As the various neighborhoods of Pittsburgh become more and more gentrified, it’s only inevitable that the hipster vibe that inhabits Lawrenceville will make its way to other parts of the city. One of these areas is Bloomfield, where Bread and Salt Bakery has taken up business in what seems to be a back alley. Replete with a man in cutoff shorts and pizza that is charged by the pound (because obviously everyone knows how much a pound of pizza looks like), the place has become popular for its bread. Which is good, because up until recently that was about all they had to offer on their menu.

The pizza did look good, but what looked even better were a couple of other dishes. To begin with, the wife and I split some toast topped with olive oil, chocolate and salt. As a man with no real love for chocolate, I must admit that this toast was amazing. The toast simply finds the perfect balance of sweet, salty, savory and sour (from the sourdough bread). And this bread, by the way, is nothing like your typical sourdough bread. The crust is crazy hard, while the interior is soft and delicate, making the bread stand out on its own even without any toppings.

On top of the toast, I ordered one of their grilled cheeses. There were only two options, so I chose the one that had something called Nduja in it. The hipster man explained to me that this was like a spicy spreadable sausage, so I obviously wanted it. It took a shockingly long time to make the grilled cheese, but when it was done I have to admit it was a bit disappointing. There didn’t seem to be too much cheese in it and the cheese it did have was pretty flavorless. The nduja was pretty good, but lackadaisically placed in the sandwich so that not nearly every bite had a taste of the stuff.

Of course, the saving grace was the delicious bread, and I can understand how Bread and Salt didn’t want to overwhelm the bread with too strong of flavors in the sandwich. Nonetheless, I have had some amazing sandwiches with insides that complement their breads and I am sure that it is only a matter of time until Bread and Salt finds its mix. Until then I will happily return for toast, bread and perhaps a taste of the pizza by the pound.

In a world filled with fancy brunch spots, it’s comforting to know that greasy spoons like Ritter’s Diner still exist. Because after a night filled with too many vinos, I don’t want some newfangled omelet or polenta cake, I want cheese, bacon and a side of grease. And in my head, what better place to satisfy this need than Ritter’s Diner?

While Ritter’s may not have had the best service in town, it had the food I needed and semi-private jukeboxes at each table along the wall. I ordered a Grilled Cheese with Bacon and Cheese Fries while listening to the sounds of Fleetwood Mac from the table behind me. These took a surprisingly long time to come out, and while I somewhat blame that on the fact that my buddy ordered steak and eggs, he did order medium-rare so it shouldn’t have taken too long.

The result, however, was just what I wanted. The grilled cheese with bacon is a difficult dish to screw up and Ritter’s did not. The same goes for the cheese fries. Both were simple, unassuming and exactly what I would expect from such a place. This is not a place to go for creativity, but rather a place to visit to satisfy deeper animalistic and Americanistic needs.

With a name like Tessaro’s, you’d kind of expect a place to be Italian. In Bloomfield, Pittsburgh, that is simply not the case. Here, Tessaro’s is an old-fashioned bar with some old-fashioned American food to join with the drinks. The place is pretty well-known for the their burger, but just for a moment I was tempted to order some ribs because it turned out Thursday night was rib night. I quickly came to my senses and narrowed down my burger order.

I chose the breakfast burger, which is topped with bacon, egg and a choice of cheese. I ordered the burger medium-rare, the egg runny and the cheese as pepper jack. When the waitress offered me lettuce, tomato and onion I quickly rejected her and picked home fries as my side.

Now, despite the crummy picture, the burger actually turned out pretty to look at. Hidden under the cheese was a perfectly runny egg and under that was a huge hand-shaped patty. I could even see them shaping the patties by hand in the kitchen from my booth, so I knew it was legit. This was unquestionably a delicious burger and one that didn’t need to spruce things up or go gourmet. It wasn’t basic, but neither was it fancy. It sat in that nice middle ground and couldn’t have felt more comfortable. And even better than all that? It was mighty tasty. The lack of regular fries was a little surprising, but since I was eating a breakfast burger the home fries were just dandy.

The burgers at Tessaro’s won’t win any awards for innovation or creativity, but they definitely get the job done when it comes to execution and taste. No wonder it can get away with a name more associated with an Italian restaurant.

Pittsburgh is quite a unique place. So unique, in fact, that when I arrived I was given a crash course in how to speak Pittsburghese. I’ll spare the details, aside from the fact that Pittsburgh has its own version of “y’all.” That word is “yinz” and people who speak in Pittsburghese are referred to as “Yinzers.” With that in mind, you can now rest easy knowing that the BBQ you are about to read about is a play on “yinz” and not some obscure Civil War battle. And now, onto the BBQ.

YinzBurgh BBQ sits in a nondescript building in Bloomfield with only two tables for seating and an open kitchen that takes up the vast majority of the space. If it isn’t immediately apparent upon entry that the owner of the place loves his BBQ, it takes very little time to learn, as he is standing behind the counter taking orders. But before that, he makes sure to ask if you have ever been before. If not he busts out all five of his custom sauces to taste because he feels the sauce is the most essential aspect of ordering. It’s certainly hard to disagree (and I would later learn that I would have been perfectly happy even without sauce). The options are Signature Red (tomato-based available in hot and mild), Honey Gold (mustard-based available in hot and mild) and a Carolina Vinegar as well. After a fantastic conversation about the qualities of each, I chose the Hot Honey.

I asked what went well with that sauce and was a little upset when he said “everything.” I hoped that the sauce would narrow down the options, but I also figured if he said it went well with everything he would be speaking the truth. So I went with a Brisket Sandwich and a side of Mac and Cheese. The sandwich was every bit as delicious as I had expected from such a place. It had been cooked to such a perfect tenderness that it was almost like butter in my mouth. Certainly, I could have eaten this without a sauce and it would have been enough (dayenu), but the sauce put it over to top in greatness.

Then there was the mac, which made for a tasty side, but was otherwise pretty typical. It had a nice hint of pepper to it to give it some flavor boost, which was good, but not enough to take it to the same level of greatness of the brisket and sauces.

Nonetheless, there was nothing disappointing about the mac and cheese and the brisket really was great. I can’t wait to get back and see what other meaty delights YinzBurgh BBQ has in store for me.