Station Street Hot Dogs

Hipsters  ( Dont you just want to punch them in the face)

 Station Street Hot Dogs has been in East Liberty since 1969. It has opened and closed a few times since then, as well as changed ownership several times. The latest ownership has decided to make the hot dogs more up-scale with gourmet toppings as well as gourmet prices to match. This reflects East Liberty's burgeoning Hipster eating scene for better or worse.

    As you can see the prices are pretty damn expensive for a hot dog. With the cheapest being $4.00 for the rather plain House Dog, all the way to $8.00 for the Po-Boy Dog.

  You place your order at the counter, which is encircled by the seating area, which looks out into the parking lot that allows you to watch and make sure your car is not stolen (an important thing in East Liberty).  My eating companion and I ordered 3 hot dogs to share(Chilli CheeseDog, Devil Dog, Hawaii Dog) and an order of the duck fat french fries. The order was up in about 4 minutes.

Duck Fat Fries $5.00

  The Duck Fat fries were pretty good. They were crispy on the outside and had a nice richness in the inside. If the duck fat imparted any additional flavor to the fries, I sure as hell couldn't taste it. You might just be better off getting the regular fries which are $2.00 cheaper.

Chili Cheese Dog $5.00

  The Chili cheese hot dog was my favorite of the different hot dogs we tried. First off the hot dog itself is of excellent quality. Its an all beef hot dog with a natural casing which imparts a nice snap when you bite into it.  The dogs are mildly seasoned with notes of garlic and tasting somewhat like a Hebrew National hot dog. The buns that Station Street use could definitely do with an upgrade, they are unremarkable and have the texture of wonderbread. The Chili Cheese dog came with brisket chili, Arsenal Cheese Curds, and onions. The chili was one of the best I ever had on a dog with nice seasoning and chunks of beef brisket throughout. The Arsenal Cheese Curds ( read about the awesome cheese that this dude makes in his basement in Lawrenceville HERE) while a nice treat if eaten by themselves, are very mild and lost in the flavors of the hot dog and chili. All in all though, a pretty good hot dog, yet slightly overpriced for what you are getting.

Hawaii Dog $5.00

  The Hawaii Dog was the favorite of my eating companion while not so much with myself. It comes with a pineapple salsa, bacon, sweet soy , and mint. If there was mint on the dog I couldn't see it or taste it. The sweet soy added a nice sweetness to the dog but I found the dog overall to be just little too salty overall for my taste.

Devil Dog $5.00

   The Devil Dog was just plain strange. It comes topped with potato chips, egg salad, hot sauce, and scallions. The best way to describe this dogs taste is to imagine what would happen if you put your entire plate from a 4th of July picnic into your mouth at once. The chips add a different crunchy texture to the dog, but the egg salad I found to be lacking in flavor.





 So in conclusion the hot dogs and fries at Station Street were decent. It is however quite pricey for what you are getting. If I was in the neighborhood  I might stop by again if I really felt the need for a hot dog, but its definitely not a destination spot. While I applaud the concept and vision of the owners to take the humble hot dog to the next level. In execution I think they come up a little short. Sometimes the best is the most basic. The whole time I was eating these dogs, I could not help but think that they were not any better than a $2.00 chili dog from a local mom and pop hot dog shop.

RATING: 6/10  (Meh)

Isaly's Sold and Bacon Jam

 Isaly's
As you recall I did a review of Isaly's in West View not too long ago (View HERE ). The bad news is that it appears the owners are selling Isaly's. The good news is that appears that only the name will be changing. Due to franchise fees and other BS problems, the new owners will have to change the name. The current owners claim that the new ownership will be keeping the menu and interior the same as it is now. So lets keep are fingers crossed and hope the new ownership doesn't screw up one of the real hidden gems here in the North Hills.


Skillet Street Food Bacon Jam
About a week ago I received a package in the mail from the Skillet street food vendors in Seattle. These guys at Skillet travel around in their air stream food truck, and make some of the best street food in the country. One of their most popular condiments is Bacon Jam, and that is what awaited me inside the package. Now at first I was a little skeptical about this stuff, and not exactly sure what the hell to do with it. But after some research I found out that the guys at Skillet use it mainly as a burger topping. So I put a dollop of the bacon jam on some burgers I was grilling, placed some cheese on top of it, and closed the grill to heat the jam and melt the cheese. Well let me tell you I was blown away by how good this stuff was. The bacon jam had a nice smoky flavor as well as a little sweetness from the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar they use when making the jam. So do yourself a favor and get some of this stuff. It comes in regular which has a great balance of smoky, savory and sweet. As well as a version with black pepper and fennel which gives it a more spicy kick.
Buy your Bacon Jam HERE, and watch the video on how Chef Josh Henderson makes this little piece of piggy heaven.

