The Penn Brewery

 It had been a while sine I had been to the Penn Brewery (maybe 6 years), and I was in the mood for some German food. So a friend and I went to check it out.

The Penn Brewery is best know for its beer making side of things. It produces some of the best beers in Pittsburgh including my personal favorite Penn Pilsner.

 We went on a Friday night and were told that all the tables in the main dining room were reserved. They gave us a small table however that was wobbly and could barely hold 2 plates. So when I complained and threatened to leave, they put us down in the basement dining room, which it was obvious they did not want to open. However we were soon joined by others who were  obviously experiencing the same situation as ourselves.

Summer Berry

 To drink, I ordered a bottle of their Summer Berry which was a wheat beer (Hefeweisen) with a slight berry flavor. It was very refreshing and it would make an excellent beer for sipping on a hot summer day.

Buffalo Chicken Pierogies $6.95

  The pierogies were ok. Chicken, hot sauce, and blue cheese was the filling. Topped with blue cheese dressing and hot sauce. The flavor was pretty good and tasted of your typical buffalo wing. It could have done without so much crap on top of them, which kind of disguised the true flavor of the pierogies.

Balsamic Grilled Chicken $15.95

 My friend ordered the Balsamic glazed chicken. It was a perfectly cooked chicken breast, covered in a bruschetta style tomato compote, with fresh mozzarella slices. Very creamy mashed potatoes and grilled veggies accompanied the chicken. Like I said, the chicken was cooked perfectly, being cooked all the way through yet still moist. The brushetta style compote and balsamic glaze added a nice acidity and Italian spice flair. The mozzarella was creamy yet seemed out of place being that fresh mozzarella is not the best cheese for melting over top of things. It congealed quickly when it cooled, and you were left with basically big slices of mozzarella which while good, seemed texturally awkward. A grated and melted  mozzarella or provolone would have been more suitable I believe.  

Rouldaen $14.95

 The Rouladen that I ordered was excellent. First off the quantity as you can see was more than adequate. Honestly I was only expecting one rouladen roll, but they give you two. The rouladen is beef with bacon, onion, mustard, and pickles, all rolled up and braised till the beef is fork tender. It is accompanied with German potato salad and red cabbage.
 The whole meal is all about mixing savory and sour. The rouladen was just awesome, having the savory flavors of the beef and bacon. While also the tang of the onions, mustard and pickles. Really one of the best meals I have had in quite a while.
 The German potato salad was warm and made a quite satisfying side dish. The red cabbage I was surprised to find was less sour like sauerkraut, but somewhat sweet. It was flavored with apples and other spices and was surprisingly mild.

 So all in all an excellent eating experience. Im looking forward to going back and trying some of Penn Brewery's other German fare. 


  PENN BREWERY 
  Rating : 8/10

The Steer & Wheel

 Another competitor in the burgeoning Pittsburgh food truck scene. The Steer & Wheel specializes in gourmet hamburgers and I was looking forward to trying it out.

 The Steer & Wheel was with the Pittsburgh Taco Truck in the parking lot of the Coffee Buddha on RT 19 in the North Hills. After placing my order, it took about 8 minutes to receive the food.

The Fat Tuesday Burger $7.00

 You will notice I put a Mcdonalds Double Cheeseburger in my picture for size comparison purposes. There is nothing I wont do for the reader of Pittsburgh Eats. For the visually and mentally challenged Pittsburgh Eats readers, the Mcdonalds burger is on the left.

 The Fat Tuesday Burger was about a 1/3 pound locally raised, organinc, no antibiotic, no hormone, beef patty, with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, and remoulade sauce. All on a brioche bun baked at Mediterra bakery. The burger itself was also cooked with blackened seasoning to give it an even more pronounced cajun flavor. The burger had good flavor and the toppings were all super fresh. The remoulade and pepper jack added some spice. The brioche bun held up well to all the ingredients. A pretty tasty burger.

The French Lieutenant's Burger $8.00

   The French Lieutenant came with sauteed cremini mushrooms, brie cheese, bacon, and whole grain mustard.

 An excellent combination of ingredients with a French flair. The bacon was perfectly cooked, being both crispy and chewy. The cremini mushrooms added a pleasant savory flavor. The whole grain mustard balanced the burger with its bitterness.

    The burgers at Steer & Wheel are of the highest quality, being comparable to some of the high end burger joints in the area such as BRGR and Burgatory.  My only complaint is that the price point of the burgers is slightly high for their size. If you see the Steer & Wheel in your neighborhood, make sure you stop by and let me know what you think.

 RATING
The Steer & Wheel:   7.5 / 10

Yeungs House Chinese Restaurant

  Located right next door to the West View Fire Department on RT 19. Yeung's is not much to look at from the outside.

 The interior however is clean and you can look right into the kitchen.

   To start off we ordered the Pu Pu platter for two

Spring Roll

Crab Rangoon

Chicken and Beef Teriyaki on a stick

Boneless Ribs and a Chicken WIng

Neon Red Sweet and Sour Sauce

  The Pu Pu Platter ($8.95) came with a variety of tidbits. 2 Wings, 2 Spring Rolls, 2 Beef Teriyaki, 2 Chicken on a Stick, 2 Boneless Ribs, and 2 Crab Rangoons. The crab rangoons were disappointing being kind of gummy and  lacking in filling. The spring rolls however were excellent being both crispy and filled with shrimp and vegetables. The boneless ribs were also tasty being sweet and tender.

