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| - Winter 2012 I organized a dinner at the Tin Front Cafe with my Meetup group, Pittsburgh Dining N' At, and it was truly one of the very BEST MEALS of my life! I had this butternut squash lasagna that was a slice of heaven on a plate! Super-delicious. They have a full bar, plus gourmet coffee drinks. In warmer weather, there is also outdoor seating in a back patio.
They have repurposed many materials from the old Chioto's Bar in Homestead, including the actual BAR TOP itself and the old tin roof! This gives the place a wonderful charm and local flavor. The restaurant's owners and staff went out of their way to accommodate our group, and the service was superb. I would highly recommend this place to everyone. Their food totally ROCKED MY WORLD!
Summer of 2013 I went to Tin Front Cafe with a friend and sat in the outside patio out back. The food, ambiance and service were wonderful. My friend's boyfriend is a vegetarian, and she was excited to bring him there sometime in the future.
Winter 2014 I went to Tin Front Cafe on a Saturday night in February. They were hosting a party, which was just ending. I think they were distracted by the party because I had to go and ask the waiter to take our order when we were ready, and my glorious butternut squash lasagna was nothing like I remembered on my previous visits. It was, dare I say it, MEDIOCRE! Where was my slice of heaven on a plate? I don't know what happened. Maybe they were distracted by the party, but it was disappointing. But, my friend really enjoyed her four-bean chili, and the black bean hummus was delicious, as usual. So, not a total loss.
My friend ordered a beer, but I decided to get a margarita. I noticed that it was extraordinarily SWEET! It was good, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so sweet. On the way out, I asked how it was made. I asked if they used freshly squeezed lime juice or some type of margarita mixer. They used a bottle of mixer. I asked to see the bottle, and let me tell you I was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED to see that the second ingredient was HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! The mixer also had ARTIFICIAL FOOD COLORING (blue) in it!
I was expecting better from a vegetarian restaurant. The waiter assured me that they don't use artificial food coloring in their food, ONLY THE MIXED DRINKS! Well, I'm a bit of a health nut, and I avoid artificial food coloring like the plague. If I had known they were using a cheap margarita mixer from a bottle, I most definitely would NOT have ordered that drink. I would have gotten a different drink or just a beer. For a restaurant that is known for serving healthful food, I expected better.
Two years ago, or last summer, I would have given Tin Front Cafe 5 stars. After Saturday night, I'm going down to three stars. My butternut squash lasagna was not very good this time, and the artificial food coloring and high fructose corn syrup in the margarita mixer were a bummer. Is it really that much more expensive to buy actual lime juice? I know fresh squeezed lime juice would really be expensive, but why can't they buy bottles of real lime juice or lime juice concentrate instead of cheap mixers with high fructose corn syrup and artificial food coloring? It would be nice to see all natural ingredients in EVERYTHING, including the drinks, in a vegetarian restaurant that claims to be offering healthy cuisine. Maybe my expectations are too high. Sigh.
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