Frisch's - Caste Village

Caste Village Shopping Center
Baptist and Grove Roads
412-881-6555

One thing I've learned from my "career" as a pizza blogger, is that you can find decent pizza in places where you would never expect it.

We have long been fans of Frisch's awesome chicken and have served it at many family gatherings, but never tried their pizza.  Actually, I didn't even know they made pizza until I took a close look at their menu.  Frisch's was packed after Sunday's Steelers game, so other people had the same idea.

It turned out to be very good.  The crust was thick with crisp edges, and tasted homemade.  The sauce was mild and slightly chunky - all in all, very enjoyable.  The cheese was very thick, very gooey, and tasted fresh.  If you like loads of cheese, you'll definitely like this pizza! 

The only downside was, to me, the cheese - I had asked for "easy on the cheese" because of my ongoing attempt to control my cholesterol, but it came loaded with about a 1/2" thick layer of cheese.  I just pulled it off.  Oh well!

Frisch's has a very extensive menu and I've enjoyed any item of theirs that I have ever tried.  Menu items include fresh soups, many sandwiches, salads - by the pound or prepared, pizza, pizza calzones, wedgies, seafood (fish, shrimp, scallops, and tuna melt), side orders, broasted chicken (again ... awesome!), wings, and desserts.  They also offer value meals, which include buckets and barrels of chicken and a hoagie/pizza combination, and a kid's menu. 

Frisch's also has a large catering menu that includes hoagies and sandwich rings, party trays, homemade pastas, ribs salads, and chicken among many other items ... the perfect thing for a busy Holiday season.

E. M. Pizzeria - Brentwood

4140 Saw Mill Run Blvd. (Rt. 51)
Brentwood
412-884-3034

This review is a testament to the fact that advertising does work!  We must have driven by the E. M. Pizzeria thousands of times but never really noticed it.  This past week, we found a menu tucked into our copy of the either the South Hills Record or the Pennysaver ... and it looked pretty good!  We tried it last night and are glad we did.

The pizza had a very tasty thick and chewy hand tossed crust.  The fresh sauce was thick and flecked with herbs, and the pizza was just the way we like it - extra sauce and light cheese.  (We asked for light cheese on our pizza which is why it looks thin in the photo.)  I read another review that said the sauce is bland - that is not at all how we feel!  We liked the sauce very much, and although it is mild, it is also very flavorful.

E.M. Pizzeria has a very extensive menu with many varieties and combinations of pizza, salads, calzones, wedgies, pasta, specialty pasta, oven-baked hoagies, gourmet hoagies, gyros, wings, appretizers and desserts!  We love the sound of the Chicken Spinach Gourmet Hoagie, the Gyro Hoagie and the Chicken Ranchero sounds awesome - chicken breast, ranch sauce, french fries and provolone.  I can imagine myself stopping back very soon for a yummy Chicken Gyro Platter, Greek Pizza or a Tuscan Chicken Pizza (grilled chicken, tomato sauce, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and mozzarella). 

We'll be back!

Giovanni's Pizza - Dormont

3047 West Liberty Avenue

Dormont, PA  15216

412-344-6622

Giovanni's makes an awesome crust - I have to say that it is one of the best crusts I have had in Pittsburgh - tender and flaky, thin yet sturdy, and very flavorful.    We ordered an 8-cut pizza with extra sauce, light cheese, and mushrooms on half.  The sauce is a little sweet for my personal taste, but my co-taster loved it.  I think if I had ordered the regular amount of sauce rather than double sauce, it would have been perfect for me.  (I can't help it - I love pizza sauce.)  The mushrooms were fresh and plentiful, and I enjoyed them - I wished I had also ordered banana pepper rings as a topping, but that I'll try that next time.

We also ordered mozzarella sticks, which were also wonderful - perfectly fried and just the right amount of spice in the coating.  The sauce that came with the sticks was not the same sauce as on the pizza - it was very good marinara sauce.

