IKEA

We made a bold step earlier this week and removed our TV from our living room. (gasp!) So far, so good, but we found ourselves in need of a coffee table. Pittsburgh is so lucky to have an IKEA, and when I saw they have breakfast, I had to try it out - and what a beautiful Saturday morning - sunny and blue skies!

The restaurant opens at 9:30 (1/2 hour before the rest of the store.) We arrived a little after 10, but experienced absolutely no waiting. The old adage "You get what you pay for" is beyond textbook for what is passed off as food-stuff at breakfast time here. It's almost comical - the regular breakfast platter is $0.99 (scrambled "eggs", potatoes, and a heap of bacon) and the deluxe is $1.99 (all the regular plus "French toast sticks"). I can't make this stuff up. And they're not skimpy portions, either. But really, really inedible.  Note I put "eggs" in quotation marks.  Perhaps a question mark would have been more fitting.  And I'm sorry to say, the French toast sticks were deep fried.  Yikes! The decor of the restaurant is pretty cool, they use all the things they sell to decorate, but I still left hungry.

 

The good news is we found the perfect table. It's black-brown to match the bookcases in the living room, rounded so the boys can run around safely, and not too modern looking to match the rest of the house. So success! 

Will I continue shopping at IKEA? You know it! Will I ever be tempted to eat a $0.99 meal? Not on your life!

1889 Cafe

Once upon a time, before we began our hobby of hunting down places to find Saturday breakfast in Pittsburgh, husband and I spent many evenings seeking out romantic dinner spots. One of our favorites became the 1889 Cafe on Carson Street, right in the heart of Pittsburgh's South Side. So we were really excited to find out that they also served Saturday breakfast!

The back of their menu provides a nice description of the neighborhood:

"Welcome To The South Side"

Stroll down Carson Street - notice our fine old examples 

of Victorian architecture and the many restored 

commercial buildings and homes. Browse through our 

art galleries, antique shops and bookstores.

These days, this area is widely known for its college-crowd night life. But this-morning was a bright, sunshiny Saturday with no signs of the nighttime crowds. The inside of the restaurant is just as historic looking as the outside. 

The booths are cozy and I love the way the glass and half-curtains provide an extra sense of intimacy. The building was built in the year of its namesake (1889) and the dark wood gives the feeling of an old Pittsburgh tavern. There is a bar area, and a flat screen TV kept us up to date with CNN.  

The breakfast menu is rather simple, but this place really is about the atmosphere so it certainly wasn't a drawback. Lots of omelet selections, (including a "pizza" made with pepperoni & mozzarella, which is new to me!) I chose the Texas French toast, and husband went for the greek omelet (with a pancake on the side.) I had to ask the difference between the regular French toast and the "Texas". I was told that the Texas is made with thicker bread (though what I received didn't seem too over-sized.)

The place wasn't very busy, so we got lots of personal attention and conversation from our waitress. And the restaurant owner was there and caught me snapping pictures. We confessed that we were doing this breakfast blog, and we had a great discussion about being a restaurant owner and how business has changed with the economy recently.

I'm so glad we found them to be open on a Saturday morning. And I can't wait to return for a visit for another romantic evening. They have the most amazing artichoke casserole... perhaps I can convince husband to take me here for dinner some night this week??  (hint, hint...)

First Watch

Today's Breakfast in Pittsburgh took us to FirstWatch, part of the new shopping center at Settlers Ridge going out towards the airport.  Normally I look forward to seeking out the old, local hang-outs during our Saturday treks, but it was actually refreshing to eat at a new, clean establishment after last week's misadventure.

Apparently, FirstWatch is a national chain of breakfast/lunch restaurants, specializing in "fresh and friendly" breakfast all day dishes.  They did not disappoint! The food was very enjoyable, and I'm not sure how they pulled it off, but they found the most cheerful people in the entire Pittsburgh area to work as servers.

The menu is very cleverly written and the daily specials written on a giant chalk board on the wall in full color. The portion sizes are extra large and very filling. I chose the breakfast casserole consisting of fluffy eggs, ham,  spinach and a hollandaise sauce on top of a very light croissant, and husband ordered the special which was something south-of-the-borderish, with eggs, black beans, guacamole and a little tomato in flour tortillas. Oh, and the obligatory extra pancake. Both came with little servings of fresh fruit, which were delicious.

If you're not a morning person, be warned. The staff here is really, really friendly and will go out of their way to try to put a smile on your face! The menu also directed you to their website to find out information on franchising. I think if ever I was motivated to open a restaurant, this might be a fun start. There is a great menu and obviously a great work ethic. Good times!

Barb's Corner Kitchen

Having a breakfast task like our Saturday adventures can be compared to a Forest Gump's box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.  So I guess taking the good with the bad is part of the fun (??)  So it is with Barb's Corner Kitchen (& Back Room Pub and Grill) in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood.

(picture snapped from the front of the menu, as this artist's rendition is much prettier than real life. Maybe it's because we aren't "Good Friends" as the by-line states, or maybe I'm just reading too much into things...)


The restaurant seems to be composed of two parts, with the kitchen area on the left entrance, and the pub & grill closed off in the morning.  Nearly all of the tables were filled while we were there, and service was quite quick.  But the place itself was quite run down and not very pretty.

The menu is typical breakfast with lots of eggs, hash browns and pork products. We both ordered off the section of the menu claiming to be the "famous" everyday breakfast specials.  Not sure what made them famous, but I chose the Southern Style, and husband the Bigman's Farm Style.

I guess it's been a while since I lived in the South, so I shouldn't have been so surprised when not only were the biscuits covered with gravy, but so were the eggs & potatoes - Yikes! And they must have been running low on sausage links, because instead of 2 of them and 2 bacon, it was 1 and 3.  The pancakes weren't too bad, and the bread was quite good, if not a little too saturated in what we are supposed to believe is butter.

So the food wasn't the best, and neither was the general atmosphere.  But the help was very friendly.

The best part about Barb's is it is directly across the street from the Allegheny Cemetery. It was a rainy, dreary day which seemed perfect for a drive through the 300 acres of this hauntingly beautiful place which has been around since the mid 1800's. Signs as we were driving in advertised guided tours available which sounds really intriguing. Definitely the best part of today's adventure!

Luckily Pittsburgh is filled with historic and interesting spots like this to visit, so whenever we come across a not-so-awesome Saturday breakfast spot, there's always the next piece of chocolate in the box.