SIR PIZZA

The original Pizza King

 Sir Pizza has been a family operated franchise in the North Hills of Pittsburgh since 1975. In just the past 3 years, Sir Pizza has expanded from its sole location in Ross Township, to two other locations in Franklin Park, and Cranberry. Sir Pizza is a franchise based in Muncie Indiana. The original pizza shop in Muncie is known as Pizza King and Sir Pizza incorporated was created when they decided to franchise out their business model in 1965.
Sir Pizza International now boasts over 200 pizza shops, with most being located in Indiana, Michigan, and Tennessee. 

14 Inch Sausage and Pepperoni

 There are quite a few things that make Sir Pizza unique in the over saturated pizza market here in Pittsburgh. The number one thing you will notice is that the pizza is cut into small squares instead of large triangular slices. Sir Pizza also uses smoked provolone instead of the traditional mozzarella . The toppings are all ground very fine and are placed to the very edge of the pizza. Finally the crust is very thin and crisp, not at all doughy and floppy like most pizza places.

The Fuzz Loves Sir Pizza

 The pizza being reviewed was a 14 inch sausage and pepperoni pizza that cost $14.40. A whole Crusader Hoagie was also purchased at $7.25. Never have I ever seen any specials or coupons in the weekly circulars for Sir Pizza. This however might be different for the new locations in Franklin Park and Cranberry. The order was called in and I was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. When I arrived at the Ross location 20 minutes later to pick up the food, it was ready to go and I was rang up quickly. A few notes about the Ross Township location is that they sell 6 packs of beer to go, with a nice variety of microbrews to choose from. If you decide to eat in the dining area which has about 20 tables, they also have beer on draft. It amazes me that the same people that have been making the pizza for the past 15 years, that I have been going to Sir Pizza in Ross, are still there. One of the benefits to going to a family run restaurant I guess.

Unique Small Square Pieces

 Anyways, on to the review.  As mentioned before, Sir Pizza is pretty unique. The outside pieces of the pizza are just as tasty as the inside areas, as there is no traditional crust. The toppings are evenly distributed to the very edge of the pizza. The sauce is very good, tasting natural, and perfectly spiced, it is not overly sweet and is applied lightly. The cheese is flavorful in that they are using smoked provolone instead of mozzarella. I'm surprised more pizza shops don't use different cheeses on their pizzas, as mozzarella itself is a pretty flavorless cheese unless your making your own, or you are using a real Italian buffalo mozzarella. The sausage is the biggest disappointment of the toppings being pretty tasteless. It is not at all spicy and Im not sure what the difference between it, and just plain ground pork would be. The pepperoni is very flavorful, and slightly spicy, and is finely diced and distributed all over the pizza. The crust is very thin and crispy. My eating companion and I agreed that the pizza is very unique and excellent. Do yourself a favor though and dont order the sausage, while not making the pizza any worse, it just does not add anything to it either. The small square slices are great as well. It makes for less sloppy eating, and kids will love them as well. 

Crusader Hoagie

Top of Crusader

Side profile of the Crusader

 While the pizza was excellent and unique, the Crusader Hoagie was plain and uninspired. The Crusader Hoagie is Sir Pizzas take on a traditional Italian hoagie. The Crusader is served on a 12 inch Vienna roll, which is an odd choice. It might be the only hoagie you ever get that has sesame seeds on the bread. In my opinion they should use a good quality Italian bread from one of the many excellent local bakeries in the area, or maybe they have to use the vienna roll, due to franchise restrictions. There is Ham, salami, and capicolla, on the sandwich and the amount is not at all generous. Cheese, onions, lettuce , tomatoes, oil and vinegar finish it off. The sandwich is baked and sliced into 4 pieces. While the hoagie is not bad, it is not really good either. The lack of meat makes it almost like eating a lettuce, cheese and tomato sandwich.  There are quite a few other places I would recommend buying an Italian Hogie from (including the earlier reviewed Jersey Mikes Subs) before I would recommend Sir Pizza.

