Vue412

Vue412

This is a small place on Grandview Ave on the top of Mt Washington.  The decor is a little outdated, but not so much that I feel like I'm stepping into the 80's.  The view is great.  This place could be a great space with a little help from a professional lighting expert. 

The carpet is discolored and I'm wondering if they flood in here, but it seems to be consistent between the two levels, so maybe it's intentional?  I'm not so certain.  Perhaps tile would be a better choice, but that's not important.  The food is what is important. 

Let's start with the menu.  It is way too large for the size of the kitchen here.  It has not clear theme and it's a good thing the place is empty because if they were to fill all the tables, the kitchen would not be able to handle it, I'm sure.

Looking over the menu, there are only two clear choices I can order without too much modification, hopefully they will be gluten free without modification - the scallops & the filet.

I ask the waitress about the risotto that come with the scallops and the mushroom & artichoke soup.  She checks with the kitchen and yes, both are gluten free.   The soup is vegetarian, too.

One of my companions, a vegetarian, looks over the menu and finds nothing meatless on it.  Oddly enough, the lunch menu is combined to the diner menu and he sees vegeburgers and flat bread pizza.  He asks the waitress if he can order from the lunch menu, but to his disappointment, they don't have dough or vegeburgers made.  They shouldn't have even tempted someone with the lunch options, if they can't have them for diner.  That just puts a bad taste in people's mouth. 

Since there were no vegetarian options on the menu, they offered to make a pasta with vegetables for my friend, even though pasta is the go to when you don't know what else vegetarian to cook.  He said if he never eats pasta again, he'd be happy.  But what can you do.

Before finalizing my order, I asked the waitress if there were any bell peppers going to be on my meal because even though the menu doesn't mention them, a lot of restaurants needless add them. I'm allergic to bell peppers.  We have a conversation about my tolerance to hot peppers, but not bell peppers - green, yellow, red or orange.  She assures me that the scallops with risotto I ordered had no bell peppers.

The mushroom soup came out.  I ordered a cup; my friend ordered a bowl.  It was delicious! It had an assortment of wild mushrooms.  It was creamy.  It was tasty.  I think I saw a morel mushroom, maybe a porcini mushroom.  Whatever mushrooms, were delicious.  There were some little red vegetables floating in the soup.  They seemed to be a chili pepper, not a bell pepper, as they added a bit of heat to the soup, so I ate it without complaint.  The small cup left me wanting more.  My friend's bowl of soup was entree sized.  It was way too large.  He's definitely not finishing his pasta.

Our entrees arrived and the potions were huge.  You definitely can charge these prices for less food up here with a view.  I took one look at my scallops and there were roasted red bell peppers lying on top of everything.  This unnecessary garnish is exactly what I was talking about.  The server took it back and had them make me a new plate. Thank goodness, because I'd be pretty sick if I just picked them off.  They brought out more asparagus to make up for the mistake.  That was nice.
 
The scallops were huge.  That was a wonderful surprise.  They were cooked all the way through without being rubbery and over cooked.  The only problem was they were a little sandy.

I took one bite of the risotto and was shocked.  This was not made with risotto rice.  It was plain white rice.  Steamed.  Maybe.  It sure didn't look like the little arborio rice grains that this is supposed to be made with.  It was soggy and mushy.  It was cheesy rice not risotto.

The server did go through great lengths to make sure I didn't get sick.  She was courteous, knowledgeable, and entertaining.  

My other friend ordered the gnocchi and sausage.  She said to was nothing to write home about and that she'd be eating it for the next two days.  That plate is big & they filled it up!

This just seemed to be a mediocre Italian restaurant that didn't even make it's own noodles.  I feel there are cooks in the kitchen, but not a chef.  I think many people will try this place, but not many will return.  If they want people to return again and again, they will have to change the menu drastically.  Until then, it will be as empty as it was when I was in there.  At least I didn't have a gluten reaction here!



http://www.vue412.com/

1200 Grandview Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15211
412-381-1919

Beauty Counter

I don’t usually do this, but the nice people over at Beauty Counter sent me some samples of gluten free products they offer.  Looking over the website, I see they are very concerned about the amount of beauty products that contain toxic chemicals and have vowed to make a product that is natural and free of these toxins. That’s something I can get down with!

