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| - (11/10/2014) Heard a lot about Meat and Potatoes, was mentioned in Bon Appetit's article about Pittsburgh being the next big food city. We arrived close to 10pm on a Monday night, place was bustling, very loud (DJ spinning tunes in the corner, luckily in my age group), full of the pretty people here to see and be seen. A large bar hogs up most of the main room, a circular dining area rings it. Place is dimly lit, beautiful dark wood and cast iron, marble and mirrors, like a 19th century parlor.
We were seated towards the end of the bar at an unfortunate turn in the dining room. Overflow from the bar made passage pretty tight. Dimwit hostess tried to seat another group between us, either she gave up trying to make me move into oncoming traffic or the incoming guests decided (wisely to ask for another table). The place pretty much filled to the gills, then I realized, duh, Monday night late menu special "Night Cap" (starts at 10pm).
Cocktails, Prohibition-era, were the best of the night (this was stop #6 on a self-guided restaurant crawl of downtown Pittsburgh). My friend had the 25th Hour (subbed vodka), I had the Southie; both made great use of herb and spice liqueurs for subtle accents. Since I knew we were headed this way, saved myself for the Bone Marrow. An enormous tray arrive with 2 large marrow bones split in half and stacked. Accoutrements were classic and perfectly matched to cut the unctuousness of the marrow (pickled onion, parsley, sea salt, capers). We devoured the top two, they were phenomenal. The bottom two were unfortunately cold (as much of a carnivore as I am, cold marrow is totally gross). Also had the Devils on Horseback, jumbo Medjool dates stuffed with chorizo, wrapped with bacon and broiled. Very tasty, touch overwhelming on the dates for me (maybe use a smaller date?). The menu is not, shall we say, "lite", but hey, you didn't expect that from a place called "Meat and Potatoes" did you. I can see why the place has turned heads.
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