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| - Armstrong's is another huge-portion Italian diner, this one being stuck right at one end of Caste Village near Frisch's. I grew up close to this place, so I have been here several times - when I was younger, I thought Armstrong's was a nice restaurant, probably mostly because the menu can go up to $19.95(Most entres are around $14, Sandwiches around $10).
I have some family in town and my mom decided she wanted to go here and I agreed. So upon entering some 6 or so years(maybe more) later - 70 Yelp reviews in tow and a couple of upscale dinners in my belly over the years, I was confused: Vinyl booths, linoleum floors, bright cafeteria lights. What happened to the Armstrong's I remember as being a nicer restaurant? Truth be told, it's always been like this. The menus are written somewhat nicely and the waiters are all dressed to look about like what you'd find in an Olive Garden - I feel like this place is in an (perpetual) identity crisis. On one hand it wants to serve good Italian food that isn't exactly cheap for the area(There are 2 or 3 other restaurants in this complex alone that are decently cheaper than it), on the other it wants to be 'the neighborhood place' and come off as welcoming and not upscale.
Anyways, after about 15 minutes we were quickly seated. I was forgetful of how the restaurant was so I decided instead of try and find an old flame here, I'd try something new - and settled on the Linguine Puttanesca, a blend of pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, olives, and hot peppers and it came with bread and wedding soup. We also got fried Zucchini, a Pittsburgh staple. The bread came out, half of a large loaf, along with the zucchini, 5 huge(most of us only took half of one) planks of mostly breading. Both were tasty, the zucchini coming with marinara that spurred a lot of bread-dipping, and also came with a horseradish sauce which was not bashful in the least. That stuff'll kick your ass. My cousin even saved that for her entree, just in case. I gave my mom the wedding soup.
The entrees came, and I was shocked to see how much food we got. I saw the other table get their food and it looked mountainous(Even to eat a normal sandwich plate seemed to be an insurmountable feat), but the other reviews are right. Three meals, count 'em. Mine was only OK - having been noted as 'hot & spicy!' on the menu, it was not in the least. The olives were just canned sliced olives, and overall it was just not very flavorful. It didn't taste bad, just not really what I wanted. However, the ladies of the group all got chicken salads(My turned-California cousin was understandably confused as to why french fries had found their way into a salad) which they raved about - and I do remember having a few steak salads from here years ago that I loved, as long as I got it sans-mushrooms.
Also, my brother got a shrimp and scallop entree which I have to admit, was not quite so hugely portioned. He finished it with ease, but this was the only dish to suffer that fate. The waitress came with boxes, the salads barely fit in them, there was so much left. The cost was about $20/person after everything was said and done. Not terrible, especially for the amount of food we got.
All in all, Armstrong's is just another family Italian place to grab a quick bite, especially if you're a fan of leftovers or sharing. I wouldn't be opposed to stopping back for an occasion like this, but I don't think I'd hike out here on my own.
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