Breakfast in Pittsburgh!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

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...)

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