Meat and Potatoes in Pittsburgh

For brunch yesterday, my mom, Jessica, and I ventured into downtown Pittsburgh to try Meat and Potatoes (http://meatandpotatoespgh.com/), a self-proclaimed "gastropub" that opened in 2011.  The restaurant, a hip newer establishment located in the Theater District, exemplifies the revitalization efforts of the city with a trendy, upscale-yet-casual atmosphere that appeals to a wide range of customers.  The dining area features a large bar centered in the room with tables against the outer walls (one of which acts as a window to the outside street, a second showing the specials of the day, and a third displaying the various animals and cuts of meat available on a sketched cow).  At 1 PM on a Saturday, the whole restaurant was filled completely with more people in the waiting area, normally a promising sign for a great meal!

Drinks

We decided to eat at the bar rather than wait for our table (we were about 25 minutes early) and it was perfect.  One of the brunch specialties here is the Bloody Mary Bar, which both Jessica and my mom tried.  They serve several different infused vodkas (black pepper and garlic, bacon, and chili were three of the six options) and then allow the diner to add the fresh-made tomato mix as well as seasonings and countless pickled vegetables.  Both Jessica and my mom were very happy with their concoctions.  I went with one of their brunch cocktails, a whiskey drink with orange and cherry that was superb.  And because we were sitting at the bar and watching drinks be made over and over, the three of us split their French Toast Flip, a sweet cocktail with a whole egg added to create foam and a creamy texture.

Food

As with roughly 80% of the other tables (my estimate from watching the food leave the kitchen), we started with the "Fried Taters" accompanied by truffle mayonnaise.  The smell from the truffles alone was worth the order, and the perfectly crisp fries were equally excellent.  Served in a small cast iron skillet, the pile of fries was liberally salted and seasoned, making them wonderful on their own but even better when dipped in the sauce.  Had we known that two of our three entrees came with fries (something the menu doesn't mention for some reason), I'm not sure we would have started with these but I'm glad we did to start the meal off right.





PBLT

For my lunch, I had the PBLT, a healthy portion of pork belly and bacon served with arugula and tomato on toasted, thick white bread.  It's rare for me to enjoy (or even tolerate) added items to a sandwich like tomato and arugula, but I actually felt both made this sandwich better.  The bacon was crispy, which I normally don't like either, but it was the perfect texture contrast to the almost creamy pork belly (which was ridiculously good).  Even though half of the sandwich was more than enough for me, I powered through and finished the entire thing, which I didn't regret even if I could barely move for a few hours after.

For their respective meals, my mom and Jessica had the short rib hash and chicken biscuit (chicken, rosemary ham, and Swiss cheese on a fresh made biscuit).  I had a taste of each and enjoyed both thoroughly.  To offer a minor criticism of the hash, I think it would have benefited from a bit more flavor contrast, but I didn't try it mixed with the eggs that topped the order.  It also came with a horseradish hollandaise so that would help as well.  I'm not sure I could find fault with the chicken biscuit, except that it too was served with an egg (something A LOT of the brunch meals include) and I despise them!

Service

The service at the bar was excellent; the bar tender was very conversational and didn't mind us asking questions about the various cocktails she made during our meal.  Her co-worker, who seemed more like a manager for the brunch shift, was also helpful with our food selections offering recommendations and specialties of the house.  The only slight problem we had was a delay in the delivery of Jessica's biscuit... although once I asked about it, it arrived in less than a minute!

Overall, Meat and Potatoes delivered exactly what I hoped when we booked the reservation.  The menu featured modern twists on standard brunch food, and elevated the quality with the inclusion of specialty ingredients (like the pork belly, for example, or the truffle mayonnaise).  Every bite of food I tried was amazing, and the drinks matched the same quality.  I'd love to try dinner at Meat and Potatoes since the menu seems to further raise the complexity of the dishes (most brunch items were sandwiches and / or true breakfast offerings) although I really cannot imagine much improvement on what was a truly memorable meal.