Although we ordered our pizza to go, Giovanni's has plenty of seating if you'd like your meal fresh from the oven.   In addition to the traditional pizza that we ordered, Giovanni's has 19 gourmet pizzas on their menu - the most unusual gourmet pizza is the new "Crab Trap" - it is topped with shrimp, scallops, crabmeat and spinach in a homemade lobster sauce and sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning.  All of Giovanni's pizzas and bread twists are also available for Take-N-Bake.

Giovanni's has plenty more options if you don't feel like pizza - 14 Appetizers, 7 Bread Twists, Jumbo Buffalo Wings with your choose of sauces, Soups and Salad, Gyros, Wedgies and Calzones, Hoagies and Wraps, Pasta dishesm, and 24 House Specialties.  Wow!  The newest House Specialties are Pasta Picasso, Penne ala Vodka with Chicken, Pasta Primavera and Lasagna.  Some of the entrees are even available gluten free - Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Spinach, Mediterranean Pasta, Italian Dinner, and Baked Ziti. 

And, if that's not enough, Giovanni's offers five desserts - Homemade Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Cannoli, Sweet Twists, and Homemade Doughnut Puffs that are dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar and served with a chocolate dipping sauce.

Blue Grotto Pizza - South Side

1610 East Carson Street
412-904-3277

I have never seen such an enormous pizza!  At 20" square, it was even difficult to get me and the box through the front door at the same time.   For reference, that's a dinner plate in the photo - the slice is so big that it looks like a saucer!

The Blue Grotto is one of the two pizzas I had lined up to try in April - the other is Fratello's in Peters Township.  We've had a hard time getting to Fratello's - the first time we tried, a huge thunderstorm blew up, and this time the car transmission seemed to be acting up (it turned out to be okay) so we decided to stick a little closer to home and headed for the Blue Grotto.

I love the name - Blue Grotto Pizza is named, I am sure, for the beautiful sea cave in Capri.  Before I even tried the pizza, the name appealed to me, as does their motto:  "Peace Love and Pizza".  (As I also love "Peace Love and Little Doughnuts" in the Strip, makers of the world's best doughnuts.) 

The Blue Grotto menu is very limited, but what reason really is there to have more menu options?  They make five types of pizza:  Neapolitan, Margherita, Bianca, Sicilian and Marinara.  Each is available by the slice or whole pie.  They also have Pizza Rolls, Sandwiches (Italiano, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Prosciutto, Cheeseteak, Meatball or Eggplant Parmesan), homemade soup, salad, and beverages. 

We ordered a Neapolitan pizza, with no additional toppings.  The sauce is very sweet and tasty, with bursts of oregano flavor.  We usually ask for extra sauce - we didn't this time, but wish we had.  The crust was thicker than I expected, and very chewy, with a pleasantly charred bottom and a very bready rim.   I'm not sure if it's in our "Top Ten" favorites, but we did enjoy the Blue Grotto pizza ... and will continue to enjoy it for a few days, as there are plenty of leftovers.

If we had a Top Ten list for salads, though, the Blue Grotto salad will be at Number One.  I ordered a small, which was surprisingly normal size - I say "surprisingly", because the pizza was so much bigger than I expected that it seems like everything would be supersized.  The salad was a step up from any other take out salad I've had, and was full of mixed greens, toasted sunflower seeds, chick peas, carrot, olives and crumbled blue cheese - close to my idea of a perfect salad. 

Next time we go to the Blue Grotto, I'd like to try some of their other pizzas, and will add a topping or two.  But next time, I'll definitely order a single slice!

Beto's Pizza, Banksville Road

1473 Banksville Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
(412) 561-0121

Sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time, and today we were lucky enough to be at Ron's store when his father came by with a tray of pizza from Beto's and gave us a slice.  I've heard a lot about Beto's and know that it's a "love it or hate it" kind of pizza. 