 Sir Pizza is a great place to get a unique style of pizza not found anywhere else in Pittsburgh. It is a North Hills institution that has been around since 1975. They are obviously doing something right to have stayed open so long when pizza places have about a 6 month average lifespan here in Pittsburgh. While the Crusader Hoagie I found to be mediocre, the pizza was excellent ,and will continue to be one of my top 5 pizza places in the Pittsburgh area.

SIR PIZZA RATING

 PIZZA :   8/10

CRUSADER
  HOAGIE :    6/10

WARNING: SIR PIZZA DOES NOT DELIVER, ONLY TAKEOUT IS AVAILABLE
  SIR PIZZA
Ross Township
320 Sewickley-Oakmont Rd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
(412) 367-1333
http://sirpizza-pittsburgh.com/

White Castle

 White Castle home of the "slyder". A food of myth and legend. Drunks, stoners, and yours truly, crave these tasty little burgers.

 White Castle was started in 1921 and is the oldest fast food franchise in existence. They are known for there small cheap hamburgers. A White Castle burger in the 1940s cost you 5 cents, today 61 cents.
The little burgers are very unique in their taste, and the process used to cook them. A layer of onions is placed on the grill, and small frozen beef patties with holes are placed on top of the onions.  The buns are then placed on top of the burgers. The steam from the onions cooks the burgers and infuses the buns with flavor. No flipping is needed as the burger patties are so thin that the steam is able to seep through the holes in the patty and cook it all the way through. Here is a video that details the whole process (and for the love of god please turn down the volume, unless you want to hear a bluegrass version of Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company).


 Everything is setup for maximum efficiency. The reason the patties are square is so that you can fit 30 of them on a standard white castle flat top grill. The result is a single cook can put out about 30 burgers every 4 minutes. This efficiency was not needed when I visited White Castle, as the restaurant was empty beside me and my traveling companions.

   On the way home from a road trip to Cleveland me and my companions stopped by to get a sack of burgers for future eating. The great, or not so great thing (depending on your perspective) about White Castle is that you can hardly tell the difference between a fresh burger, and one that you nuked in the microwave. We put in an order for a sack of 12 cheeseburgers. As a side note, the White Castle we visited also served Church's Chicken. Its all the rage in fast food these days to combine two franchises into one store. So far I have seen KFC/Taco Bell, A&W/Long John Silvers, and now White Castle/Church's. After about a 5 minute wait, our sack of burgers was ready and we were on are way back to Pittsburgh..

 How do they taste, you ask? Like a very soft/mushy/cheesy /oniony little hamburger. The onions are by far the overriding flavor, so if your not a big fan of onions don't even bother. It only takes about 4 bites to polish off 1 burger.

By the way, a sack of White Castles will smell up your car like no other fast food in the world. You could Febreeze your car every day for the next two months, and still smell onions.
 So why do I enjoy a White Castle burger? Its more the novelty then anything else I guess. There really is nothing else like it out there besides some small diner type joints in New Jersey such as White Mana, that specialize in small oniony burgers.
 White Castle burgers are versatile as well. With people coming up with some very interesting recipes that incorporate the tiny burgers. Some of my favorites include:

White Castle Turkey Stuffing

10 White Castle hamburgers, no pickles
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1 1/4 tsp. ground thyme
1 1/2 tsp. ground sage
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth

In a large mixing bowl, tear the burgers into pieces and add diced celery and seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth. Toss well. Stuff cavity of turkey just before roasting. Makes about 9 cups (enough for a 10- to 12-pound turkey). Note: Allow 1 hamburger for each pound of turkey, which will be the equivalent of 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.

