Totin's Diner - Wexford

This weekend husband had his Ducati serviced up North in Wexford and how happy were we to discover when we dropped it off on Thursday night a previously undiscovered (to us at least) breakfast spot! So when we drove the 25 minutes from Pittsburgh Saturday we happily stopped by Totin's Diner (right next door to European Motorcycles of Pittsburgh).

There aren't a whole lot of tables in this cute little restaurant (say 15?) and they were all filled with typical Pittsburghers, most of whom were dressed in St. Patty's day green. The menu here is all Pittsburgh, with breakfast items including hot sausage and even pierogies.

Always liking the hot stuff, husband picked the hot sausage omelet, accompanied by potatoe pancakes (that looked an awful lot like mini McD's hash browns) with an English muffin and a pancake on the side. The pancake was big enough to feed both of us! As for me, I was intrigued by the thought of chocolate French toast with a side of bacon.

I think the kitchen must have been a little too busy this-morning. I'm sorry to say that as pretty as they looked, the Chocolate French toast was completely underdone. I mean, soggy as all get-out. Raw. Eww. (Who needed all those extra calories for breakfast anyhow, right?) Luckily that giant pancake was very shareable.

So not sure I'm in a hurry to go back, but next time we have to take the long drive up to the bike shop, it's nice to know we can walk over for a Pittsburgh bite while we wait for service.

Mauramori Cafe - Lawrenceville

Just when we thought we had found all the Saturday Breakfast places in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood, we discovered Mauramori Cafe, just a couple of blocks past the Allegheny Cemetary (still one of my favorite places in Pittsburgh...) It is located in an old building down on Butler Street but is cleaned up very nicely.

Walking in you are immediately drawn to the open airiness and exposed brick walls with over-sized works of art on display. The large patterned tile floors are really well done and have become a source of inspiration for my back sun room!

Maybe it's because I loved the modern-esque decor so much that I had too high expectations for the menu. Sadly it turned out to be not quite as inspired as its surroundings. Not that the food wasn't perfectly tasty, but there was nothing other than the ordinary fare of eggs, toast, etc, etc. When the menu says "A Classic American Cafe" they are definitely keeping it real.

There was a special board and  I did take advantage, going for the fruit stuffed french toast, which did come with whipped cream but minus the promised granola (?) and husband opted for the Greek Omelet that came with potatoes and Texas toast with one pancake on the side.

After breakfast we headed up to take a look at the landslide and subsequent retaining wall being built up on Mt. Washington and took in some views of the city as the muddy flood waters are starting to invade. But these views help remind us every day how much we love this city!