First of all, if you don't know about Beto's, they have an unusual way of preparing the pizza.  They bake the crust with sauce, then add the toppings - they are extremely generous with the toppings - after the pizza comes out of the oven.  That method results in cheese that is half melted.

We loved Beto's pizza sauce.  It was fresh and chunky and had excellent flavor.  The crust was crunchy and flavorful.  The mound of half-melted cheese was quite tasty and very fresh, and it's an unusual idea and combination of textures.  Overall, the flavor brought back happy memories of a favorite pizza from my childhood.  The only downside to me was that it was way too much cheese for my personal taste and my current cholesterol level, so it would have to be a very special and only occasional treat.

Beto's does have a large menu that includes sandwiches and some interesting menu items.  Sharon especially likes their hoagies and recommends them.  One small taste of their pizza was not enough, so we definitely plan to pay Beto's a visit in person.

California Pizza Kitchen is coming to Pittsburgh!

Yesterday's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that there is going to be a California Pizza Kitchen restaurant inside the Ross Park Mall - the first location in Western Pennsylvania.  

Although our perennial favorite is a classic Margherita, I'm looking forward to trying some of their innovative and unusual pizzas - Pear & Gorgonzola,  Vegetarian with Japanese Eggplant, and Goat Cheese with Roasted Peppers are just a few that caught my eye.  California Pizza Kitchen pizzas are all available with a honey-wheat with whole grain crust, too.  We loved the CPK frozen pizza that we tried, so it will be fun to try to the real deal!

In Memoriam - Vincent Chianese, Vincent's Pizza Park, Forest Hills

5/18/2012 - What a shock today to hear that Vincent's has closed!  What a shame.



I was saddened to hear about the death of a Pittsburgh pizza icon - the famous Vincent Chianese, of Vincent's Pizza Park in Forest Hills.   According to the obituary in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Mr. Chianese passed away Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the age of 85.  KDKA's obituary includes a video and photo of Vincent.   A tribute is planned for Sunday, March 14 at Vincent's Pizza Park, 998 Ardmore Blvd., Forest Hills from 5 to 9 p.m.


I grew up in Forest Hills and Vincent's pizzas were legendary.  When I was older, I was surprised - and proud - that our local "Vinnie Pies" were known and shipped all over the country.  Thanks, Vincent, for lots of good food, great stories and for putting our hometown on the map!

Luigi's Pizzeria & Ristorante - Bellevue, PA

531 Lincoln Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA  15202
(412) 734-0980

Hats off to Chef Jim at Luigi's for making a great pizza pie!

We dropped off donations today at our favorite charity thrift shop - Family Heirlooms in Bellevue - and asked for suggestions for local pizzerias.   After some discussion, we settled on Luigi's and were glad we did ... it was outstanding!

Luigi's has been in business for 34 years, and when you taste their pizza you can understand why.  Luigi's pizza rocks with flavor!  The hand tossed Neapolitan style crust had excellent flavor and was just right - a crisp, snappy exterior with the perfect amount of chewiness on the interior.  The tomato sauce had a wonderful fresh tomato flavor, with just hints of garlic and spice - it was refreshing to find a sauce that wasn't heavily overloaded with the spices.   What's even better was that the pizza was not at all greasy and there was no grease residue on the box.
We also tried the Provolone Sticks and they were also very good, with a coating that tasted fresh and not pre-packaged.  They were accompanied by a generous take out cup of a very good marinara sauce. 

The extensive menu includes quite a few menu items that you don't normally find in a pizzeria - like the Mussels a la Luigi listed in the Appetizers section.  (Not to mention breaded cauliflower - you don't find that everywhere, either).   One of the Sides offered is "Sunny Slaw", "A unique blend of slaw, sunflower seeds, and noodles in a tangy sauce."  Also unique is the Spaghetti a la Luigi - which has a tomato sauce containing raisins, pine nuts and black olives.   I was very interested in the Desserts - Cannoli, Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Apple Pie a la Mode, Pecan Ball, and Cinnamon Dippers with Ice Cream.  Wow!!!

