Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Work is taking me to Pittsburgh (technically, Coraopolis) for a couple of weeks. Anyone know a good wine store or resto nearby?
Thanks.
Thanks.
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Suddenly... Pittsburgh.
- Thread starter Jeff Grossman
- Start date
Tom Glasgow
Thomas W Glasgow
With car or without? You will be 30 to 45 minutes from downtown by car where the better restaurants are.
The good news is you can byob most places except tourist trap chains. The wine choices are better in select stores but nothing like you're used to.
More details later.
The good news is you can byob most places except tourist trap chains. The wine choices are better in select stores but nothing like you're used to.
More details later.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
My customer and my hotel are both within a stone's throw of the airport but I will have a car.
Keith Levenberg
Keith Levenberg
Tom Glasgow
Thomas W Glasgow
right, you're best bringing wine; you know like your inventory of Overnoy, etc.
Retail isn't as bad as it was. LDM has made inroads and Kermit and Rosenthal are available. But it's nothing like NYC or NJ for that matter.
BYOB is allowed most places with licensed establishments typically charging $10 to $15 a bottle and non-licensed $3.00 a stem.
Wine lists have horrific selections, but as a consolation prices seem roughly similar to NYC (and nothing like Philadelphia's 4x retail markups).
Restaurants pay the retail PLCB price less some kind of discount roughly equivalent to the sales tax rate. The PLCB also does not deliver so bars/restaurants need to pick up wine/liquor at stores.
At this point my dear friend you may have decided on an alternate strategy: fck it I'll just drink beer. Just don't buy beer at retail, unless you like case minimums.
Retail isn't as bad as it was. LDM has made inroads and Kermit and Rosenthal are available. But it's nothing like NYC or NJ for that matter.
BYOB is allowed most places with licensed establishments typically charging $10 to $15 a bottle and non-licensed $3.00 a stem.
Wine lists have horrific selections, but as a consolation prices seem roughly similar to NYC (and nothing like Philadelphia's 4x retail markups).
Restaurants pay the retail PLCB price less some kind of discount roughly equivalent to the sales tax rate. The PLCB also does not deliver so bars/restaurants need to pick up wine/liquor at stores.
At this point my dear friend you may have decided on an alternate strategy: fck it I'll just drink beer. Just don't buy beer at retail, unless you like case minimums.
Tom Glasgow
Thomas W Glasgow
The best (read disorderly) wine lists in pgh are at Cure (Lawrenceville) and Bar Marco (Strip District). Cure is meat centric (the chef is a former butcher in Santa Cruz, or some place near Cory) and likely my favorite. They recently became licensed and I'm not sure about byob. Bar Marco has a bigger list but a less extensive menu.
Other good choices include Salt (byob is best choice), Spoon (byob is a good choice, but the list is improving with a former DC sommelier now in charge of beverages) and Legume (byob but a few by the bottle selections that might be acceptable).
Eleven and the other restaurants in the Big Burrito chain have good food and allow byob.
(good)Asian food is relatively scarce as far as I know. No Chinatown, No banging Peking Duck, etc. Fukuda is an exception, sushi, etc. and Japanese type offerings with the byob bonus of a $3 a stem charge, ask for the big glasses.
These are all in Pittsburgh proper and 45 minutes away. I'll try to dig up suggestions out by the airport, but this being the Midwest (Lipton flyover country) one can only expect so much.
Other good choices include Salt (byob is best choice), Spoon (byob is a good choice, but the list is improving with a former DC sommelier now in charge of beverages) and Legume (byob but a few by the bottle selections that might be acceptable).
Eleven and the other restaurants in the Big Burrito chain have good food and allow byob.
(good)Asian food is relatively scarce as far as I know. No Chinatown, No banging Peking Duck, etc. Fukuda is an exception, sushi, etc. and Japanese type offerings with the byob bonus of a $3 a stem charge, ask for the big glasses.
These are all in Pittsburgh proper and 45 minutes away. I'll try to dig up suggestions out by the airport, but this being the Midwest (Lipton flyover country) one can only expect so much.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
You are all very generous! Thank you.
My usual plan on these trips is not to worry too much about wine in the restaurants. Sometimes I am not in charge of it, and, anyway, I can settle for something merely workable or drink beer/cider.
What keeps me sane is to have a bottle in the hotel room and sip it over the course of several days.
I avoid checking a bag on these trips -- it just slows me down. But, I do pack a decent stem.
My usual plan on these trips is not to worry too much about wine in the restaurants. Sometimes I am not in charge of it, and, anyway, I can settle for something merely workable or drink beer/cider.
What keeps me sane is to have a bottle in the hotel room and sip it over the course of several days.
I avoid checking a bag on these trips -- it just slows me down. But, I do pack a decent stem.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Thanks to a tip from a well-placed mole inside the Politburo's far-flung spy network, I am sitting in my hotel room in Pittsburgh drinking Foillard 2011 Morgon "Cote du Py". It's gorgeous - pure, zingy, just-so ripeness, a little lifted (not as high as Musar), a little overly glyceral, but very wine-y and satisfying. I will be happy to watch this over the next few days.
The senior person at the wine store recommended a restaurant nearby, Luma, which was calm and served nicely executed (if uninventive) dishes. Good choice for a travel day.