Castle Balls

For the meatballs:
10 White Castle® hamburgers
1 medium onion
2 pounds of ground beef
2 eggs
1 tsp. of salt
1/2 tsp. of ground pepper
1/2 tbsp. of onion powder

For the sauce:
2-10.75 oz cans Cream of Mushroom soup
5 packets of White Castle Dusseldorf Mustard
2 tbsp. of ketchup
1 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce

Meatballs:
Chop onion in a food processor until fine. Sauté on medium heat until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Drain using a strainer. Chop all 10 burgers in a food processor until fine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground burgers and sautéed onion with the remaining meatball ingredients, mixing well with your hands. Let mixture set covered in refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. Spray baking dish or cookie sheet with a light coating of vegetable spray. Shape the meat mixture into balls by rolling a small amount into your hands until smooth. Meatballs should be slightly smaller than a golf ball. Bake meatballs in a 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through the cooking time. Meatballs should be browned on both sides. Remove the balls from the pan and strain with a colander.

Sauce:
Sauce may be prepared while meatballs are cooking. Combine all sauce ingredients in a saucepan and heat on stove at medium heat, until thoroughly heated. Pour over the cooked meatballs. Serve immediately, or refrigerate the sauce-covered meatballs overnight and heat the following day in a slow-cooker

 No picture available do to the fact im not sure anyone has ever really made meatballs out of White Castles.

 The largest denomination of White Castles you can purchase is the 30 burger Crave Case.

 As you can see the Crave Case makes an excellent briefcase for work after you eat all those tasty burgers.
  Think of the envious stares you will get from your co-workers as they eye up your stylish case.

White Castle Burgers are also available in the freezer section of most grocery stores in the Pittsburgh area. If you live in Pittsburgh this is your only real option besides driving to North East Ohio. For some reason White Castle has franchises in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, but sidestepped Pennsylvania.



 WARNING: Frozen White Castle Burgers do not come with the dill pickle that is placed on the burgers at the restaurants. While technology has put a man on the moon, it has not progressed to the point where we can put a pickle on a frozen burger.

 WARNING II:  Do to the onion content of White Castle burgers, methane gas buildup in the stomach is inevitable. Smelly flatulence and indigestion usually follows any White Castle consumption within 4 hours. They have the nickname belly bombs for a good reason

So while I enjoy the tasty little burgers, I think I will keep to eating them once, or maybe twice per year. Any more then that and the novelty would wear off ,and  I would probably wind up exploding. 

                

 RATING

 7/10 (While eating)

 2/10 (4 hours later)

 White Castle

5095 Northfield Rd.

Bedford Hts. Ohio 44146

(216) 587-1949

 

Melt Bar & Grilled

Well here I am in beautiful Cleveland . Being from Pittsburgh I was expecting the worse. A barren wasteland with burned out factories, and people with hockey goalie masks driving around and killing people for their gasoline. Instead I found a beautiful city with a picturesque lake front, clean downtown area, and vibrant suburbs.

  So after a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was off to Lakewood Ohio. Lakewood sits on the outskirts of Cleveland about a 10 minute drive from downtown. Its a beautiful community with houses that remind me of the one the Cunninghams lived in on the TV show Happy Days. The destination was Melt Bar & Grilled as seen on both Diners Drive-ins and Dives, and Man vs Food.

                                          
                                                       They even have there own funky van .

        My companions and I walked in and were told there was going to be a 35 minute wait. Which was not to bad. The restaurant has about 25-30 tables and is quite popular,so expect a wait no matter what time you go.
 Since we were waiting, it was time to hit the bar. Which has some very unique decor to say the least.

    

  My companions both ordered the Watermelon Margarita, and I ordered a Great Lakes Brewery Dortmunder Gold. The watermelon margaritas were disappointing with a flavor that resembled grapefruit more so then watermelon. My companions could taste no watermelon whatsoever, while I could only detect it slightly. The Dortmunder Gold was a  great example of a flavorful  German style lager, brewed only a few minutes away in downtown Cleveland.
  We were sat after about a 45 minute wait. The second round of beverages included an Anchor Steam Beer for me, and St Louis Framboise for my companions. The Framboise was brewed in Belgium and was very similar to the more popular Lindemans Framboise. The St Louis I found to be sweeter and slightly less 'beery" then the Lindemans. Framboise by the way is a Belgiun style of raspberry fruit beer, where the beer plays second fiddle to the fruit flavors. It almost tastes like a raspberry champagne.

