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| - I came early on a weekday morning, after having done a "bird's eye view" search for top-rated coffee shops in all of PGH. After perusing their menu (clearly-written, lots of choices but not too many) and dreamily eyeballing their wide variety of baked goods, I turned down their specials of a maple lattee or honey latte order to justify buying a buckeye (the oh-so-Pittsburgh peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate). I ordered a small plain latte which was served in a real ceramic cup and didn't seem so small at all. The barista made a beautiful leaf design in the foam and it tasted as good as it looked. This is what I want from a coffee shop! A plain latte should taste fantastic on its' own. Coffee should not need sweetener or flavoring to "fix" it or mask anything nasty. So it was immediately a 5 star drink and remained so down to the last drop. I noticed a small sign near the ordering area that stated that they serve their steamed milk at 145 degrees and that if you want it hotter, just ask. The temperature as served was very drinkable to me; I do not like insanely hot drinks. The buckeye was served on a real plate as well, and was a nice accompaniment to the drink. I also give Big Dog five stars for the space: there is the main room, a back room, and an outdoor area. The weather was having a cool spell (finally!) when I visited, so I started off outside, then moved inside in order to be able to focus on computer work a little bit better There is a small kids' area with a few toys and a variety of seating from 2-tops, 4-tops, and different types of easy chairs. This is one shop that would be worth a repeat visit if I were staying in town longer, but I'm on a mission to try as many different places as possible this summer.
After a while, I went back up and requested the oatmeal bar. Yes, at $6.69 including the tax it sounds pricey. The barista asked me what I wanted and I said banana, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, and pecans. I am extremely picky about oatmeal, so this was a big risk for me, but this was 5 star oatmeal for me! (Honestly, I had wondered...isn't this just like getting oatmeal at a hotel buffet?) No, it's not! Hotel buffet oatmeal is nasty! This was wonderful! The oatmeal itself was thick and flavorful. It was neither runny nor gummy. If you like it thinner, you could easily add a little milk or cream from the condiment area, but for me the texture was spot-on (I like my oatmeal solid). It is good enough to add on its own. The barista then made a work of art with it. He put more oatmeal in the cappucino cup than I thought would fit, then smartly added the chocolate chips, then pecans, then fruits. It was piled high. It was delicious and wonderful, and oh-so-worth it.
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