of the many opportunities to eat and imbibe those delectable margaritas cheaply gathered around Mad Mex’s heavy wooden door in the heat, cold, rain and snow just to take a seat at the long, well-worn church pew or at the shiny, sexy, curvy copper bar inside.

Meat-eaters and vegetarians alike (vegans, too) can each find something tasty on the menu, which ranges from the ubiquitous and gigantic burritos and nachos to tofu enchiladas made with soy cheese.

With a 20-ounce margarita in one hand and a forkful of burrito in the other, there’s no need for dessert at Mad Mex.

Thanks anyway, Sara Lee.

– Clare Perretta

Italian food

3716 Forbes Ave.

One might wonder what puts Joe Mama’s above all the other Italian restaurants in Oakland.

To start with, they certainly give you a whole lot to eat. Pastas and appetizers don’t come on plates, they come on barges. Salads don’t come on individual dishes, they come in the stainless steel bowls in which they were tossed in the kitchen. Entrees such as chicken parmagiana and pork chops are served with heaps of garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies.

To say you could eat twice from one meal at Joe Mama’s is a gross understatement. You could probably eat for an entire week if you were to order the double-sized pasta dishes, and if you leave the restaurant hungry, well, you screwed up somehow.

Also, the drinks, such as Cosmopolitans, vodka Gimlets and Manhattans, are tall and strong and come in funky wavy martini glasses.

The catchy name probably didn’t hurt, either.

– Clare Perretta

Indian food

When you dine at India Garden on Atwood Street, it’s hard to decide what to order from the long, long menu. Should you get the chicken biryani, which comes heaped six inches high on a steel platter and is studded with chunks of chicken, vegetables and slivered almonds? Perhaps a bowl of palate-searing, sinus-clearing mulligatawny soup with bits of chicken and fresh coriander is more your speed. Maybe you should just have a samosa. Whatever you get, it’s likely it will be very, very good.

Open until 1 a.m. every day with half-priced dinners after 11 p.m., it seems as though no matter what time you dine at India Garden, there are melodramatic, subtitled Indian soap operas constantly playing on the giant plasma television in the corner.

Just go with it – it’s just part of what makes India Garden so great.

– Clare Perretta

Middle Eastern food

404 S. Craig St.

Had enough ramen noodles and greasy pizza? Tired of the same old cafeteria slop? There is an alternative, one that suits any eating style.

Ali Baba on Craig Street sits right smack in the middle of a busy shopping thoroughfare and offers tons of options for omnivores, herbivores and anyone in between. The atmosphere is laid back – you could take a date there or stop by for a quick solo falafel on your lunch break.

Smokers, for so long the pariahs of the modern non-bar social scene, have a section to call their own here but the place is so well-ventilated that nonsmokers would hardly need wrinkle their delicate noses in response.

The tabouleh is a standout, as is the hummus – it comes with a drizzle of good olive oil and a bit of paprika. The pita is always soft and fresh.

Experiment a little – this is college. Pierce your tongue, get a tattoo and develop a falafel addiction right here at Ali Baba.

– Melissa Meinzer

Juice vendor

Are you an out-of-shape college student whose diet consists mainly of pizza, beer and SR-71? A vegetarian who’s tired of downing spoonfuls of protein power? A freshman who finds him or herself out of meal blocks by Friday because you’ve used them all up on Freshens’ smoothies at Schenley Cafe?

Fear no more. Pitt’s favorite juice vendor is here to the rescue, offering an array of original, fruit smoothies. Using nonfat yogurt, tangy sherbet, fresh fruit and succulent juices, they blend in healthy nutrients like ginkgo biloba, protein, vitamin C and ginseng. You can even have them add a shot of wheatgrass or liquid vitamins to supplement your already robust drink.

The Juice Stop is especially geared toward vegetarians, who can choose from a plethora of veggie combos that use carrot juice as a base and add apple, celery, beet, spinach and/or parsley.

For a healthy break from the college life that does your body harm, stop in to the Juice Stop.

– Clinton Doggett

Best on-campus eatery

It’s Sunday night. You have five meal blocks left. What are you going to do? Go block shopping at Eddie’s, of course.

Located beneath Towers, Eddie’s is the cafeteria with a little bit of everything: Mexican food, chicken sandwiches, pizza, home-style dishes, deli sandwiches, frozen yogurt, a soup and salad bar. Meal block specials make it easy to get the most out of five bucks.

Eddie’s also has food like a real grocery store. Pick up a loaf of bread, a half-gallon of milk, a box of cereal or even a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. For those who like to use their microwave, Eddie’s provides frozen dinners and Home Meal Replacements. HMRs are conveniently packed entrees and side dishes that can be refrigerated and saved for later.

This premier cafeteria has it all. The atmosphere is cozy like a restaurant and the staff members are friendly and efficient at what they do.

Eddie’s is open until 8 p.m. on weekdays. It’s closed on Saturdays and open until 10 p.m. on Sunday, for all those extra blocks.

– Shani Alston

Dave and Andy’s

These guys put more time into making you an ice cream cone than you put into most of your term papers. They do it the old-fashioned way, with wooden ice cream makers, which is quite time-consuming. When you taste the results, though, you’ll know where that extra time goes.

When you walk in, the smell of waffle cones baking has you drooling immediately. Then your eyes hit the chalkboard, which displays the day’s array of flavors – all super-fresh – and you’re hooked.

If you dig cookie dough ice cream, theirs is the best around. Their waffle cones are also unbeatable.

Dave and Andy’s has turned up on more than few “best ice cream shops in the nation” lists during the past few years. Be sure and take advantage of the fact that it’s in Pitt’s backyard.

