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| - You know the little dive bar, right by the tracks on your way to the Waterfront? The place you have driven by 20K times and never thought to actually stop in cause it's a dive bar? Hold on to your seats, folks, cause this isn't a dive bar.
It's actually a freaking fantastic watering hole and surprisingly healthy and inventive pub. One of my friends stopped by here and wrote something on facebook about it that made me think it was worth my while and it was way better than even expected.
The hubby and I decided to split everything after ordering some beers - cranberry ale for me (not nearly cranberry-ish enough) and a Bell's Christmas White for him (excellent choice). Their menu is a mix of reasonably healthy and nice and awesomely naughty - perfect for the holidays. We started with the fried zucchini which we use as a bit of a guide as we eat our way around Pittsburgh. Almost everyone has it, almost everyone does it horribly, horribly wrong. Blue Dust was a fabulous exception. The zucchini appeared to have been picked that day, it was sliced super thin and breaded and deep-fried to perfection. It was served on a bed of lettuce which did pretty-up the plate, but also served to soak up the grease.
We then asked to split the lamb chili. I assumed we would be given two spoons and a "go for it" kind of attitude, but they actually split the order in two and gave us two orders of the delicious garlic bread that accompanied it. It was amazing! Seriously amazing. It was just lamb-y enough that you knew that you were eating lamb, but not so lamb-y that you were wondering if you were on the farm. It was slightly spicy and really just a perfect winter meal.
We also split the sliders - crab, smoked turkey and brisket. They were all amazing. Very different and very tasty. They came with local-made chips and a fantastic smoked tomato salsa that I really could have had a massive jar of to take home.
Unfortunately, between the 2 and 3 course, I discovered the liquor menu. Infused root beer bourbon? Infused chai vodka? A mixed drink with Crabbie's ginger beer? Why didn't I look at you earlier???
We will be back. Many, many, many times. A must stop on your way to the Waterfront.
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