Hours are Monday - Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.    We ordered our pizza and provolone sticks to go, but Luigi's does have a small restaurant area.  It has a nice family atmosphere with old world style and plenty of room to move.  The next time we're in the area we plan to sit down, relax and enjoy some of their other offerings.

And ... Luigi's is a new addition to our top Pittsburgh favorites!

Pizza Hut - Townesquare Way, Brentwood, PA

70 Townesquare Way
Pittsburgh PA 15227
Phone: (412) 885-4404

A flyer appeared in the mail this week from Pizza Hut advertising an online deal - any size pizza, any number of toppings, any style crust (well, almost any) for $10 - that sounded like a deal worth trying!  An even better deal is the extra 20% you can save with your first online order, using the coupon code "IG".  We ordered a hand tossed traditional crust pizza with sliced banana peppers on half and an order of cheese sticks. 

The crust was very bready, with a cardboard-like bottom layer; it was loaded with a red pizza sauce and a decent amount of cheese.  We were glad to have ordered the banana peppers as a topping - they added a welcome zing.  The bright spot was the "Wing Street Fried Cheese Sticks" which we enjoyed - they were small and manageable, and the side of marinara dipping sauce was tasty.

In the long ago past, we used to order a Mexican or Taco pizza from Pizza Hut.  If I do go back again, I think I'll try their Fiesta Taco specialty pizza - beans, cheese, choice of beef or chicken, tomatoes, and onions with a side of Tostito's salsa..

Carol of Casey's Pizza, Penn Hills, PA

Penn Hills Shopping Center

Pittsburgh, PA  15235

412-242-0650

It had been a long time since I had eaten a pizza from Carol of Casey's and I never tried their Sicilian pizza.  After shoveling snow and heading out to do errands that took me to the Penn Hills Shopping Center, I thought I would treat myself to a slice. 

I'm glad I did!  The small restaurant has four picnic style tables for customers who would like to eat there, and it was busy even though it was a little late for the lunch hour.  I was greeted warmly by a very pleasant young woman, who was equally pleasant while answering the phone and talking to other customers.  The snow started to get heavier, so she packed my slice to go and I was on my way.

It was still warm by the time I got home and it smelled wonderful.  The sturdy crust on the Sicilian pizza slice was about 1/2" thick, with crisp edges and a light interior.  The homemade sauce was rich and delicious, and had small  chunks of tomato and even a few tomato seeds.  The pizza was topped with a generous layer of fresh cheese that was melted to perfection.

Carol of Casey's has an extensive menu which includes fun foods - like wings, fries, jalapeno rolls, fried mushroom and provolone, chicken tenders and more, hot pocket Wedges, red or white pizza, calzones and strombolis, salads, pasta dinners, focaccia sandwiches, gyros and wraps and a long list of oven baked hoagies.  They just added a fish hoagie to the menu, which I bet will be popular during Lent.  Carol of Casey's offers 15 types of specialty pizzas, the newest of which is Roasted Red Pepper & Chicken, which sounds great - I think I'll stop back again and try it!

Ephesus Pizza - Downtown Pittsburgh

Ephesus Pizza
322 4th Avenue
Pittsburgh (Downtown)
412-522-9020

We recently saw a television ad for Ephesus Pizza and it looked so good, we thought we would try it.  So I guess their advertising works!

Ephesus sells four sizes of pizza:  Personal (6"), Small (10"), Large (14") and X-Large (16').  We ordered a small and wished we had gone up a size to the large - it just wasn't big enough for us!

The crust and sauce are made fresh daily and the dough is hand tossed.  The crust was thick, with a nice chewiness.  The sauce was deep red, and think, with a good tomato flavor and occasional chunks of tomato.  The cheese was perfectly melted with a slight crust and was very flavorful.

We're not sure that Ephesus will be one of our new "top favorites", but it was very tasty and we did enjoy it.  Since they are a combination of pizzaria and Mediterranean restaurant, they have some very unusual menu items that we plan to go back and try another time.  The Turkish Pizza, or "Pide", sounds especially good.  Pide come in ten varieties and according to the menu are served with a spring mix, fresh onions and lemons.