The senior person at the wine store recommended a restaurant nearby, Luma, which was calm and served nicely executed (if uninventive) dishes. Good choice for a travel day.
Cory Cartwright
Cory Cartwright
Cure should be great. Justin was doing great work out here, and by all accounts he's doing better out there. I still miss having him to supply meat out here.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Day 2: The VA note is gone. The complexity is down a bit while the fruity flavors - black cherry and a greater appearance of blackberry -- are more forward. Lengthy finish.
During lunch at Primanti's, the guys from the customer site said that they are losing interest in the Pirates: they've had a losing record for 20 years in a row; the owner spends just enough to buy young talent, and therefore keep the crowds coming, but as soon as the player asks for more money, he's gone. The club is being handled to produce cash flow, not pennants.
originally posted by Brad Kane:
I don't recall you being into baseball, but if you're so inclined, you should get to a Pirates game as it's one of the nicest ballparks out there.
During lunch at Primanti's, the guys from the customer site said that they are losing interest in the Pirates: they've had a losing record for 20 years in a row; the owner spends just enough to buy young talent, and therefore keep the crowds coming, but as soon as the player asks for more money, he's gone. The club is being handled to produce cash flow, not pennants.
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
During lunch at Primanti's, the guys from the customer site said that they are losing interest in the Pirates: they've had a losing record for 20 years in a row; the owner spends just enough to buy young talent, and therefore keep the crowds coming, but as soon as the player asks for more money, he's gone. The club is being handled to produce cash flow, not pennants.
Agreed, which makes it easy to get tickets and the prices are cheap. Really, it's a beautiful stadium with the bridges behind the outfield.
Finally, a team a banker can get behind!originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
The club is being handled to produce cash flow, not pennants.
John Roberts
John Roberts
The team is pretty good right now. Catch a start by Gerrit Cole.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Day 3 is like Day 2.
al ehrhardt
al ehrhardt
I had two good meals last October at Dinette and Piccolo Forno while in Pittsburgh on business. Piccolo Forno also happens to be BYO.
Dinette
5996 Penn Circle South #5
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
412.362.0202
Piccolo Forno
3801 Butler St
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
412.622.0111
Dinette
5996 Penn Circle South #5
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
412.362.0202
Loading…
www.dinette-pgh.com
Piccolo Forno
3801 Butler St
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
412.622.0111
Loading…
www.piccolo-forno.com
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Thanks, Al. I am definitely going to have to get myself into Lawrenceville next week, as it appears to be a hot spot.
Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
Broke bread tonight with locals Tom Glasgow and his wife, Mary Ellen. Our first time jeebusing so wine only took up half the conversation. It's good to spend time on how-de-do.
Here's how we did:
Dom. Pinson 2004 Chablis 1er "Mont-de-Milieu" - pox'ed
Trimbach 2000 Pinot Gris "Reserve Personelle" - a weighty white, pale gold color, lots of texture, lots of ripe yellow fruit, modest acidity, very pleasant and easy to drink
Foillard 2011 Morgon "Cote du Py" - the dregs of the 4-days-open bottle, about the same as on Day 2 but losing acidity, maybe it needed to be colder
Dom. Cavarodes (E. Thiebaud) 2009 Arbois Rouge "Saint Roch" - another high-acid, tweaky Jura red (yum!), plenty of tannin, a note of iodine?, their website says it is a blend of pinot, poulsard, and trousseau that spends 12 months in barrique (presumably, not new ones)
Here's how we did:
Dom. Pinson 2004 Chablis 1er "Mont-de-Milieu" - pox'ed
Trimbach 2000 Pinot Gris "Reserve Personelle" - a weighty white, pale gold color, lots of texture, lots of ripe yellow fruit, modest acidity, very pleasant and easy to drink
Foillard 2011 Morgon "Cote du Py" - the dregs of the 4-days-open bottle, about the same as on Day 2 but losing acidity, maybe it needed to be colder
Dom. Cavarodes (E. Thiebaud) 2009 Arbois Rouge "Saint Roch" - another high-acid, tweaky Jura red (yum!), plenty of tannin, a note of iodine?, their website says it is a blend of pinot, poulsard, and trousseau that spends 12 months in barrique (presumably, not new ones)
David Hauser
David Hauser
...I drove up from Morgantown (WV) last night and went out to Cure. It's a pretty meat-intensive place, but they do a good job. Everything was tasty (the boudin blanc and speck stood out for me).
The wine list is small, but very Disorderly. Edmunds St. John (Gamay), Chermette, La Clarine Farms, and Arnot-Roberts is what I remember, but there were other interesting things.
Well worth a visit, especially if you are partial to that sort of cuisine. And that whole area (Lawrenceville) seems to be a home for similar sorts of things. I asked the owner/chef and staff for some local recommendations, and they pointed me towards Piccolo-Forno (mentioned up-thread) for Italian.
Just adding my $0.02.
The wine list is small, but very Disorderly. Edmunds St. John (Gamay), Chermette, La Clarine Farms, and Arnot-Roberts is what I remember, but there were other interesting things.
Well worth a visit, especially if you are partial to that sort of cuisine. And that whole area (Lawrenceville) seems to be a home for similar sorts of things. I asked the owner/chef and staff for some local recommendations, and they pointed me towards Piccolo-Forno (mentioned up-thread) for Italian.
Just adding my $0.02.