General Tso's Chicken ($9.75)

 The General Tso's Chicken was mediocre at best. The pieces of chicken were not at all crispy and the sauce while flavorful was not very spicy and overly sweet.

House Special  Lo Mein ($7.95)

 The House Special Lo Mein was excellent. Big chunks bbq pork, chicken, and shrimp, mixed with noodles in a mild soy based sauce.

Mongolian Beef ($9.75)

 The high light of the meal was the Mongolian Beef.. Slices of beef with onions and scallions in a very spicy sauce. This was a flavor explosion. The beef had a nice charred flavor to it while the sauce was filled with lots of black pepper. This sauce was actually so hot that I was sweating while eating this. Really I cant recommend this dish enough. If you like spicy food you owe it to yourself to try Yeungs version of Mongolian Beef.


 So Yeungs was pretty typical of most Chinese restaurants. The good being the Mongolian Beef and the Lo Mein.  Crappy, being the lack of crunchiness in the Crab Rangoons and General Tsos Chicken.  The prices at Yeung's are very reasonable, even by Chinese restaurant standards. I would go back to Yeung's, just for the Mongolian Beef alone.

Yeungs House
 Rating 7/10

  

North Hills Food Truck Roundup 2.0

 A great thing happened in the North Hills over the past weekend. Some of the best food trucks in Pittsburgh all gathered in the parking lot of Coffee Buddha  on RT 19 in Perrysville. So let me share some pictures and tastes from the gathering.


Click on pics for high resolution goodness.

 Fukuda truck was selling Japanese treats.

  The Polish food truck was serving combinations of Haluski (noodles & cabbage), stuffed cabbage, and pierogies. They also had frozen pierogies to go.
 The platter I ordered had 2 stuffed cabbage and three potato and cheese pierogies. The stuffed cabbage was filled with your typical meat and rice filling, but had a nice mild spice to it. The pierogies were tender, and the filling was not at all bland, but had a nice potato and cheese flavor.

 Bakery Treats

 Ice Cream

 BRGR out of East Liberty selling burgers and stuff. Check out my review of their restaurant in East Liberty HERE.

 Franktuary selling hot dogs.

 Oh My Grill selling gourmet grilled cheese with dipping sauces.

 Me and my eating partner ordered the "Number One", the Grilled Cuban, and an order of Parmesan Spinach Balls.

 The Parm Spinach balls were little fritters filled with spinach, parmesan cheese, and lots of flavor. The spicy mayo on top was an excellent finishing touch.

 The "Number One" came with smoked gouda, cheddar cheese,  bacon, and grilled onions. It was accompanied with a potato soup dipper.
 Great sandwich. The cheddar cheese gave a nice bite to the overall savoriness of this sandwich. The potato soup for dipping did not add much, but the sandwich was so damn good, it really did not need it. Honestly I could have ate 4 of these. However they are a little pricy at $7.00.

 
  The Grilled Cuban came with ham, turkey ,swiss, diced pickle and accompanied with a Mojo dipping sauce. This sandwich was just as awesome as "The Number One". The Mojo dipping sauce is what really pushed this sandwich over the top. It was very complex with flavors of lime, garlic, and herbs. Once agian I felt  the sandwiches price of  $8.00 was a little pricey for its size, but the damn thing was so good I would not hesitate to get it again.

 The Pittsburgh Taco Truck I actually had visited a few days before when it was parked up at the Coffee Buddha. Im glad I did because it was easily the most popular food truck at the roundup and the line was long and not moving all that fast. On their behalf, they do make all the tacos to order which explains the long wait time.

View from the Taco Truck

  This was the menu the day I went.You might think 4-5 dollars for a taco is a little pricey, but trust me they really do use good ingredients and the tacos are loaded to the brim.

 The Korean Flank Steak with Kimchi taco was impressive. The steak was cooked a perfect medium as I had ordered it. The steak had a nice soy/sweet flavor as well. The kimchee added saltiness to the savory steak, The grilled soft corn tortillas struggled to hold all the awesomeness

 The Jerk Chicken Taco with Avocado Cream was my personal favorite. The chicken had been marinaded and seasoned perfectly with jerk seasoning which imparted flavors of allspice, shallots, and peppers. It was spicy hot, but not to the point of setting your mouth on fire.The avocado cream added a mellow coolness to the spicy jerk chicken.

 The 1/3 pound angus beef taco with cheddar and truck salsa was the least inspired of their taco varieties. The ground beef  was a tad greasy and I thought the salsa had a bit too much cilantro. This pretty much tasted like a Mexican hamburger.
 All in all though I was quite pleased with the Pittsburgh Taco Truck and will definitely stop by again soon.

  Fellow food blogger, and very cute taco, Becky was at the roundup as well. Check out her blog at Sabor PGH. It is an excellent blog about the Pittsburgh food scene that you should be reading.

North Hills Food Truck Roundup 3.0 will be happening on April 27, 12:00, at the Coffee Buddha in the North Hills next month. So make plans now for one of the most awesome and tasty happenings in Pittsburgh.