This company is very transparent about what they put in their products.  They tell you all the ingredients right on the website.  A glossary of ingredients can be found here. http://www.beautycounter.com/ingredient-glossary/

Upon receiving my samples, I noticed that there was little or no fragrance from each of the products.  Fragrances are often extracted with harmful chemicals, which although the fragrance may not be harmful, the process in which it is extracted and preserved is.  I have very sensitive skin, so I was glad to smell no strong odors emitted from the products.

My next step was to do an arm test.  I lightly dabbed a tiny bit of each on my arm to test for any skin reactions.  This is usually a good thing to do with any new products.  The last thing you want is to put something on your face and swell up like a big red balloon.  So I waited and watched.  There was no real irritation, so that night I decided to try the body lotion, the charcoal bar, and the night cream.

I really liked how the charcoal bar tightened my pores.  I really felt like it drew out the oils and closed up the pores leaving a nice smooth texture, without drying out my skin.  Afterwords, I went back on the website to find out the ingredients, and found there was a new option, a charcoal mask. If it works half as good as the bar, it will be amazing.

The hydrate body lotion was light and smooth.  It was barely creamy.  It did an alright job at moisturizing, but I still think my Vaseline hydrates much better.  Although, it probably has some of those chemicals Beauty Counter is trying to avoid in it.  I didn’t find it amazing, but there wasn’t anything wrong with it either.

 

I tried the restorative night cream at night.  I thought it moisturized and smoothed my skin well.  I liked it a lot.  This is a product I'd actually buy. 

The next morning I tried the firming lotion.   I thought it actually firmed around my eyes.  I was surprised because when I think of natural, I think not as good as harsh chemicals.  Not sure if it will continue to work over time, but I'd give it a shot.  I have noticed that firming & wrinkle creams tend to lose their effectiveness the longer you use them & you need to switch them around to keep the results lasting.

Last, I tried the the nourishing cleansing balm.  I found it heavy and almost waxy.  After using it I felt the need to wash my face again with my regular soap.  I really didn't like the way it felt on my face.

I really think this company has something unique and all natural.  It was well worth trying.  If you get a chance, look it up.  You can search for gluten free and a list of gluten free products will come up to pick from.  And for the record, the charcoal bar was my favorite.

The Yard

The Yard

The market Square location is a gastropub bar atmosphere with gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.  For a $1 upgrade, you can get them gluten free.  The sandwiches come with fries & tomato soup.  Since they don't have a dedicated fryer, you'll need to sub out the fries for something.  I also so not like tomato soup and needed to sub out the soup for the soup of the day.  It was a turkey and noodle soup, but they add the noodles at the end so they served it without them, making it gluten free.

The grilled cheese sandwiches are pretty pricey to start with, and after subbing out both sides, it was even more expensive, but it's been a while since I've had a grilled cheese sandwich that I didn't make myself, so it was worth it.

The soup was pretty good.  It had potatoes, ground turkey, and carrots.  The broth was made from a thicker stock, but not creamy.  My other side was a fruit cup.  It was pretty average with just watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew.  Both sides cam in a neat little stainless steel cup.

The sandwich I got was called shrooms.  It had mushrooms, onions, fresh mozzarella cheese and lettuce, all which were extremely tasty.  The onions were sauteed.  The mushrooms were juicy.  The cheese was melty.  The bread was a whole grain gluten free bread of a good quality.  The sandwich was big, and after eating the soup & fruit cup, I had to take half home.  It was still good later for a snack. 

The waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the gluten free options and very considerate about my food sensitivity.  On the items she was unsure about, the soup, she asked the kitchen & returned with a prompt reply. Everything turned out pretty good for this adventure.

They also have a Shadyside location, but I went to the Market Square location.

http://www.theyardpgh.com/
100 5th Ave
Pittsburgh PA 15222
412.291.8182

Sunny Bridge Farms Natural Foods & Cafe

Sunny Bridge Farms Natural Foods & Cafe

As you can probably tell, I love to eat out.  But a passion of mine is also cooking.  You guessed it, it’s all gluten free.  One of the recurring issues at restaurants is the same at home.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell what ingredients are gluten free.  At least at home, I don’t have to worry about cross contamination, as long as I check out my ingredients before I buy them.  This usually consists of a lot of googling.  Sometimes it’s still unclear without contacting the manufacturer or finding someone who has.  With that being said, I found a great place in McMurray that carries a lot of gluten free options.  They are well labeled products to weed out any confusion.  It’s Sunny Bridge Farms Natural Food & Cafe. 