And don’t forget to scoff at the first-timers who remark, “hey, there’s an M’M in the bottom of my cone … weird.”

– Chad Eberle

3703 Forbes Ave.

Pamela’s breakfast isn’t just the best at Pitt, it’s the best in all of Pittsburgh.

The modest restaurant is most frequently acclaimed for its slightly crispy crepe-style pancakes. Get them stuffed with bananas and chocolate chips or strawberries and cream – both have the power to change your life. The home fries are the most spectacular of the sides, so be sure to get an order, you’ll never find better ones.

The service is always fast – sometimes inexplicably so – and friendly. The coffee is better than it should be and the refills are constant.

Drop in on a weekday morning for little to no wait, or venture there on the weekend to join all your glassy-eyed, hangover-ridden peers as they attempt to calm their turbulent stomachs by filling them with greasy goodness. As you might imagine, the “Hangover Helper” breakfast is a favorite.

– Chad Eberle

It’s a three-peat: The Wing Pitt has retained its title again as the place for the best wings in Oakland. Located slightly off the beaten path – on Semple Street in South Oakland – the menu offers 18 different wing sauce flavors, including one that even comes with a disclaimer: the “atomic” sauce.

A pound of chicken wings in any flavor costs about $6, but wings do not comprise the entire menu. Salads, sandwiches and the usual side dishes are all freshly made and ready for delivery.

Wing Pitt also swears by “Niko’s Gyro,” a sandwich of gyro meat cut from the skewer, then topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a homemade tzadziki sauce served on a warm pita.

Just a suggestion: Try the buffalo chicken sandwich. It’s as simple as it sounds, but better than you’d expect.

– Erik Arroyo

3803 Forbes Ave.

Known as Pittsburgh’s signature sandwich shop, Primanti Bros. is a popular place to stop for a bite of loaded, messy goodness. The sandwiches, which range from cheesesteaks and hot sausage to egg and cheese and bratwurst, are piled high with french fries, cole slaw, tomatoes and meat, and stuffed between slices of thick Italian bread.

Trying to keep the sandwich from falling apart and eating off the wax paper is half the fun here. Although you can eat at the counter, some people prefer to pick up a few bottles of Sam Adams Light and a sandwich to go.

Open 24 hours, Primanti Brothers is the perfect place to fill your tummy and neglect your healthy diet for less than $5 with the sandwich that eats like a meal.

– Erin Brachlow

Subway sandwiches are good. Damn good. But why?

Is it because of the fresh bread and toppings? Or is it because those kind employees make your sandwich before your very eyes? Maybe it’s because that Jared guy lost a boatload of weight eating them.

Maybe it’s because of those things, but it might also be the wallpaper. What other fast food place can you go to and have images of the place’s namesake plastered on the walls? Not McDonald’s, that’s for sure. No one wants to look at happy cows on Old McDonald’s farm painted on the wall while they bite into a Big Mac.

No, only Subway can get away with this. Its decor actually makes you feel like you’re eating a Subway sandwich at the opening of a new subway station. Or at least thinking about it. OK, more like reading about it on microfilm.

But it sure feels good to know that no subways were used in the making of that delicious Subway sub, especially when you’re eating in the store, looking at all those happy subways.

– Dante A. Ciampaglia

The Original Hot Dog Shop

3901 Forbes. Ave.

Have you ever woken up on a stranger’s floor surround by “O” fries? Sure you have, and while “O” fries are notorious for their inebriated association, they aren’t just for the drunk. Everybody likes them, and that’s why they’ve been voted the best fries yet again.

Every day, thousands of potatoes willingly hurl themselves to their deaths just for the honor of being an “O” fry. Every day, hundreds of customers buy enormous amounts of fries and none of them ever say, “I wish these servings were bigger.” Why would you? “O” fries come in three sizes: “Too Much,” “I’ll Need Help Finishing These” and “Call The Guinness Book.”

Plus, all “O” fries come with the option of cheese or ranch dressing, and The “O” is open until deep into the night.

– Eric Lidji

Bruegger’s Bagel Shop

3714 Forbes Ave.

Need something to munch on while doing some last-minute studying? Parents coming up for the weekend, and you have nothing to eat in your apartment? Or do you just love bagels and can’t get enough of them?

If so, Bruegger’s was voted your favorite bagel shop in Oakland, and it’s no wonder why. Bruegger’s is not only conveniently located when hunger strikes you on campus, but it’s also extremely tasty.

This delicious bagel shop provides budget-conscious choices that please even the pickiest eaters. The veggies are always fresh, the spreads always creamy, and if you are lucky, you will arrive when the bagels are still warm from the oven.

– Meghan Dowdell

Schlotzsky’s Deli

3600 Forbes Ave.

Funny name, serious sandwich. The slogan for Schlotzsky’s Deli stares you in the face practically every time you walk into the establishment. Yet every time you make your way into the restaurant, you’re compelled to shell out a few bucks for some of the best sandwiches on Forbes.

Located across the street from Sam Goody and Club Laga, it encourages music aficionados to go do your music browsing, and then stop in for a bite to eat across the street. The sandwiches are most excellent, featuring round-style bread with your choice of meat. Even if you’re a vegetarian, they offer plausible and affordable substitutes to feed your cravings.

Need a pizza? They’ve got that. Their pizzas are quite delectable, and they parallel the restaurant’s service. Greeting you with a smile, you can walk into Schlotzsky’s and realize that your food is indeed in good hands.

– Adam Rauf

Vegetarian restaurant

TIE: Subway/India Garden