Foli's Place - Braddock Hills, PA

Foli's Place
1050 Brinton Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
(412) 241-8840

Foli's is a popular local favorite, tucked away in a tiny strip mall near where Braddock Hills, Forest Hills, Edgewood and Wilkinsburg meet. It had been way too long since we'd eaten there, so decided to head over the hill and pick up a pizza!

We weren't disappointed. We ordered a small, which was a 12" 6-cut traditional Pittsburgh-style pizza. The crust was very good, with a light and airy interior and nice chewiness, and a crisp exterior. The chunky tomato sauce had a freshly made flavor, and it had a good proportion of sauce to cheese.

We also ordered a side of cheese sticks - they were perfectly fried, and had just the right amount of spice for our taste. The accompanying sauce was delicious.

Everyone we talked to in Foli's was very friendly and welcoming, from the nice woman who answered the phone, to the restaurant staff and the fellow customers. I have to admit I forgot to pick up a take out menu and am not sure what else Foli's has to offer. The pizza was so tasty, that I would expect nothing but good things from their other menu items!

Donte's Pizzaria - South Park, PA

We found a comment the other day on our Fiori's Pizza review suggesting we try Donte's Pizzaria and thought, "why not"! We often take our dog to South Park and have passed Donte's a zillion times. To be honest, we never even noticed it, and were happy for the suggestion. We found Donte's in a little strip mall near the Brownsville Road entrance to the park.

Our first impression was that Donte's smells great! The wonderful aroma coming from the little restaurant was inviting, and the atmosphere was clean, bright and welcoming. The staff was very friendly, too, both on the phone when we ordered and in person. There are about 10-15 tables inside and two video games to keep you or the kids occupied while you wait.

We ordered a traditional, Pittsburgh style, pizza and enjoyed it very much. The dough is made fresh daily, as is the sauce, and the pizza crust is hand tossed to order. The result was a charmingly uneven crust with a light, airy interior and crisp edges. The bright, fresh red sauce was slightly sweet and dusted with Italian spices.

We like that Donte's offers slices for those days when we are hungry from a hike in the park and need something good in a hurry!

Would we go back again? Yes, we would. We think that it's not in our top favorites, but it was good ... and it's the perfect spot for an after park snack and we're happy to have found it.

Pasta Too Family Italian Restaurant - Bethel Park, PA

5260 Library Road
Bethel Park, PA
412-831-3400

Last Christmas, Sharon and John gave us a gift certificate for dinner at Pasta Too. We really appreciated it, but the time was just never right to use it - either we were in the area, but didn't have the coupon with us, or we had the coupon, but it was a weird time for dinner ... you know what I mean.

Last night all the stars aligned and it was perfect timing to use our Christmas gift. We called in for take out and ordered a feast to eat while watching Monday Night Football - pizza, wedding soup, Italian salad and provolone sticks.

The Pasta Too offers two styles of pizza - Napolitano (thin crust) or Siciliano (thick crust). We ordered the Napolitano with extra sauce and light cheese. The sauce was deep red and loaded with Italian herbs and spices, and we liked the thin, foldable crust.

The "provolone stick expert" said they were very good, and my "small" salad was HUGE and included lots of goodies, including my favorite - artichoke hearts. We enjoyed the wedding soup, which was full of veggies and shredded chicken along with the tiny meatballs.

The restaurant has a full Italian style menu, serves generous portions, and is very popular - the restaurant was full on a Monday night! On another visit I think we'll try the Chicken or Eggplant Parmigiana - they both looked wonderful.

Thank you, Sharon and John!!!!

Grand View Buffet at the Rivers Casino - November Update - Champagne Brunch!

Wow! The Rivers Casino has added a Sunday Champagne Brunch to their Grand View Buffet - and it sounds fantastic!