Now I like to cook... A lot!  And a good portion of my meals are naturally gluten free, like scallops, shrimp, and steak.  Sometimes I crave the things that would normally have gluten in them, like pizza, lasagna, and bread.

Sunny Bridge Farms is a health foods store with a cafe.  I haven’t eaten at the cafe because when I was there, they were closing soon, and I don’t like to order food at the end of someone’s shift.  I guess that’s the once restaurant worker in me.  I did find a great selection of ingredients.  I found my favorite gluten free flour mix, Better Batter.  It’s a little bit expensive, but it makes the best pasta.  I made wonderful noodles for my homemade chicken noodle soup.  My mom couldn’t even tell that they were gluten free.  I’ve made great ravioli’s and pierogie out of this mix, too. 

Another great ingredient I found was vanilla powder.  Instead of using an alcohol based vanilla in your baked goods, you can use this powder.  The most annoying thing I found was not knowing what the alcohol was derived from.  Is it gluten free or not?  Most don’t tell you.  Now you have a better option.  I haven't tried it in ice cream yet, but the next time I make homemade ice cream, I'm using this vanilla.

There was so many more things I wanted to try, but I just ran out of time & money.  Gluten free surely isn’t cheap, but with it becoming more mainstream, the price is finally starting to come down.

Sunny Bridge farms has a rewards program that is free to sign up for. Check them out if you love to cook or just need specialty health food items.

http://sunnybridgenaturalfoods.com/

130 Gallery Dr
McMurray, PA 15317
724-942-5800

Dish Osteria and Bar

Dish Osteria

I love this little gem of a place.  I've been here a few times.  It's tucked on the corner of 17th and Sarah Street in the Historic South Side district of Pittsburgh.  It's service is superb.  They will modify a lot of the dishes to be gluten free.  The people are friendly, but most of all, the food is unique and always delicious.  One thing I love about this restaurant is the evolution of the menu.  It is always changing, yet some elements remain constant.

The restaurant is a small establishment focused on Italian dishes with accents of Sicilian and Mediterranean flavors.   There's pasta, seafood, poultry and more.  The pasta is not gluten free, but plenty of other dishes can be made gluten free.  Just ask. 

This time I ordered the cuddlefish.  I've never had cuddlefish before, but I knew this was the place to try it.

It was salty, it was savory.  It was interesting.  I can't say I've ever had anything like it.  And I liked it.

I also had a gluten free dessert here.  The Panna Cotta was so delicious I wish I ordered two!  It is a vanilla bean custard with berries.  I was so excited about this gluten free dessert after seeing it it at the table next to me, that I ate it before I could snap a picture.  That is totally not like me.  I love taking photos of food.


412-390-2012
128 South 17th Street,
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

http://www.dishosteria.com

One Thirty One East

One Thirty One East

Walking in, the bar is the first thing you see.  It was a nice little place.  The hostess took us up stair, past a crazy wooden giraffe, to our table.  It was one of those places where a bench seat runs along the wall and your companion sits in a chair.

There were several items on the menu I wanted.  I narrowed it down to two.  But first, as always, I needed to consult the waitress to see if either dish could be modified to be gluten free.

I told the waitress I had it narrowed down to two options, but I wondered if they could be modified by the kitchen to be gluten free, the steak & the pork belly.  She answered me by offering the chicken and grits and the salmon.  I was irritated that she began offering completely different items than what I wanted.  I asked her again, can you please check with the kitchen regarding these two items, I'm really interested in the pork belly, but it comes with noodles. 

"Can you please ask the kitchen to sub out potatoes for the noodles and find out if it can still be done gluten free?"

She returned with a yes. 

I ordered the pork belly.  I had to substitute out the noodles for fingerling potatoes to make it gluten free.  The skin was crispy and the meat was tender.  It was a big enough portion to take home for lunch the following day.  I was slightly worried about what ever the white sauce on the potatoes was, but it didn't seems to bother me later so that's a win!







This was the tuna special.  It had wasabi mashed potatoes and vegetables.  It has onion straws, so that isn't gluten free, but I'm sure you can order it without them.  Just make sure you check to see if any of this is marinated in soy sauce, first. 






131 East Main St
Carnegie, PA 15106


http://www.onethirtyoneeast.com/