Barb's Country Junction

Today's Saturday breakfast in Pittsburgh was an adventure in cardinal directions. We headed for Oakdale today for a restaurant I heard about, and as we were driving out the Parkway West, I realized it was Oakmont we were looking for.  We should have been headed East! Oops. So we jumped off the nearest exit which happened to be Carnegie. And lo and behold, we stumbled upon Barb's Country Junction. (Oakmont will have to wait for another Saturday...)

At first glance, from afar we guessed it might be a craft or antique store. It is a stand-alone barn-style building that almost looks out of place in the city. Our stomachs were happy to find instead a little breakfast mecca. The inside is not too big, with several booths, a big family-style table, and little counter seats that face the kitchen where Barb herself does all the cooking.

The menu wasn't large or overly creative, but was filled with home-cooked diner favorites. Always on the lookout for something a little different, husband picked the cheeseburger omelet (yes, a greasy diner burger and onions folded inside eggs) with home fries, toast and a pancake, and I picked the walnut pancakes with bacon. Lots of food for a very little price! The pancakes were quite solid. Tasty, but I wouldn't call them "light".

I was really sad to find an article online saying Barb is thinking about selling her cute little restaurant as a result of the downturned economy. Such a shame for small business these days. We feel really fortunate to have found it when we did!

Double Wide Grill

We were up bright and early this beautiful Saturday to save a place in line at nearby REI's garage sale. We finished up around 10:30, just in time for a late breakfast (or "brunch") at the Double Wide Grill in Pittsburgh's South Side. We've always wanted to try this place, but since they aren't officially a breakfast place, they don't open until later than we are usually willing to eat. (10am-2pm are scheduled brunch-hours.) But timing is everything, and we were happy to check out this unique establishment, which turned out to be a welcome change from our ordinary Saturday Breakfast in Pittsburgh.

And if it looks to you like it's an old gas station, you have good eyes! Indeed this corner lot has been converted to a restaurant/bar and has intentionally retained as much of the service station feel as possible. There's even an old truck suspended from the ceiling above the bar. Oh yeah, it is also a bar. But really, how many restaurants on the South Side aren't doubling as bars these days?

It was thankfully a little too early for bar-hopping this Saturday morning, so we stuck to the brunch menu, focusing of course on the breakfasty parts. Interestingly there are many vegetarian and vegan choices on their menu. Husband (I presume unintentionally) picked one of them, which was the Huevos Rancheros (three scrambled eggs, seasoned black beans, grilled peppers & onions atop two corn tortillas with melted jack cheese, cilantro and a spicy chipotle tomato sauce, served with home fries) and one lonely pancake on the side. I was tempted to try the cream cheese Stuffed French Toast, but ended up ordering the Double Wide Benedict (two fried eggs, crispy smoked bacon and spinach on top of house made corn bread, finished with a sweet corn, green chile hollandaise sauce) - mainly because I wanted to try the corn bread. Food was pretty good - and a welcome change from our typical Saturday adventures.

All in all a unique experience. Very interesting atmosphere with all the vintage service station decor.

Ritter's Diner

I love Ritter's Diner! Located near Shadyside hospital on Baum Boulevard in the Oakland/Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, this diner is a total classic. Some might say it's old and run down, but I think that's part of the fun. Open 24 hours a day, it for some reason reminds me of what an all-night diner in a real big city would be like. Busy all the time, with seasoned waitresses barking orders at the short order cooks.

The dining room is broken out into several areas. A small one to the left of the entrance, a long galley with booths and counter seating, and a back room with big round tables to accommodate larger groups. Some of the bigger booths have these awesome individual mini-juke boxes that for a few quarters let you pick songs from classic albums. Sadly we were seated at a two person booth on this crowded Saturday morning, so we didn't get to annoy the customers next to us (this time).

As implied by the unsightly ATM machine in the middle of the floor, Ritters is "Cash Only". The breakfast menu is what you would expect to find in a diner like this - Lots of egg dishes, and plenty of griddle fixings. My favorite is the onion omelet which comes with fried potatoes & toast. Husband picked a "New Breakfast Item" called the "Birmingham Omelet" which was a mix of kale, black eyed peas, ham and onions (also served with carbs on the side). Oh, and one lonely pancake.

Everything was great, and served pretty quickly. This is a great place to people watch, too. Always a very diverse set of customers, and I counted no less than 8 waitresses running around. A definite Pittsburgh icon.

Gab & Eat

Another sizzling hot summer Saturday in Pittsburgh. After taking the puppies for their morning walk to the park, we headed for breakfast at Gab & Eat in the Carnegie neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It's in a tiny, old little strip mall but boy was it busy! Not everywhere we visit for Saturday breakfast has a line outside the door, but we were treated to one today about 6 tables deep. Usually a good sign that the food is worth it the wait!

The restaurant is just as small on the inside, but they have found a way to stuff as many tables and seats into the space as they can. The lighting is all a dingy fluorescent, but the walls are covered with collages of customers enjoying themselves sitting right in the very booths we were waiting in line for. And of course lots of Steelers and Pens support in this Pittsburgh establishment.

We had been here several years ago - back in the days before Allegheny county went non-smoking. Thankfully the air was much clearer this time, but surprisingly there was no air conditioning. And since the grill is right there in the dining area across from the counter seating, combined with so many people, it was pretty warm.  Not sure if the a/c was broken, but I didn't have the heart to bring it up to our poor waitress who had to suffer all day in the heat.

Everyone who worked here was always seen hustling around and doing their best to keep everyone happy. The menu was typical greasy-spoon fare, with griddle food galore. I had 2 French toast made with thick Italian toast, with a side of bacon, and Husband chose the "mixed grill" which was scrambled-up eggs, hot sausage, onions, peppers & potatoes. Oh, and don't forget 1 pancake on the side!

The food was not very quick in arriving at the table (not a surprise given the number of people seated). Everything was very tasty, but Heavy on the tummy. My bacon was a little over cooked for my taste, but there was plenty of it. The French toast was definitely more fried than toasted, making it a bit crispier than what is typical - yummy but definitely not healthy! 

All in all, this is definitely a place that locals love. Not only are the walls filled with snapshots of Gab & Eat's "regulars" but they are also filled with the "I was here" graffiti that is evidently encouraged by the owner. Definitely gives it the small-town feel, that is nice to see in a big city. But that's one of the best parts of Pittsburgh - it's really just a combination of neighborhoods with strong feelings of community. That's one of the reasons we love it!