• Complimentary Mimosas, Bloody Marys and Champagne
• Beef Strip Loin, Turkey Breast and Ham at the carving station
• an Omelet station
• Flambe station
• and Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Foster for dessert!

The Champagne Brunch is available Sundays from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. And here's the best part - it's only $19.95 per person.

Spartan Pizza - Brentwood

3600 Brownsville Road

Pittsburgh, PA 15227

412-886-9430

Spartan Pizza makes an outstanding crust. It was thin and almost cracker like; it held its shape, yet could be easily folded and the flavor was near perfection. We decided that it was the best crust that we have tasted to date on our Pizza Tour de Pittsburgh. The crust was topped with a thin layer of a tasty red tomato sauce, and a bubbling mixture of freshly grated cheese - half Provolone and half Mozzarella.

It was a chilly day, so we also ordered a cup of Spartan's Italian Wedding Soup to help warm us up. The soups at Spartan Pizza are homemade by a retired chef. The Wedding Soup was very good and also unusual in that it was made with beef broth rather than chicken broth, which gave it a very rich flavor. It was loaded with thick chunks of fresh carrot and dotted with spinach and acini de pepi, as well as tiny and tasty meatballs. The Wedding Soup is available seasonally - and I'm glad it is Wedding Soup season, because I'd like to go back soon for a larger container!

Spartan's pizzas are available in four sizes ranging from Small (12" 6 cut $7) to Xtra Large (18" 16 cuts $11). They also offer small or large Pizza Boats and I was happy to see that their pizza is available by the slice, at $1.25 per slice. They also offer four specialty pizzas: White Pizza, Spinach & Feta (the Spartan's Special), Grilled Chicken Pizza (with a white pizza base) and BBQ Chicken, which uses BBQ sauce instead of a red pizza sauce.

They also serve Wedgies, which are fresh dough stuffed with meats, cheese and veggies and garnished with lettuce, tomato, onion and dressing. You can choose Italian, Deli, Philly Cheese, Turkey Bacon, or Vegetarian. Their Calzones also sound very good and are available in Italian, Philly Cheese Steak, Meatball, Spinach, Mushroom, Pepperoni or Chicken.

Spartan says that their best seller is their Steak Sub - the Steak Sub is available in either half or whole, with the lowest priced Steak Sub the regular ($4.75 half/$8.75 whole) and the most expensive the Philly Cheese Steak ($5.75 half/$10.25 whole). Other varieties include Cheese Steak, Mushroom Cheese Steak, Steak & Egg, Steak & Peppers, Italian Steak, and Bacon Cheese Steak. The Steak Subs are served on a fresh Italian roll from Mancini's Bakery.

They also serve six types of burgers, the most unusual of which are a Cajun Burger and an Italian burger, which includes Pepperoni. Their sandwiches are also served on a fresh Mancini's Italian Roll, or Kaiser Roll. You have 17 sandwich choices, a comforting BLT or Grilled Cheese, or a hearty Hot Sauce or Chicken Parmesan sandwich. Spartan also makes wraps, croissant sandwiches and pita sandwiches, including gyros.

Some of the 13 sides on the menu are fried provolone, mushrooms or zucchini, Cheddar Cheese poppers, and Hot Buffalo Chicken Fingers. They also make buckets and baskets of Buffalo Party Wings, and four pasta dinners (sauce with meatball, meat sauce, hot sausage casserole, chicken parmigiana), served with a salad and garlic toast - available for a dinner special from 4-8 pm for $6 plus tax. If you're in the mood for something lighter, there are seven salads on the menu.

Spartan Pizza is located near Brentwood High School, on the opposite side of the street. It is, in fact, named after the Brentwood High School mascot, the Spartan! We were there on a weekend, but I am willing to bet that Spartan Pizza is very popular with the students after school - and they are lucky to have such a wonderful pizza parlor so close to their school.

