After landing in Phoenix, the wife and I were in need of some food. She likes pickles and I like pigs, so we stopped at a place called Pig & Pickle. With a name like that, you could probably guess that it was trendy, hipsterish and had some sort of deviled eggs. Well, at least the first two are right, but I suspect deviled eggs will make their way onto the menu at some point. The menu had a nice variety of piggy items and even a few that weren’t if that’s not your thing.
Once in a blue moon (or every Thursday night), The Yard in Shadyside has a burger and beer special in which you can get a Juicy Lucy (yeah I know it’s spelled wrong) and a beer for $10. This is a good deal even by Pittsburgh standards despite the fact that the burger doesn’t come with any sides and the beer selection is somewhat limited.
While Pittsburgh may not be a hotbed of Mexican food, a friend of mine has been telling me to check out El Burro Comedor forever. The trouble is that the place is all the way over on the North Side, which in Point Breeze may as well be West Virginia. Nonetheless, I made it there and noticed that in addition to seeming like hipster central, the place had a menu that seemed to be pulled right from San Diego.
When I go out to eat in the Detroit area, it is rarely to try something new, but to eat something old that I knew and loved growing up there. But when it came time to celebrate my step-dad’s 70th birthday, something a little more special was in order. Namely, Iridescence at the top of the Motor City Casino in Detroit. The place features some of the most innovative food in the area and some of the highest prices to go along with it. Some might call it molecular gastronomy, but I just call it fancy-pants.
In the battle of Geno’s versus Pat’s there doesn’t seem to be much of a dispute about who created the famous Philly cheesesteak. That honor belongs to Pat’s King of Steaks, the second stop in my late-night journey to the vaunted food tourism spot. Situated quite literally across the street from Geno’s, Pat’s serves up cheesesteaks at the exact same price to ensure that any taste-tester is not biased by such a thing.
I’m not sure any first-time trip to Philly is worthwhile without a trip to Pat’s and Geno’s. Yes, I realize that they probably attract more tourists than locals, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad. Yes, I also realize that this wasn’t my first trip to Philly, but the only other time I set foot in the city was long before I became a meat blogger and I was snowed in the whole time anyway. So, yeah, I feel confident in saying it wasn’t worthwhile. I began my taste test with Geno’s for no other reason aside from that spot being where my taxi dropped me off.
Situated right next to the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philly is the Reading Terminal Market, which falls in many ways somewhere between LA’s Grand Central Market and New York’s Chelsea Market. Inside is a load of delicious scents and sights, ranging from BBQ to Middle-Eastern food. Just as I was about to make my way to BBQ, a friend of mine pointed me to Hershel’s East Side Deli, a Jewish deli that I just had to eat as after setting my eyes upon it.
Arriving in Philly late at night, I was in need of cheesesteak. Of course, anyone with a right mind would want such a thing when arriving in Philly, but finding myself downtown and only looking for a place in walking distance, I opted for Steve’s Prince of Steaks. To outsiders, Steve’s doesn’t have the allure of Pat’s or Geno’s, but locals seem to like the place.
In my mind, no trip to Sin City is worth it without committing the sin of gluttony. There are many outlets for said gluttony, but none better than one of the city’s amazing buffets. And perhaps there is no better buffet than the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace. As an added bonus, for brunch they throw bottomless mimosas on top of their mess of food. And what a beautiful mess of food it is. The place is simply huge, with each station being big enough to house an entire buffet at any lesser establishment.
EDIT: Fuku Burger made a move, hopefully it hasn’t changed for the worse.
Amidst the new Linq in Las Vegas is a little spot called Fuku Burger. While the Linq is new, Fuku Burger certainly is not. It started as a food truck in Vegas a few years ago, became a short-lived restaurant in Hollywood afterwards and then found this new permanent location within a cool new food court type of thing. The menu is nice and small and priced right, just like a food truck should be, even if it’s now brick and mortar.