McKnight Road Burrito Throwdown

 In the stretch of a 1/4 mile on Mcknight Road in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, 3 titans of faux Mexican cuisine compete for your gringo dollar. Well its time for me and my select panel of burrito specialists to find out which of these joints has the best burrito. Like Tina Turner said in Mad Max III Beyond Thunderdome, "3 burritos enter, 1 burrito leaves" (or something like that).

From left to right, Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito, Qdoba Shredded Beef Ancho Chili Burrito, Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito

From left to right, Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito, Qdoba Shredded Beef Ancho Chili Burrito, Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito

  From a size standpoint, the Qdoba burrito was the biggest. Followed closely by the Chipotle burrito, and finally the Taco Bell burrito. The Qdoba and Chipotle burritos are very dense and have to weigh over a pound. 

 As far as prices go, the Qdoba burrito was also the costliest at $8.12. The Chipotle burrito was next at $7.12, and the Taco Bell burrito cost $5.71.

Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito $5.71

 Taco Bell or Toxic Hell as it is know in some circles, is known for dirt cheap food (don't want to call it Mexican food that might start an international incident). This XXL Steak burrito is the Cadillac of the Taco Bell menu, and was put specially on the menu to help Taco Bell compete with higher end restaurants Chipotle and Qdoba..

A  thing that I have noticed at the Taco Bell on McKnight Rd is that you really have no idea what the hell you are going to get after you place your order Sometimes you get what you order, sometimes you don't. The fact that I appeared to actually get a XXL burrito was promising. 

 Taco Bell did not have anything equivalent to Chipotles barbacoa or Qdobas shredded beef, so I settled with the steak. The first thing I noticed when I bit into this burrito was the amount of sauce. Way to much of their Avacodo Sauce and Sour Cream. Funny thing was, when I had this burrito in the past they used real guacamole and the burrito was not near as saucy. The steak was tender to the point of not adding any texture to the burrito, and its flavor was drowned out by the excess of sauce. The burrito itself is grilled which adds nothing besides a slightly crispy outer crust.  Truth be told, this burrito despite the negatives was not all that bad for what it is, a cheap substitute for Chipotle or Qdoba. Hell one of my tasters (soon to be fired) thought it was the best burrito out of the three. 

Chipotle Burrito $7.12

  Chipotle has been my go-to burrito joint for a while now. They make everything in house and use local organic produce, animals raised without hormones and antibiotics, etc. They are big on promoting "Food with integrity". When you order your burrito you have a few choices to make. Steak, chicken, barbacoa (shredded beef), or carnita (shredded pork). I've found the barbacoa to have the best flavor out of the bunch with notes of cumin, garlic, and other Mexican spices.You also choose what type of beans, black or pinto (I usually go pinto). What type of salsa, hot, medium, or mild . Also whether you want cheese and sour cream. Guacamole can be added for $1.80, and is excellent with it also being made fresh daily.

 The Chipotle burrito did not disappoint. Everything tasted fresh. The medium salsa was tomatillo based (green) which gave it a nice tang and heat level. The barbacoa was also moist and flavorful. For those watching their weight you can also get the whole thing in a bowl and eliminate the carb heavy tortilla. Brown rice and fajita veggies are also available.

Qdoba Ancho BBQ Burrito $8.12

 This was actually my first time to Qdoba. The set-up is pretty much the same as Chipotle with you dictating what to put in your burrito. The burrito I ordered was pretty much the same as the one I ordered at Chipotle, but with the addition of Qdoba's Ancho Chili BBQ Sauce. The sauce was pretty tasty,  adding a slight sweetness and smokiness to the burrito. The shredded beef however I did not find nearly as flavorful as Chipotles.  In actuality this and the Chipotle burrito were nearly identical except for for the different sauces. As this was my first visit to Qdoba, I cant really comment on the consistency and quality of their food.

So who is the one burrito to leave victorious from the burrito throwdown? 

 Chipotle wins by a smidgen over Qdoba, and a lot more over Taco Bell.

 The Chipotle burrito tasted slightly fresher and tastier then the Qdoba burrito, and was much better in all aspects than the Taco Bell burrito.

 However I would not hesitate to go to a Qdoba if there was no Chipotle around. Comment and let me know where your favorite burrito is. 

Rating:

Taco Bell XXL Steak Burrito: 5/10

Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito: 8/10

Qdoba Ancho Chilli BBQ Shredded Beef Burrito: 7/10