Michael's Pizza Bar and Restaurant - South Side

2612 Sarah Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15203
(412) 381-6102


Michael's Pizza Bar is a bar and restaurant on Sarah Street, one block removed from the traffic of East Carson Street, on a corner between S. 26th and S. 27th Streets.

The pizza we ordered was a large traditional Pittsburgh style with extra sauce and light cheese. The traditional crust was chewy and bread like. We enjoyed the sauce, which was thick, flavorful, and slightly spicy with small flecks of oregano. Michael's was very generous with the cheese, even after we had asked for light cheese - so if you like lots of cheese on your pizza, you will love Michael's!

We also tried an order of Provolone Sticks with a small container of their excellent sauce for dipping - the cheese sticks were cooked perfectly and had a nice flavor.

Unfortunately, we forgot to pick up a menu and to ask pertinent questions about sauce, crust and preparation. It was half time and we were hurrying to get back before the 3rd quarter started and simply forgot.

This week's celebrity pizza taster, Dave, posed several interesting questions that we all considered while we ate: If we changed the amount of amount of cheese on the pizza, would the texture of the crust also change since the required cooking time might be different? What type of oven do they use to cook the pizza? What type of cheese do they use? Why did Jeff Reid miss not one, but two, field goals in Chicago? All good questions.

We will have to go back to Michael's and see what we can find out. I think next time we will sit down in the very pleasant restaurant area and enjoy the pizza, fresh from the oven.

P.S. The 50% off coupon in the Enjoy book made this pizza a real bargain, too!

West End Cafe at the Rivers Casino - Pittsburgh

On our second visit to the Rivers Casino, we couldn't even get close to the very popular Grand View Buffet! The line went way beyond the ropes, and the wait was rumored to be close to an hour. Wow! We decided to instead try another one of the five restaurants at the Rivers Casino.

This time we chose the West End Cafe, a very casual restaurant that lured us in with the enticing aroma of freshly cooked wings. The West End Cafe is a fast food style restaurant, with a walk up counter for ordering surrounded by booths and tables.

The West End Cafe offers six varieties of 10" Personal Pizzas - Pepperoni, Sausage, Quattro Formaggio, Supreme (mozzarella, sausage, pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms, peppers and onions), Great White (olive oil, garlic, mozzarella, black pepper, oregano, broccoli), and Farmers Market (tomato, olive oil, grilled vegetables, mozzarella). They also have "Uncle Ed's Stromboli", which is stuffed with mozzarella, provolone, mortadella, salami, capicola, roasted red peppers and fresh basil. The pizzas were all generously topped and had lots of cheese.

We split a "Mighty Monongahela", which is a meatball hoagie, with marinara sauce and mozzarella. The meatballs were fresh and juicy, and the overall, the sandwich pretty darn good. The West End Cafe offers 4 other varieties of grinders - Duquesne (basically an Italian hoagie), West Ender (sausage), Steel City Steak & Cheese, and a Foundry Dog (available with chili, cheese or sauerkraut).

We also had their very good Wedding Soup and an order of fresh sliced fruit for dessert - and it was very fresh and delicious.

They make six types of Grilled Tostinos Sandwiches, served on Italian bread, and they sound very good. The Milanese sounded particularly good to me - buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, roasted red peppers and a balsamic glaze - as did the Sicilian, which is stacked with oven dried Roma tomatoes, smoked mozzarella and pepperoni. The West End Cafe Wraps will also be worth a try on another trip. There are three types - Chipotle Chicken, BBQ Chicken BLT and Boursin Roast Beef.

In addition to the sandwiches and pizza, the West End Cafe has soup and chili, salads, wings and chicken, onion rings and french fries, Italian sausage lasagna and macaroni with cheese. You can also order your favorite beverages, including beer and wine. The desserts also sound pretty good and delightfully decadent, such as the Double Chocolate Fantasy Cake and the Wild Berries and Cream Napoleon.

Although we haven't (yet) been big winners at the new Rivers Casino, we have not been disappointed with the food!

