| rev:text
| - Ordinary Joe's is the newest bar/restaurant option in Aspinwall. They claim to be the only sports bar in the area, and while I'm not sure if that's technically true, they do have a ton of TVs, so it would be a great place to catch a game (if you can afford to stay here for 2-3 hours and drink...more on that in a sec).
The restaurant itself is open, clean and bright (but not too bright), and the decor is modern and sleek (love the metal Pittsburgh sports logo art adorning the walls). They did a really nice job updating the dark and noir feeling of the space's previous tenant (Marisqueira).
The menu is pretty standard bar fare (burgers, wings, sandwiches), with some more substantial dinner options thrown in (pastas, fish entrees). They did a good job not overlapping their menu options too much with the bar a few doors down (Sam's Tavern). The beer selection is not particularly impressive or expansive for a bar, but it'll probably suit most people just fine. On our recent visit here, I opted for some good ol' chicken fingers and fries, while my husband got the Italian Stallion burger. The food was good, but nothing noteworthy. The chicken tenders were the exact same generic frozen-from-a-bag variety that I've gotten other places a million times before. I did really enjoy the fries...they seemed to be fresh cut and were very well seasoned. My husband liked his burger, but again, thought it was "just a burger." Good, but not great. And that's exactly what I would expect at a sports bar, so I really can't complain about the food. Service was fast and friendly, so I also can't complain about the service.
The problem is the prices. I have no idea why a lot of places in Aspinwall seem to be overpriced. I don't know if it is its proximity to Fox Chapel, which makes business owners think patrons will be willing to pay more. I don't know if it's the fact that Aspinwall is not a huge neighborhood, and thus lower volume necessitates higher pricing. But at Ordinary Joe's, I felt like everything was priced about 20% too high for what you got. I mean, my chicken tenders and fries were $10. I don't even know if they even charge that much for chicken tenders at PNC Park, haha. My husband's burger was $11 (and he can get a better burger at Burgatory for that same price). And $4 for a bottle of Labatt's? During a Pens game, no less? I mean, if you call yourself a sports bar, I think you should probably have drink specials during the games....that's a pretty standard move for most sports bars. Because otherwise, at $4 a bottle for a fairly crappy beer, there is no way I'm hanging around for 2-3 hours and drinking there while I watch a game.
I may give Ordinary Joe's another try sometime, particularly if they decide to start offering drink specials during games, but I'm not going to be rushing back there. 3.5 stars.
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