  Even more impressive was the friendly couple sitting next to us from Toronto, who couldn't stop raving about how cheap everything was in Cleveland. They continued being thrifty consumers by buying a big ass can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a truly impressive sight.

  For appetizers we ordered a cup of the Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup, and Corn on the Cob with garlic butter. Both daily specials.
 The cheeseburger macaroni soup was despised equally by both my eating companions (one of which is my mother). My Mother said it reminded her to much of Cheeseburger  Hamburger Helper. Well let me tell you I love me some Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper, and I found the soup to be excellent. Calling it a soup might have been a stretch because it was more like a conglomeration of macaroni, beef, and cheese, not at all liquidy. It reminded me of Hamburger Helper with more cheese and more complex spice notes. (Sorry about the picture, I am new to this blogging thing and I have to remember to take the picture before I almost eat the whole thing. The soup was served with Goldfish Crackers, shredded cheese and a slice of dill pickle on top.)

 The Garlic Butter Corn on the Cob was the biggest disappointment of the meal. If there was garlic butter on the corn, it was very hard to detect. But that problem paled in comparison to the fact that the corn was ice cold. We sent it back and told the waitress to take it off the bill. She was kind enough  to offer to package the cold corn up for us , but we refused.

  
Melt is known for there great sandwiches and at this point in our meal we were hoping that they could save our meal from disaster.
The sandwiches included the

Westside Monte Cristo

               honey ham, smoked turkey, swiss, american, beer battered, mixed berry preserves  - $10.00

 A great example of a classic sandwich . The highlight being the mixed berry preserves that my mother dipped the sandwich in.

Smokey Russian

smoked turkey, fresh napa vodka kraut, smoked gouda, russian dressing  - $9.00

  Truly an excellent sandwich. Im a big fan of smoked gouda, and it teamed up well with the turkey and kraut. The Kraut was not at all like a sauerkraut. It was whole leaf  marinated napa cabbage, and I found it fit well with the sandwich. Regular sauerkraut can tend to overwhelm the flavors of anything you put it on, so the vodka kraut really let the flavors of the smoked turkey and gouda shine through.  Also the Russian dressing was fantastic. It was sweet with flavors of garlic and onion , and made a great accompaniment to the sandwich.

 

Sweet and Smokey Steak

                                      grilled flank. caramel port onions, smoked gouda  - $11.50

 
 Pretty straightforward sandwich. My companion ordered the steak medium well. The steak was slightly chewy and tended to separate itself from the sandwich when you bit into it. Think a very thin sliced or chipped ribeye would have gone better with the sandwich, but other people will enjoy the thicker cut.
  All sandwiches come with Slaw and Fries. The fries were above average being slightly crispy and well seasoned. The slaw was unique. It was a vinegar based slaw, which is not unusual in itself. What was unique was the amount of ground black pepper in the slaw. There was so much in the slaw, that the slaw was actually spicy hot. It reminded me of the time a good friend of mine was making stew while camping and accidentally poured a half can of ground pepper into it. Anyways, while I enjoyed the slaw, I think just a tad less black pepper would make this slaw even better.

 Remember also that if you get a tattoo of Melts sandwich logo, you will get 25% off for life. Or untill you realize you have a sandwich tattooed on your body and elect to have laser surgery removal.

In conclusion Melt came through where it mattered most, the sandwiches. While the appetizers might need a little work , the sandwiches that I tasted were fantastic. The drink prices were very cheap, especially compared to the norm here in Pittsburgh. Melt usually has a sandwich of the month and they obviously are not afraid to take chances.

 Im looking forward to going back to Melt on my next trip to Cleveland, and trying out another one of there unique sandwiches.  For those of you who haven't been to the Cleveland area recently, do yourself a favor and take a day trip, I think you might be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

 Rating  7/10

 MELT Bar & Grilled
  14718 Detroit Ave.
   Lakewood Ohio 44107  
   (216) 226- 3699