| rev:text
| - Dear Choolaah, please take my money. I don't think there's another restaurant where I could feel so good about going out to eat, and for so many reasons.
Here's the backstory for everyone else:
They had me at "fast-casual Indian BBQ " and then I learned about everything else...
I was extremely lucky and was able to get an early preview of Choolaah thanks to a few great people. With that said, 3 things to note:
*1: I visited prior to opening, the staff was still training and as such..I can only imagine things will continue to improve.
*2: I don't actually know how things could get any better, but I'll certainly be returning again and again and again when they officially open.
*3: I'm so excited about Choolaah opening that I fear people will think I'm exaggerating in this review. I'm not. You'll understand when you visit.
Food:
You can read about where they source and prepare all of their ingredients if you're into that sort of thing. And if you're not, you can just be amazed by how great everything tastes.
Dietary Needs:
Anyone can eat here. Vegan, Gluten Free, Kids...most any dietary guideline can be met, and not like most places where the vegetarian and/or vegan option is an afterthought. Anyone will have ample options to choose from regardless of dietary restrictions.
Price:
You can eat for under $10 and given the quality and sustainable ingredient sourcing..that's kind of amazing (Bell & Evans Chicken, Halal Lamb, Amish made paneer cheese, spice shipped in from India and blended made on site, tikka masala that takes 6 hours to prepare....you get the picture)
I would guess most people would be in the $10-$15 range for lunch or dinner and walk away quite satisfied. That estimated price ranges includes the Mango Lassi that you will want to try.
Environment:
Choolaah is worth visiting for the design alone. They are a "chain" with 4 other locations, but this place is uniquely Pittsburgh. Even the tandoor ovens have Steelers names on them, but not in a try-hard gimmicky type of way. Many PGH locals were involved in this project and you'll find references to Andy Warhool and other locals tastefully woven into the design.
**there's a message in binary code in the tiles on the second floor. I don't know what it says, but I'm eager for the first reviewer who figures it out.
Philanthropy:
Let me pause for a second and just recognize that philanthropy is such a focus for Choolaah that it got it's own section. They're giving back in so many ways that I could write a separate review on just that.
Or you could just google it
Or listen to this podcast with one of the founders
Is it against the rules to link to the podcast where I first found out about them? Going Deep With Aaron Watson interview with Co-Founder Raji Sankar (interesting fact, the same owners also own several Five Guys franchises...including the Oakland location).
I'll update again after they open, because I really can't wait until they open.
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