Anthony's Pizza - Carrick

1820 Brownsville Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15210
412-885-0866
(closed Sundays)

Anthony's is famous for two things - their very good pizza bagels and their excellent homemade iced tea. We used to get Anthony's pizza bagels often and recently realized that we had never tried their pizza!

Anthony's has been in business at the same location since 1969. The small restaurant is like a fun trip to the past, with comfortable booths that are equipped with jukebox music selectors.

Their pizza is made the old-fashioned way, too - they make the dough and sauce fresh daily, and hand toss the pizza dough to order. The sauce is made fresh on site each morning. They also freshly grate the cheese for the topping and even the ground sausage is fresh. The traditional style pizza we tried had a thin, chewy and easily foldable crust that had a good flavor. The sauce was mild - suitable for those who don't enjoy tangy foods - and the cheese was plentiful.

In addition to the traditional crust that we tried, Anthony's also offers a thick crust for an extra charge. They have plenty of toppings available: pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, anchovies, meatballs, bacon, green peppers, extra cheese (not necessary!!!), black olives, onions, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, and ham capicolla. They also make ten varieties of hoagies, including a very tasty Italian hoagie, roast beef and cheese, vegetarian, and hot sausage, among others. Anthony's makes three varieties of calzones, and four types of salad (and have their own special house dressing that is very good). Appetizers include soup, homemade chili, garlic toast, soft pretzels, nachos, french fries and pizza boats.

A nice touch are the old fashioned desserts - pie, ice cream, Italian ice and Klondikes.

The next time we try Anthony's pizza, we plan to eat in the restaurant. Although we enjoyed our pizza, it did not travel well - mostly our fault, since we took longer than expected to pick it up after ordering. And besides, eating in the restaurant means we can play some tunes and split a Klondike for dessert!

P.S. The 50% off coupon in the Enjoy book made this pizza a real bargain!

Grand View Buffet at the Rivers Casino - Pittsburgh

777 Casino Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15212
412-231-7777

We made our first visit to Pittsburgh's new Rivers Casino last night ... and had a blast!

Our first stop was the Players Club, where we quickly joined and headed out into the casino with our new red Players Club cards and complimentary $10 of free play. We wandered over to one of the bar areas and played a quick round of Joker Poker (Jacks or Better).

We soon decided that we had better fuel up before settling down for some serious game playing, so we headed up to the Grand View Buffet. Happily we found that the Casino has a 2 for 1 September dinner special at the Grand View Buffet for Players Club members (Monday through Thursday, 4 to 9 pm). What an incredible bargain!

The buffet was nothing short of amazing! There were seven stations, including BBQ, American, Italian, Asian, and Mongolian, with an enormous salad bar and an incredible dessert bar. We briefly debated whether to head right for dessert, but couldn't resist the wealth of other goodies, and we tried small tastes of just about everything offered. The variety, freshness and quality of food was wonderful - we liked everything we tried. Sharon headed right for the Asian and Mongolian bars and headed back with a plate heaped with egg rolls, Chinese spare ribs, fried rice and more. I went a more traditional route and had salad first (and again - a huge selection at the salad bar), then tasted a very juicy roasted turkey, and tidbits from all of the stations.

We were delighted to find that the Italian station had a pizza bar, which offered three varieties of pizza - cheese, pepperoni and a Chef's Special. The Chef's Special had an Alfredo-like creamy sauce, and was topped with halved cherry tomatoes, thin slices of red onion and cheese. The traditional cheese pizza had a hearty red sauce with chunks of tomato and a generous layer of cheese. The chef at the pizza station told us that the sauce and dough are fresh daily, and that the pizzas are baked in a stone oven. We had a good view of the pizza station from where we were sitting, and it seemed to be very popular with the other diners, also. Although we would not have thought of going to the Rivers Casino for pizza, we all agreed that it was pretty tasty and we would definitely try it again next time.

The highlight of the buffet was the dessert bar ... especially the lemon gelato. Don't miss it!!!